# Fast Financial Model

Fast is a universal 1-click checkout and login layer for e-commerce, eliminating passwords and multi-step checkout flows.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/fast
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/fast.xlsx
- Category: Fintech
- Model type: Marketplace / GMV
- Funding round: Series A
- Funding: $20M
- Founded: 2020
- Geography: United States (San Francisco HQ); product positioned as global ("every site, platform, device") [DECK slide 07]
- Customer: B2B2C

## About the company

Fast was a universal one-click checkout and login layer for e-commerce, designed to remove passwords and multi-step purchase flows. It aimed to help merchants increase conversion while giving consumers a reusable identity across participating stores.

The product’s commercial logic resembles other checkout networks: merchant adoption creates checkout volume, and a growing consumer identity network can improve the value of the service to each merchant. The research does not disclose confirmed pricing or a take rate.

The model should forecast merchants, active shoppers, checkout conversion, purchase frequency, and average order value to derive GMV. Apply a merchant transaction fee and, if relevant, a subscription layer; retention, merchant acquisition cost, and payment-processing expense are the key sensitivities.

## What's included

- 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions
- Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule
- Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking
- Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check
- Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR
- Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention

## Product & value proposition

Three core products:
1. **Fast Checkout** - 1-click checkout embedded on merchant sites. Consumer sees a pre-filled form; order confirmed in one click.
2. **Fast re/Order** - Zero-click reorder of previously purchased items directly from product pages or via timeline.
3. **Fast Login** - Passwordless, universal login across merchant sites using email.

Post-purchase layer (Fast Timeline): unified receipt, delivery tracking, refunds, and subscription management across all Fast merchants in one consumer dashboard.

Platform integrations: Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, SAP.

Security stack: Stripe, Very Good Security (VGS), Google Cloud.

Value prop to merchant: reduced cart abandonment, higher conversion. Value prop to consumer: no passwords, no re-entry of shipping/payment details.

## Revenue model

Not explicitly stated in deck. No pricing slide, no take-rate or fee structure shown. Standard checkout/payment middleware model: Fast likely earns a per-transaction fee (basis points on GMV processed) charged to the merchant, analogous to PayPal/Bolt. Rationale: competitive context lists PayPal and Bolt as primary competitors; Stripe is a security/infrastructure partner not a revenue-sharing partner per the deck. Possible secondary revenue: SaaS subscription or setup fee for merchant integration, common in this category.

## Traction & metrics

No revenue, transaction volume, merchant count, GMV, or consumer adoption numbers are shown anywhere in the deck.

Only qualitative traction signals:
- Social proof from investors, VCs, and Twitter users indicating the product exists and has early buzz
- CEO previously led an on-demand towing company in Australia that "transacted $50M in 4 years" - this is founder background, not Fast traction
- Deck appears to be a very early seed-stage deck with no live metrics

## Competition / moat

Primary competitors named: PayPal, Bolt, Shopify (Shop Pay), Apple Pay.

Fast's claimed differentiation:
1. Platform agnostic - works on every device and platform (vs. Shopify limited to Shopify merchants, Apple Pay limited to Apple devices)
2. Consumer-centric - reduces friction while maintaining security
3. Login + Payments + Identity combined - competitors focus on either auth OR payments, not both
4. Distribution - claims it will have the largest merchant distribution (forward-looking, no evidence provided)

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

Team:
- **Domm Holland** - Co-founder & CEO. Serial technical entrepreneur; prior company transacted $50M in 4 years (on-demand towing, Australia).
- **Allison Barr Allen** - Co-founder & COO. Former Head of Global Product Operations, Money Team at Uber (scaled 2k → 26k employees). Active angel investor in fintech/marketplaces.
- **Jason Alderman** - CCO (Comms + Gov). Former Global VP of Communications at Visa (9 years), DraftKings, CloverHealth.
- + teams with backgrounds from Uber, Google, Square, Postmates, Shopify, Bond, Synapse, Walmart, Wish

Investors: Stripe, Index Ventures, SUSA Ventures, Kleiner Perkins (KPCB), GFC, Rocket Internet, plus unnamed industry angels (media, travel, retail, e-commerce, security, technology).

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## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why:** Payments / checkout infrastructure GMV model with merchant SaaS overlay.
  Fast sits between the consumer and merchant at point of transaction - the natural model is a **GMV-driven take-rate P&L**, identical to how Bolt, Klarna, or PayPal Checkout are modeled. Revenue = GMV processed × net take rate (basis points). If a SaaS/setup fee component exists, layer a merchant count × ARPU SaaS line on top.

- **Forecast horizon & granularity:**
  Monthly for Year 1–2 (early-stage, high variance); quarterly for Years 3–5. 5-year horizon appropriate for a seed-stage payments infrastructure play.

- **Key drivers & assumptions:**

| Driver | Value |
| ------- | ------ |

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
  - **Bull:** Rapid Shopify/WooCommerce plugin adoption drives merchant count 3–5× base; take rate holds at 1%+; consumer network effect reduces CAC per merchant materially.
  - **Base:** Steady merchant ramp via direct sales + platform marketplaces; 0.75% blended take rate; growing but not viral consumer adoption.
  - **Bear:** Shopify launches competing product (Shop Pay expansion) or Apple Pay/Google Pay commoditizes the space; merchant acquisition stalls; take rate compressed to <50 bps.

- **Required sheets / outputs:**
  1. Assumptions dashboard (all drivers in one place)
  2. Merchant cohort model (by integration month, GMV ramp, churn)
  3. GMV → Revenue bridge (take rate × GMV)
  4. P&L (Revenue, COGS/processing costs, Gross Profit, Opex by function, EBITDA)
  5. Headcount plan (by department)
  6. Cash / runway (seed capital burn vs. revenue ramp)
  7. Scenario toggle (Bull/Base/Bear)

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Fast financial model free?

Yes. The Fast model is a free Excel download with live formulas.

### Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.