# Firework Financial Model B2B SaaS platform enabling brands and publishers to embed short-form and live shoppable video on their owned-and-operated websites. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/firework - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/firework.xlsx - Category: Consumer/DTC - Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation - Funding round: Series B - Funding: $150M - Founded: 2022 - Geography: Global - 36 countries as of 2021 [DECK]; HQ San Mateo CA; offices in Toronto, New York, Mexico City, Bogota, São Paulo, London, Paris, Warsaw, Kyiv, Israel, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur [DECK, slide 8]. - Customer: B2B ## About the company Firework is a B2B SaaS platform for embedding short-form and live shoppable video on brand, retailer, and publisher websites. It brings social-style video experiences to owned web properties rather than relying on walled-garden platforms. The company had streamed 84 billion seconds of video in 36 countries in 2021, with livestream minutes growing rapidly. Brands pay for software that powers video creation, distribution, engagement, and commerce on their own digital surfaces. The model is usage-informed SaaS ARR. Customers, video experiences, streamed minutes, platform fees, enterprise contracts, expansion, and churn build revenue. Video delivery cost, sales efficiency, product adoption, and NRR drive margin. ## 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 Firework is an end-to-end SaaS solution that lets brands and retailers embed short vertical video ("Stories") and live-shopping streams directly on their own websites - bypassing walled-garden platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook). Key differentiators: - Brings short video and livestream capabilities to the open/mobile web, which has 0% penetration today vs. ~70% on walled gardens. - 350M active blogs, publishers, online stores, and business sites; ~250BN monthly visits; 97% of transactions happen on the open web. - Shoppable video: add-to-cart embedded directly in the video experience. - Positioned as B2B SaaS vs. TikTok/Instagram (B2C, ad-funded, centralized). ## Market China live shopping market (proxy for global opportunity): - 2020 live shopping sales: $161B - 2021 live shopping sales: $299B - 2022 projected live shopping sales: $470B+ - ~86% YoY growth 2020→2021; implied ~57% growth 2021→2022 Open web addressable universe: - 350M active blogs, publishers, online stores, and business sites - ~250BN monthly visits - 97% of transactions happen on the open web (not walled gardens) No explicit US TAM/SAM/SOM breakdown in deck. ## Revenue model - B2B SaaS: sell software platform to brands, retailers, and publishers - Customers embed Firework's video widgets on their own sites - Revenue model described as "SaaS" explicitly - No pricing tiers, contract values, ARR, or per-seat/per-stream pricing disclosed in deck ## Traction & metrics - 84,000,000,000 seconds streamed in 2021 across 36 countries - 15x quarterly growth in livestream minutes over the 18 months from 2020 Q1 through 2022 Q1 - Growth chart (slide 9): bars show near-zero in 2020 Q1, steep step-up through 2020 Q4, a slight plateau in 2021 Q1–Q2, then sharp re-acceleration to new highs in 2021 Q3–Q4 and peak at 2022 Q1 - 75% of US adults spend up to 2 hours/day watching short-form video - No ARR, MRR, customer count, logo count, or revenue figures disclosed ## Unit economics Customer-side lift metrics (Firework's reported effect on client KPIs): - 400% engagement lift (session time per user) - 3.0x conversion (add-to-cart rate) - 3.0x retention / lifetime value for social consumers vs. non-social consumers No Firework-level CAC, LTV, gross margin, or payback period disclosed. ## Competition / moat - Direct comparison: Firework (B2B, SaaS, de-centralized, open web) vs. TikTok / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook (B2C, ads, centralized, walled gardens) - Positioned alongside Shopify and Amazon as an open-web commerce infrastructure play - Moat claim: only platform bringing shoppable short video + livestream natively to the open web (0% current penetration = greenfield) - No IP, exclusivity, or network-effect moat articulated explicitly ## Team & funding ask / use of funds --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why:** B2B SaaS ARR model. Firework sells a recurring software subscription to brands/retailers; the correct model is a cohort-based ARR build with new logo additions, expansion/contraction, and churn - the standard SaaS operating model. A GMV-facilitated metric (video-driven add-to-cart GMV) can be a secondary KPI driver if pricing is GMV-linked, but the deck identifies the revenue model as SaaS, not take-rate. - **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 3 years (Y1–Y3) quarterly, then annual summary. Quarterly matters because the growth chart shows clear quarterly inflections worth modeling. - **Key drivers & assumptions:** | Driver | Value | | -- | -- | | Starting ARR | Unknown | | New logo additions per quarter | Unknown | | Average contract value (ACV) | Unknown | | Logo churn rate (annual) | Unknown | | Net revenue retention (NRR) | Unknown | | Livestream minutes quarterly growth | 15x over 18 months (2020 Q1→2022 Q1) | | Gross margin | Unknown | | S&M as % of revenue | Unknown | | R&D as % of revenue | Unknown | | G&A as % of revenue | Unknown | | Countries / geographies | 36 in 2021 | | China live commerce TAM 2022 | $470B+ | - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):** - **Bull:** NRR 125%+, logo growth accelerates, ACV expansion into enterprise tiers, gross margin reaches 75% at scale - **Base:** NRR 115%, steady logo adds, ACV mid-range, gross margin 68% - **Bear:** Elevated churn (15%+), slower logo acquisition, margin pressure from streaming infra costs, NRR <105% - **Required sheets / outputs:** 1. Assumptions - all inputs in one place, flagged vs 2. ARR Bridge - New ARR, Expansion ARR, Churned ARR, Net New ARR per quarter 3. P&L - Revenue, COGS, Gross Profit, S&M, R&D, G&A, EBITDA 4. Headcount - by function (Sales, CS, Eng, G&A), driving opex 5. Cash / Runway - cash burn, implied runway (critical given no funding ask in deck) 6. KPI Dashboard - ARR, NRR, logo count, CAC payback (once inputs populated), livestream minutes (engagement proxy) 7. Scenario toggle - Base / Bull / Bear ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Firework financial model free? Yes. The Firework 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.