GRID Financial Model
Climate/Energy Startup Financials (Free Excel Download)
GRID turns spreadsheets into shareable, interactive web documents - a publishing layer on top of Excel/Google Sheets.
professionals from Deloitte
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About this model
GRID turns cloud spreadsheets into interactive web documents with live charts, narrative, and controls. Spreadsheet authors can publish from Excel or Google Sheets, while viewers interact with the output without needing workbook access.
The product follows a freemium SaaS model with Basic and Pro tiers, single authors, and multiple viewers. Its commercial thesis is product-led: shared documents expose more potential creators, though the deck discloses no actual revenue or user metrics and uses a demonstration model rather than reported results.
The model should mirror that monthly PLG funnel: ad spend and organic traffic generate visitors, registrations, paid conversions, referrals, and churn. A subscriber stock-and-flow schedule should drive MRR and ARR, then feed cloud COGS, product and marketing costs, cash burn, and sensitivity analysis around conversion, virality, and retention.
A turnkey financial model
Live formulas, no hardcoded values
Outputs are driven by live formulas, so the workbook updates from its assumptions instead of relying on hardcoded results.
All assumptions in one tab
Inputs are clearly marked in the Assumptions tab and separated from calculations, making it clear what to change and what to leave intact.
Statements always balancing
For integrated-statement models, the balance sheet, cash flow, and supporting schedules tie through properly.
Distinct schedules for clarity
Debt, working capital, taxes, and cash flow can get messy quickly. We group calculations in clear schedules, not across disconnected tabs.
No hidden macros or external links
There are no unexplained external workbook links or macros to undermine auditability or portability.
Changes flow through the model
Update a key driver and see the impact carry through the forecast, financing, and return outputs. We never use hardcoded numbers in formulas.
About GRID
grid.ai
How to build a detailed financial model for GRID
A complete walkthrough of the business, drivers, and assumptions behind the downloadable GRID model - distilled from its pitch deck and publicly available information.
Product & value proposition
GRID lets spreadsheet authors publish interactive, narrative-driven web documents directly from their cloud workbooks (Excel, Google Sheets). Viewers get live-updating charts and interactive sliders/controls without needing spreadsheet access. Core differentiators claimed:
- A WYSIWYG editor for non-technical users to build interactive web docs from their existing sheets.
- Direct live connection to cloud workbooks (changes push immediately to published documents).
- One redacted third technical differentiator.
Initial offering (2020): Basic and Pro tiers - single author, multiple viewers, secure sharing, live updates from cloud workbooks. Future roadmap redacted.
Market
No explicit TAM/SAM/SOM figures or market-size dollar amounts in deck.
Context figures provided:
- ~1 billion people use spreadsheets (GRID estimates)
- Excel is the #1 computer skill sought in job ads (Indeed.com)
- Excel accounts for ~2% of all computer time globally (RescueTime)
- 88% of spreadsheet users share their spreadsheets with others (Dartmouth College)
No formal market sizing slide present.
Revenue model
- Model: Freemium SaaS subscription
- Tiers: Basic (free implied) / Pro (paid)
- Acquisition: Fully digital, self-service customer acquisition
- Channels: Product-led growth / content marketing implied; GTM detail redacted
- Seat model: Single-author publish, multiple viewers - pricing likely per creator seat
Traction & metrics
No live revenue or user count figures disclosed in deck. The deck demonstrates GRID's own product by embedding a live revenue model (Project X / "GRID revenue model") as a working example - this is a product demo, not reported traction.
Model assumptions shown in the embedded demo (these are demo inputs, not actual company metrics):
- Ads budget: $8,000/month
- Cost per click: $1.00
- Visitor → Registration conversion: 8.0%
- Registered → Subscription conversion: 2.5%
- Monthly churn rate: 10.0%
- Virality per registered user: 1.00; per subscribed user: 2.00
- ARR run rate at month 36 (model output): $486,168
No actual revenue, customer count, MRR, DAU/MAU, or retention figures disclosed.
Competition / moat
- Described as "healthy competition on the product side, but with clear differentiation."
- Differentiates by leveraging users' existing spreadsheet skills and existing workflows.
- Positions as the dominant tool for "reporting and sharing visual narratives from spreadsheets - particularly spreadsheet models."
- Real competition framed as the status quo: email attachments and copy-paste into PowerPoint/PDF.
- No specific named competitors listed (competitor names redacted or omitted).
Moat claimed: 3 solved hard technical problems; one redacted, two visible (WYSIWYG editor, live cloud workbook connection).
Team & funding ask / use of funds
Team:
- Hjalmar Gislason - Founder & CEO. Previously VP Product Management at Qlik; founder/CEO of DataMarket (founded 2008, acquired by Qlik 2014). 5th company as founder.
- Thorsteinn Yngvi Gudmundsson - Co-founder, VP Operations. 20 years experience; prior CEO, GTM lead, VP Operations, Finance roles.
- Eva Steingrimsdottir - Director of Software Development (team of 9).
- Alexandra Bjargardottir - Director of Growth (team of 3).
- Borgar Thorsteinsson - Co-founder, front-end & spreadsheet engine.
- Steinn Eldjarn - Co-founder, server & cloud.
Recommended financial model
- Archetype + why: SaaS ARR / freemium PLG model. GRID is a self-serve freemium SaaS with a creator-seat subscription and viral sharing mechanic (each doc shared exposes the GRID brand to new potential creators). The deck's own embedded revenue model (slide 5) uses an MRR build-up with ads spend, funnel conversion, churn, and virality - the Excel model should mirror that architecture and extend it.
- Forecast horizon & granularity: Monthly for 36 months (Years 1–3). This matches the horizon shown in GRID's own demo model. Aggregate to annual summary tabs for investor output.
- Key drivers & assumptions:
| Driver | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly paid ad budget | $8,000 | - |
| Cost per click | $1.00 | - |
| Visitor → Registration conversion | 8.0% | - |
| Registered → Subscription (free→Pro) conversion | 2.5% | - |
| Monthly churn rate | 10.0% | - |
| Virality - referrals per registered user/mo | 1.00 | - |
| Virality - referrals per subscribed user/mo | 2.00 | - |
| Organic traffic (non-paid) | 0 at launch, ramp TBD | - |
| Gross margin | ~80% | - |
| S&M as % of revenue | ~40% in early years, declining | - |
| R&D headcount cost | Based on team of 9 engineers | - |
| G&A | ~10–15% of revenue | - |
- Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):
- Bear: Higher churn (15%/mo), lower free→paid conversion (1.5%), no virality uplift.
- Base: Deck assumptions as stated - 10% churn, 2.5% conversion, virality as modelled.
- Bull: Lower churn (6%/mo), higher conversion (4%), virality coefficients increase as product matures, additional organic/content traffic channel added.
- Required sheets / outputs:
- Assumptions - all drivers in one place, colour-coded inputs.
- Funnel Model - monthly: clicks → visitors → registrations → subscribers → churned; stock-and-flow MRR build (new MRR + expansion − churn).
- P&L (Income Statement) - monthly and annual: MRR/ARR, COGS, gross profit, S&M, R&D, G&A, EBITDA, net income.
- Cash Flow - operating cash burn / runway (no balance sheet complexity needed at this stage unless funding round closes).
- Scenario Toggle - drop-down or data table switching Base/Bull/Bear on key drivers.
- Dashboard / Summary - ARR bridge, MRR growth chart, churn waterfall, key SaaS metrics (LTV, CAC, LTV:CAC, payback months).
Frequently asked
Is the GRID financial model free?+
Yes. The GRID model is a free Excel (.xlsx) download with live formulas. Sign up with your email and the workbook is yours to keep, review, and edit.
What's included in the model?+
A 5-year monthly forecast with P&L, cash flow and runway, valuation (exit multiple plus a DCF cross-check), MOIC/IRR returns, and unit economics, with live formulas throughout.
How was this model built?+
It was built from GRID's pitch deck and publicly available information, then structured to investment-banking standards as a fully editable Excel model.
Can I change the assumptions?+
Yes. You can change assumptions and the live formulas will recalculate in the downloadable Excel model.
Have more financial modelling questions? Contact us
Created by ex-finance professionals
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