# HearHere Financial Model

Location-based audio storytelling app that plays GPS-triggered road trip stories narrated by celebrities.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/hearhere
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/hearhere.xlsx
- Category: Consumer/DTC
- Model type: Unit-economics / DTC
- Funding round: Seed
- Funding: $3.2M
- Founded: 2022
- Geography: USA.
- Customer: B2C

## About the company

HearHere is a GPS-triggered audio storytelling app for road trips, with more than 8,500 US stories narrated by celebrities and produced by an in-house editorial team. It turns driving routes into location-aware entertainment across history, nature, music, sports, and local characters.

The app sells direct-to-consumer passes: $29.99 for 30 days, $35.99 for a year, and $69.99 for three years. Strategic partners and media help distribution, while the content library is the product's main differentiation.

The model is consumer subscription and pass revenue. App installs, trip activation, paid conversion, pass mix, renewal, content cost, and churn determine revenue. Acquisition efficiency, regional coverage, and repeat travel usage 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

- Mobile app that auto-plays audio stories keyed to the user's GPS location during road trips.
- 8,500+ stories across the US as of deck date.
- Celebrity narrators: Kevin Costner (co-founder), John Lithgow, Phil Jackson, Chuck Leavell, others.
- Content categories: Colorful Characters, Natural Wonders, Sports, Music.
- Content produced in-house by a team of 22 researchers, writers, editors, and narrators.

## Market

- TAM: $11B (USA) - 227M licensed drivers × $50 annual subscription.
- SAM: $5B (USA) - 100M vacationing adults × $50 annual subscription.
- SOM / projected revenue: $120M in 2025 (company projection, no methodology shown).
- Supporting tailwinds cited:
  - 60% of Americans planned to travel more in 2021 than 2019.
  - Consumers spending 30% more time listening to spoken-word audio.
  - 46M Americans planned an RV trip in the next 12 months.
  - "Great American road trip is more popular than ever."

## Revenue model

Three pricing tiers, all direct-to-consumer via app:
- 30-day pass: $29.99 (one-time payment)
- 1-year subscription: $35.99/year (annual subscription)
- 3-year pass: $69.99 (one-time payment)

Implied per-user annual subscription price used in TAM/SAM calc: $50.
Distribution / amplification: strategic partners (AAA, Camping World implied), social & PR, paid media.

## Traction & metrics

- Content library: 8,500+ stories across the US.
- Content team size: 22 (researchers, writers, editors, narrators).
- Projected revenue $120M in 2025 (forward-looking internal projection only).
- Press coverage: Forbes, TechCrunch, Business Insider, iHeart Radio, Travel+Leisure, Southern Living, Outside, NBC, Mental Floss, Goop, Hagerty, Urban Daddy, Sunset, MSN.
- No historical revenue, subscriber count, DAU/MAU, downloads, or growth rate figures are disclosed.

## Competition / moat

Competitive advantages stated:
1. Strategic partnerships (AAA, Camping World).
2. First nationwide platform of this type.
3. 8,500+ stories and growing - content library as a moat.
4. Original IP ownership.

Kevin Costner quote: "HearHere could be the biggest thing I've ever been a part of."
No direct competitor names or comparison matrix shown.

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

**Core team:**
- Woody Sears, Co-Founder / CEO - founded iStoryTime (acquired by Cupcake Digital), 18 years mobile software, AT&T.
- Bill Werlin, Co-Founder / Content - ex-President @ The North Face, ex-GM @ Patagonia Japan, ex-GM @ Burton Japan.
- Kevin Costner, Co-Founder - Academy Award & Emmy-winning actor/director/producer.
- Sean O'Brien, CMO/CTO - Inc. 5000 CMO, Stanford/Wharton.
- Bryce Shawcross, Art Director - ex-Tesla, Faraday Future, Canoo.
- Frank Travieso, Senior iOS Developer - ex-Mammoth Media, Leapsight, Disney.

**Strategic advisors:**
Jon Bassett (NextGen Venture Partners), Jackie Kapur (Ignition Capital, ex-Bloomberg Division CFO), Kevin Norris (Spark Digital, ex-AMEX), Sean O'Brien (Modloft / NextGen VP), Thomas Meyer (ex-Sonos Global PR), Travis Brodeen (3x CTO, Newchip Accelerator).

**Institutional investors / partners:** AAA, Cooley, Yellow Accelerator (Snap Inc.), Camping World, Airwing Ventures.
**Angel investors:** Matt Rutler (Masterclass EVP), John Glanville (Maps.com CEO), Tech Coast Angels, Pasadena Angels, Nathan Chiaverini (PIMCO SVP), Razvan Romanescu, Stan Isayev (Bloomberg CFO), Eric Ritvo (NextGen VP), Tina Fitch (Lightspeed Scout), Andrew Weber (Grayl CEO).

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## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why:** Consumer subscription (DTC) - subscriber cohort model. Revenue is purely subscription-based with three tiers (30-day, 1-year, 3-year). Model should track subscriber cohorts, mix shift across tiers, and content cost as the primary opex driver. Not SaaS (no B2B), not marketplace, not usage-based.

- **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 5 years (2022–2026), monthly in Year 1, quarterly Years 2–5. Company's own projection targets $120M by 2025, so model needs to bridge from current (unknown) base to that figure.

- **Key drivers & assumptions:**

| Driver | Value | Source |
| -- | -- | -- |
| Annual subscription price | $35.99/yr | - |
| 30-day pass price | $29.99 | - |
| 3-year pass price | $69.99 | - |
| Implied blended ARPU used in market calc | ~$50/yr | - |
| TAM addressable subscribers | 227M licensed drivers (USA) | - |
| SAM | 100M vacationing adults (USA) | - |
| Company revenue target | $120M by 2025 | - |
| Content library size (current) | 8,500+ stories | - |
| Content team headcount | 22 | - |
| Starting paid subscriber count | ~10K–50K; deck gives no current sub count - use as sensitivity input |
| Annual subscriber growth rate | 100–200% early-stage tapering to 30–40% by Year 4; required to hit $120M SOM |
| Tier mix (30-day / 1-yr / 3-yr) | 40% / 45% / 15% - 30-day likely highest volume due to trial behaviour |
| Blended ARPU | ~$38–42/yr based on tier mix; lower than deck's $50 assumption |
| Annual churn (subscription) | 30–40%; road-trip use case is seasonal, churn likely high |
| Gross margin | 60–70%; content creation + narrator fees are primary COGS; no COGS figures in deck |
| Content cost per story | $500–$2,000/story; 22-person team producing ongoing library |
| CAC | $15–$40; via paid media + strategic partner distribution (AAA, Camping World) |
| S&M as % of revenue | 30–40% early-stage, declining to 20% at scale |
| G&A | 15–20% of revenue |
| R&D / engineering | 10–15% of revenue |

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
  - **Base:** Sub growth 120% Y1 → 50% Y3, tier mix as assumed, 35% churn, ARPU ~$40.
  - **Bull:** AAA/Camping World partnerships drive viral distribution; sub growth 200%+ Y1–Y2; churn falls to 20%; hit $120M 2025 target.
  - **Bear:** Seasonal churn proves structural (>50%); paid acquisition is expensive; CAC $50+; revenue stays sub-$20M through 2025.

- **Required sheets / outputs:**
  1. **Assumptions** - all drivers in one place.
  2. **Subscriber model** - new adds, churned, ending active subs by tier by period.
  3. **Revenue** - by tier (30-day, 1-yr, 3-yr), blended ARPU, total ARR/revenue.
  4. **P&L (Income Statement)** - revenue, COGS (content production, narrator fees, hosting), gross profit, S&M, R&D, G&A, EBITDA.
  5. **Cash flow / runway** - monthly burn, cash balance (requires knowing raise size).
  6. **Cohort retention** - annual retention by cohort year (if data becomes available).
  7. **Scenarios** - toggle table for Base / Bull / Bear.
  8. **Dashboard** - KPIs: subscribers, ARPU, ARR, gross margin %, EBITDA, runway.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the HearHere financial model free?

Yes. The HearHere 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.