# Ibble Financial Model Social media platform built around asynchronous video conversations and collective discourse, reinventing how people connect and share ideas. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/ibble - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/ibble.xlsx - Category: Media/Gaming - Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation - Funding round: Seed - Funding: $12.7M - Founded: 2022 - Geography: United States primary (SOM); North America (SAM); Global (TAM) [DECK, slide 9] - Customer: B2C ## About the company ibble is a mobile-first short-video platform organised around asynchronous video conversations called ibbles. Users post videos and reply in threads that can be sparked publicly or privately, positioning the product around collective dialogue rather than the broadcast or debate mechanics of social platforms. The beta product includes proprietary real-time video, audio, and news-validation machine learning, low-latency streaming, patents, and an in-house content studio. Monetisation was not live at the deck date; intended sources were targeted advertising, enterprise and brand partnerships, media collaborations, and creator or celebrity content deals. During beta, users recorded more than 25,000 videos and averaged more than 21 minutes of daily active engagement. Organic sharing grew over 10% month on month and web search over 70%, but no DAU, MAU, or revenue was reported. The model should keep monetisation assumptions separate from observed engagement and scaling costs. ## 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-first (iOS + Android + web) short-form video platform centered on threaded, asynchronous conversations ("ibbles") rather than broadcasting or debate - Users upload videos; others respond in video threads, which can be "sparked" publicly or privately to expose new audiences - Core differentiation: "Collective Wisdom" - enabling genuine, vulnerable dialogue versus the declaration/debate model of incumbent social platforms - Platform is built and scalable; proprietary ML for video/audio/news validation in real-time; proprietary low-latency mobile video streaming; multiple international utility and design patents - In-house studio content pipeline ## Market - TAM: 1.3 Billion users - Global - SAM: 173 Million users - North America - SOM: 57 Million users - United States (heavy mobile users ages 18–40, 50%–70% of younger U.S. population) - No dollar market-size figures shown; user counts only - Supporting market trend data (background slides 20–21): - Online community participation: 72% (2017) → 74% (2018) → 76% (2019) global internet users - Social sharing (daily life details) declining: 27% (2014) → 20% (2019) - Trust in traditional news declining: trustworthy/accurate 63% (2017) → 59% (2019) - Gen Z U.S. trust community sites (48%) almost as much as traditional news (51%) ## Revenue model - No monetization live as of deck date; still in beta/pre-launch - Intended revenue streams (inferred from use-of-proceeds and GTM): - Digital advertising: hyper-targeted based on interest graph; "inspire action, not gain views" framing for advertisers - Enterprise/brand partnerships: brands building trust and community on platform - Media and brand partnerships (initial monetization phase) - Creator/celebrity co-branded content deals implied - No pricing, CPM rates, deal sizes, or ARPU figures disclosed - Planned proof-of-monetization is a use-of-proceeds item, not completed ## Traction & metrics - 25,000+ videos recorded on-app during Beta - 21+ minutes average daily active engagement - 10%+ month-over-month organic sharing growth - 70%+ month-over-month organic web search growth - Hundreds of top content creators posting within ibble; most have 100k+ followings on Instagram and TikTok - Extensive mailing list collected of users waiting on the conversation feature - No reported DAU, MAU, registered users, or revenue figures - Roadmap status as of deck: Phase 1 (Test, Spring 2020) COMPLETED; Phase 2 (Initial Scaling, Winter 2020) IN PROGRESS; Phase 3 (Initial Monetization, Spring 2021) UP NEXT ## Unit economics - CAC: Roadmap Phase 1 goal was to "drive down CAC to provide models for scaling" - no actual CAC figure disclosed - Engagement proxy: 21+ min/day DAU time-on-app - strong signal relative to incumbents but no monetization rate attached ## Competition / moat - Competitive landscape (scatter matrix, axes: My News ↔ Public News / Individual Feedback ↔ Community Feedback): - Facebook: $70B revenue - My News / Community Feedback quadrant - Instagram: $14B revenue - My News / Individual Feedback quadrant - TikTok: $17B revenue - Public News / Individual Feedback quadrant - Twitter: $3.5B revenue - Public News / Community Feedback quadrant - Reddit: $120M revenue - Public News / Community Feedback quadrant - Snapchat: $2B revenue - My News / Individual Feedback quadrant - Clubhouse: Community Feedback / Public News quadrant - ibble: positioned top-right (Community Feedback / Public News) - claimed whitespace above all incumbents - Moat claims: proprietary ML stack, low-latency streaming IP, international patents, influencer network already seeded, SEO-indexed video library (25k+ videos) - Key risk not addressed: no network-effect moat yet; pre-launch ## Team & funding ask / use of funds - Team: 17-person team, headquartered in Austin, Texas - Functional teams: Business, Product & Design, In-house Media, Marketing, Tech, Partnerships, Influencer Relations, Finance - CEO: Raymond Kaminski - former NASA lead engineer, VP at Goldman Sachs, COO at HyperSciences, Director of Product at Honest Dollar (acquired), 7 U.S. patents - Head of Partnerships & Sales: Irving Lee - 10+ years finance (Goldman Sachs, Great Point Capital), 5 years biz dev/DeFi/crypto, UT Austin - Advisory board: senior execs from Warner Bros, Electronic Arts, Riot Games, PUBG, Netscape, WhiteHat Security, Sony Music, Google, YouTube, Instagram, G4 - Previous funding: $2.3MM raised from Angel and VC investors in 2019; provided 12+ months runway; deployed core functionality - Additional non-dilutive: $100k non-equity grant from Google at SXSW 2019 for "Media & Content" innovation - Current ask: Series Seed (amount not disclosed) - Use of proceeds: Marketing/user growth, enterprise feature enhancements, proof of monetization, initial media/brand partnerships, operational overhead + team scaling --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why:** Consumer social media user-growth and ad monetization model (MAU/DAU build-up → engagement → CPM/RPM advertising revenue + brand partnership fees). Not a SaaS ARR model - no subscription pricing. Ad-supported social with B2B brand deal overlay is the correct structure. Comparable to early-stage Twitter/TikTok operating models: grow users first, monetize second. - **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 5 years (Year 1–2 monthly, Year 3–5 annual). Monthly in early years to model the user acquisition ramp and cash burn against the seed raise. - **Key drivers & assumptions:** *User funnel:* - SOM target: 57M US users; initial addressable launch pool - Beta-to-launch conversion rate: 5–15% of waitlist converts at public launch; rationale: typical consumer app open-beta conversion - Monthly new user adds - Phase 1 (paid + influencer activation): 50k–200k/month; rationale: influencer seeding with 100k+ follower creators across multiple accounts - Organic growth multiplier post-launch: 1.5–2x paid installs; rationale: 10%+ MoM sharing growth signal - Monthly churn rate: 8–15%; rationale: typical early-stage consumer social app before retention features mature - DAU/MAU ratio: 25–35%; rationale: 21 min/day engagement is high but user base is pre-scale *Engagement & monetization:* - Average session length: 21+ min/day - Ad load (impressions per session): 2–4 ads/session in Year 2+; rationale: conservative for early-stage platform protecting UX - CPM (cost per thousand impressions): $5–$12; rationale: social video CPM range for US 18–40 demographic; lower end until scale - Brand partnership deals: $25k–$150k/deal; 2–6 deals in Year 2 scaling to 20+ in Year 4; rationale: typical influencer-platform brand deal range - Revenue per MAU at scale: $2–$8/year in Years 1–2, growing to $15–$30/year by Year 5; rationale: comparable to early Twitter/Snapchat ARPU trajectory *Costs:* - Headcount: 17 now; assume 25–30 by end of Year 1 post-seed, scaling to 60–80 by Year 3 - Average fully-loaded salary: $120k–$150k; rationale: Austin-based tech team, below SF/NY market - Cloud/CDN infrastructure: $0.005–$0.01 per video view; rationale: video streaming is bandwidth-intensive; cost driver scales with MAU - Marketing/user acquisition spend: 40–50% of seed proceeds in Year 1; declining as organic share grows - CAC: $2–$8 blended (paid + organic) in Year 1, targeting <$1.50 at scale; rationale: consistent with social app benchmarks and stated roadmap goal - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):** - Base: Launch Spring 2021 as planned; 500k MAU by end of Year 1, 3M by Year 3; CPM $7; brand deals ramp modestly - Bull: Influencer activation drives viral coefficient >1.2; 2M MAU by end of Year 1, 10M by Year 3; brand deals accelerate; CPM $10+ - Bear: Delayed launch (deck already shows "NEEDS UPDATING" on Phase 3); low retention; 150k MAU by end of Year 1; monetization pushed 12 months; cash burn requires bridge - **Required sheets / outputs:** 1. Assumptions dashboard (all drivers, toggle by scenario) 2. User funnel model (Installs → Registered → MAU → DAU, monthly) 3. Engagement model (sessions, impressions, video views per MAU) 4. Revenue build (ad revenue by CPM tier + brand/partnership deals) 5. Headcount plan (by function, month-by-month) 6. OpEx model (infrastructure, marketing, G&A) 7. P&L summary (monthly Year 1–2, annual Year 3–5) 8. Cash flow & runway (seed proceeds + burn rate; months to next raise) 9. Unit economics summary (CAC, LTV, LTV/CAC, payback period) 10. KPI dashboard (MAU, DAU, DAU/MAU, ARPU, burn rate, runway) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Ibble financial model free? Yes. The Ibble 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.