# Include Financial Model

Croatian hardware company designing and selling smart street benches with integrated solar charging, Wi-Fi, and IoT sensors for public spaces globally.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/include
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/include.xlsx
- Category: Climate/Energy
- Model type: Unit-economics / DTC
- Funding round: Seed

- Founded: 2019
- Geography: Headquartered in Solin, Croatia. 42 markets across 5 continents as of Feb 2019 [DECK, slide 4 & 10].
- Customer: B2C

## About the company

Include sells Steora solar-powered smart benches and related public-space products. The benches combine photovoltaic power, batteries, charging, Wi-Fi, environmental sensors, lighting, and optional CCTV or digital displays for municipalities, telecoms, and developers.

Revenue is primarily hardware sales through direct municipal contracts and distributors, including Deutsche Telekom and T-Systems. By early 2019 it had sold more than 1,000 units across 260 cities, generated €1.2 million of 2018 revenue from 445 benches, and reached a modest €27,000 net profit.

The model should build revenue from units and ASP by SKU, capturing the mix shift toward higher-priced Urban+ and Monna products. Link hardware COGS, inventory and working capital, distribution expansion, operating expenses, and cash flow; thin historical margins make volume, component cost, and procurement timing central 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

- Core product: Steora - smart street bench with photovoltaic modules, battery pack, USB charging, wireless charging, Wi-Fi hotspot, environmental sensors, ambient lighting, optional CCTV and digital display.
- Product line (11 products as of 2019): Steora Standard, Steora Hybrid, Steora Urban, Steora Urban+, Steora CCTV, Steora E, plus Monna (cycle bench, launched Nov 2018).
- Value prop: Enables cities to deploy interactive smart-city infrastructure without grid dependency (solar-powered). Revenue model for municipalities can include advertising via displays and data from IoT sensors.
- Customer segments: Municipalities, city councils, telecom infrastructure companies (Deutsche Telekom, T-Systems cited), real-estate and public-space developers.

## Revenue model

- Primary: Hardware product sales - direct to municipalities and via distribution partners.
- Average selling price in 2018: €2,420 per bench.
- Mix shift noted toward higher-priced models (Steora Urban+ and Monna) driving revenue growth beyond unit volume growth.
- Channel: 15 distribution contracts signed as of early 2019 (Deutsche Telekom, T-Systems, others unnamed).
- No SaaS / recurring software revenue, maintenance contracts, or data monetisation mentioned in deck.

## Traction & metrics

- Units sold (cumulative by Feb 2019): 1,000+
  - Milestone timeline: 100th (Sep 2016), 500th (Jan 2018), 600th (Apr 2018), 700th (Jun 2018), 800th (Aug 2018), 900th (Dec 2018), 1,000th (Feb 2019)
- 2018 annual units sold: 445 benches
- 2018 revenues: €1.2M
- 2018 net profit: €27k
- Profitability achieved 16 months after first investment round; company also cash-flow positive
- Global markets: 42 in 36 months
- Global cities: 260
- Distribution contracts signed: 15
- Product usage (cumulative, as of early 2019):
  - Energy produced: 25,946 kWh
  - Energy consumed: 25,994 kWh
  - USB charging sessions: 173,732
  - Wireless charging sessions: 201,507
  - Wi-Fi users: 1,782,386
  - Data used: 10,288 GB
- Revenue trend from chart (approximate, bars + line):
  - 2015: ~€30–50k (few units)
  - 2016: ~€150–200k (~150 units)
  - 2017: ~€600–700k (~350 units)
  - 2018: €1.2M (445 units)

## Unit economics

- Average selling price (2018): €2,420
- Net profit margin (2018): ~2.3% (€27k / €1.2M)
- No COGS, gross margin, or CAC/LTV data presented.
- Implied COGS + OpEx ≈ €1.173M in 2018.

## Competition / moat

- No competitive slide in deck.
- Moats implied: 1,000+ units installed globally as social proof; multiple EU/international awards (European Parliament EU Top 50, Deloitte Fast 50, Forbes 30 under 30); 15 distribution contracts with major telecoms; 4-year head-start in a nascent category.

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- Founder: Ivan Mrvos (founded 2014; Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2019).
- Team size: 30+ employees across R&D, sales, marketing, finance, production, procurement.
- Prior funding: €465k seed round, April 2017.

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## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why:** Hardware revenue P&L with unit economics driver tree. Include is a product-sales business - revenue = units sold × ASP by SKU. Gross margin is driven by hardware COGS (BOM + manufacturing). This is not a SaaS or marketplace; a 3-statement operating model anchored on unit volume and product mix is the right build.

- **Forecast horizon & granularity:** Annual, 2019–2023 (extend past the deck's stated 2021 horizon to show a full 5-year view). Monthly granularity for 2019 would be ideal for cash flow management given thin margins, but annual is sufficient for a VC model at this stage.

- **Key drivers & assumptions:**

| Driver | Value | Source |
| -- | -- | -- |
| 2018 units sold | 445 | - |
| 2018 revenue | €1,200,000 | - |
| 2018 ASP (blended) | €2,420 | - |
| 2018 net profit | €27,000 | - |
| 2019–2021 target installations | 3,400+ cumulative | - |
| 2020–2021 cumulative net profit | €1,710,000 | - |
| Target markets by 2021 | 50 | - |
| Target distributors by 2021 | 30 | - |
| Revenue 2021 projection (from chart) | ~€6–7M | - |
| Expense 2021 projection (from chart) | ~€5–5.5M | - |
| Unit volume growth rate 2019–2021 | ~55–65% CAGR | - |
| ASP uplift from mix shift | +5–10% per year | - |
| Gross margin | 35–45% | - |
| OpEx growth | ~30–40% CAGR | - |
| 2019 revenues (implied from chart) | ~€2.0–2.5M | - |
| Seed round raised | €465,000 | - |

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
  - **Base:** Unit volume grows ~55% CAGR; ASP rises ~7%/yr from mix shift; gross margin holds ~40%; OpEx scales with headcount.
  - **Bull:** Distributor deals (Deutsche Telekom scale) drive volume outperformance; Urban+ / Monna mix pushes ASP to €3,500+; gross margin expands to 45%+ on volume leverage.
  - **Bear:** Municipal procurement cycles slow; ASP compression from competitive entry; gross margin squeezed below 35% on component costs; path to €1.71M net profit by 2021 delayed by 1–2 years.

- **Required sheets / outputs:**
  1. `Assumptions` - all drivers (unit volume, ASP by SKU, GM%, OpEx line items, headcount, distributor count)
  2. `Revenue Build` - units by product line (Steora Standard, Hybrid, Urban, Urban+, CCTV, E, Monna) × ASP × blended revenue
  3. `Income Statement` - Revenue, COGS, Gross Profit, OpEx (R&D, Sales & Marketing, G&A), EBIT, Net Profit
  4. `Cash Flow` - simplified: Net Profit + D&A – CapEx – Working Capital (inventory build is key for hardware)
  5. `KPI Dashboard` - units sold, cumulative installs, ASP, gross margin %, net margin %, markets, distributors
  6. `Scenario Toggle` - Base / Bull / Bear switch

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Include financial model free?

Yes. The Include 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.