# Kahoot Financial Model Game-based learning platform (quiz/engagement SaaS) serving education, home, and enterprise segments globally. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/kahoot - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/kahoot.xlsx - Category: Marketplace - Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation - Funding round: N/A - Funding: $28M - Founded: 2020 - Geography: Global; HQ Norway. USA & Canada ~49% of invoiced revenue, Europe ~35% [DECK sl.29]. Paying subscribers in 150+ countries [DECK sl.29]. - Customer: B2C ## About the company Kahoot is a game-based learning platform serving schools, households, and enterprises through quiz and engagement products. Its viral format brings new users into a shared cloud platform, with distinct offerings for teachers, families, and workplace learning teams. The company sells premium plans from $3 per teacher per month for schools, $5 per user per month for home use, and $10 per user per month for work. By Q3 2020 it had 21 million-plus active accounts, 360,000 paid subscriptions, and invoiced revenue of $27.7 million for the first nine months. The model is a multi-segment subscription ARR build. Paid subscribers, ARPU, conversion from the free base, expansion, and retention are tracked separately for school, home, and work, with acquisitions incorporated as distinct cohorts. Viral account growth, seasonal education demand, content marketplace development, and segment mix determine future margin and cash generation. ## 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 Three core segment offerings built on a single cloud platform: - **Kahoot! at School**: Teacher/student quiz-based learning. Free + from $3/teacher/month. - **Kahoot! at Home**: Family/social learning games. Free + from $5/user/month. - **Kahoot! at Work**: Corporate training, engagement, culture. From $10/user/month. - **Kahoot! Academy** (launching 2021): Marketplace connecting educators with verified premium content from publishers and partners. - **Kahoot! 360** (coming 2021): Next-generation corporate culture and learning tool. - **Language Learning** (coming soon) and **Bitmoji integration** (coming soon). - Acquired Poio (reading app), DragonBox (math games), Actimo (enterprise engagement platform). Value prop: viral distribution - playing a Kahoot promotes Kahoot; 1m+ new accounts and 2m+ app downloads per month with zero external marketing spend. ## Market - TAM: $20bn EdTech market opportunity (estimated 2020, source: Goldman Sachs Education Technology Sector Trends, May 2020). ## Revenue model Pure subscription SaaS (no advertising mentioned): - **School**: Free tier + premium teacher plans from $3/teacher/month - **Home/Study**: Free tier + from $5/user/month; DragonBox curriculum subscriptions included in this segment - **Work**: From $10/user/month; site licences for institutional/enterprise - **Academy/Marketplace** (2021): Publisher/educator content monetization - model TBD - Actimo (acquired Q4 2020): Employee engagement SaaS - pricing not disclosed Distribution: Entirely organic / viral (no external marketing cost stated). Integrations with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Slack. ## Traction & metrics **Revenue** | Period | Invoiced Revenue | | -- | -- | | FY 2018 | $3.5m | | FY 2019 | $13m | | Q1–Q3 2020 | $27.7m | | Q3 2020 (quarter) | $11.6m (+240% YoY, +20% QoQ) | | FY 2020 Guidance | $41–42m (+220% YoY) | | Q4 2020 Guidance | ~$14m (+20% QoQ; Actimo ~10% of that) | **Active Accounts (LTM)** | Period | Active Accounts | | -- | -- | | Q4 2018 | 12m | | FY 2019 | 16m | | Q3 2020 | 21m+ (+45% YoY) | | FY 2020 Guidance | 22m+ | - 8% QoQ average growth; strong organic, no external marketing - 7m teachers/educators within the 21m total **Paid Subscriptions (end of period)** | Period | Paid Subs | | -- | -- | | Q4 2018 | 46K | | FY 2019 | 170K | | Q2 2020 | 270K | | Q3 2020 | 360K (+160% YoY, +33% QoQ) | | FY 2020 Guidance | 400K+ (excl. Actimo) | - 34% QoQ average growth - Q3 2020 mix: 180K School, 105K Work, 75K Home & Study **Engagement** - 224m games hosted LTM Q3 2020 (+10% YoY) - 1.339bn participants LTM Q3 2020 (+19% YoY) - 100m+ user-generated Kahoots **Cash / Profitability** - Cash & equivalents: $72m as of 30 Sep 2020, zero interest-bearing debt - Q3 2020 operating cash flow: ~$5.2m (45% cash conversion from invoiced revenue) - Q3 2020 EBITDA: expected to exceed $1m - FY 2020: continued positive cash flow from operations **Other social proof** - 87% of global top 500 universities using Kahoot! - 97% of Fortune 500 using Kahoot! - 30m+ players enjoying partner-created kahoots ## Unit economics - **Net dollar retention**: 90–100% overall; above 100% for larger organizations - **Cash conversion**: 45% of invoiced revenue → operating cash flow in Q3 2020 - **CAC**: Not explicitly stated. Organic/viral model - "no external marketing cost" for active account growth - **ARPU (implied)**: Q3 2020: $11.6m revenue / ~345K avg paid subs ≈ $33.6/sub/quarter → ~$135/sub/year ## Competition / moat - **Viral distribution**: playing = promoting; 1m+ new accounts and 2m+ app downloads/month organically - **Brand**: globally recognized; 87% of top 500 universities, 97% of Fortune 500 - **Content network**: 100m+ user-generated Kahoots; academy marketplace connecting educators - **Data / product**: user-centric, data-driven development - **Ecosystem lock-in**: integrations with Microsoft, Google, Zoom, Slack; Disney, Microsoft as strategic shareholders ## Team & funding ask / use of funds - **Listed company** - not seeking a round. Already on Oslo Stock Exchange Merkur Market; main listing Oslo Stock Exchange planned Q1 2021. - **Employees**: 130+ as of 2020 (grew from 50 in 2017, 75 in 2018, 120 in 2019) - **Shareholders**: Datum Group 13%, Northzone 12%, AS Real-Forvaltning 7.6%, Creandum 6.8%, Microsoft 5.2%, Board of Directors 32% combined - **Total shares**: 399.5m outstanding; 416.6m fully diluted - **Market cap**: NOK 19.2bn (~$2bn at ~NOK 10/USD) as of 2 Oct 2020 - **Use of funds**: "Solid funding for strategic partnerships and non-organic growth"; Actimo acquisition completed Q4 2020. No specific capital raise or use-of-funds breakdown disclosed. - **No debt** --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why**: Multi-segment subscription SaaS ARR model with cohort retention overlay. Kahoot! has three distinct subscription tiers (School, Work, Home/Study) at different price points, strong NDR, and an acquisition (Actimo) to consolidate. The primary drivers are subscriber count growth by segment and ARPU by segment. A SaaS ARR + cash flow model is the right fit. This is a listed operating company - no need for a deal/SPAC model. - **Forecast horizon & granularity**: Quarterly through FY 2021–2022 (management targets through 2022/2023 given), then annual to 2025. Q1–Q4 quarterly granularity to capture seasonality (education cycle) and Actimo contribution. - **Key drivers & assumptions**: *Paid subscribers by segment (end of period):* - School: 180K in Q3 2020. Add ~60–70K/quarter; NDR 90%+ implies low churn - Work (excl. Actimo): 105K in Q3 2020. Add ~30–40K/quarter; NDR >100% for larger orgs implies net expansion - Home/Study: 75K in Q3 2020. Add ~20–25K/quarter - Actimo (Work+): Contributed ~10% of Q4 2020 invoiced revenue (~$1.4m); sub count not disclosed. Scale from Q4 2020 baseline - Management target: 400K+ by end FY 2020, +250K/year thereafter (excl. Home/Study) *ARPU by segment (annualized):* - School: List price from $3/teacher/month → ~$36/year; institutional/site licensing likely higher - Home/Study: From $5/user/month → ~$60/year - Work: From $10/user/month → ~$120/year; enterprise contracts likely higher - Blended ARPU implied ~$115–140/year based on Q3 2020 actuals *Revenue:* - FY 2020 guided $41–42m; implies Q4 2020 ~$14m - Management ARR target: $100m+ by end 2022, ~$150m+ by end 2023 - Apply segment ARPU × paid subs; sum to total invoiced revenue *Cash conversion & margins:* - Q3 2020 operating cash flow conversion: 45% of invoiced revenue - Q3 2020 EBITDA: >$1m (margin ~9%) - Management long-term EBITDA target: 40%+ margin - S&M: Effectively zero external; budget around product-led viral mechanics - R&D and G&A: scale with headcount; headcount 130+ in 2020; assume adds 20–30% annually *Active accounts (engagement metric):* - 21m+ LTM Q3 2020, management target 22m+ FY 2020; +3m net/year thereafter - Use as leading indicator / conversion funnel to paid subs (current conversion ~1.7% of active accounts to paid) *Cash:* - Opening cash $72m, zero debt - Operating CF exceeds EBITDA (management target) *Regional mix:* - USA & Canada ~49%, Europe ~35%, Rest ~16% of invoiced revenue - Assume proportional growth by region - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex)**: - Base: +250K net paid subs/year (excl. Home/Study per management target); ARPU flat; EBITDA margin expands to ~25% by 2022 - Bull: Net sub adds accelerate (+300K+/year); ARPU uplift from enterprise Work/Actimo upsell; EBITDA hits 40% by 2023 - Bear: Subscriber growth decelerates post-COVID tailwind (add only +150K/year); ARPU erosion from Home/Study weight; EBITDA margin stays sub-20% through 2023 - **Required sheets / outputs**: 1. Assumptions - all drivers, prices, growth rates, segment splits 2. Subscriber Model - quarterly paid subs by segment (School / Work / Home / Actimo); churn/net retention 3. Revenue Build - ARPU × subs by segment → total invoiced revenue; quarterly 4. P&L - Revenue, Gross Profit, S&M, R&D, G&A, EBITDA, Net Income 5. Cash Flow - Operating CF (EBITDA + WC), capex, M&A; opening/closing cash 6. KPI Dashboard - active accounts, paid subs, ARPU, invoiced revenue, EBITDA margin, cash conversion; quarterly 7. Scenario toggle - Base / Bull / Bear switcher on key growth and margin drivers ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Kahoot financial model free? Yes. The Kahoot 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.