# Our Future Financial Model

Short-form video business news and education platform targeting Gen Z, positioned as the missing media brand for that demographic.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/our-future
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/our-future.xlsx
- Category: EdTech
- Model type: Marketplace / GMV
- Funding round: Acquisition

- Founded: 2023
- Geography: Primarily U.S. (51% of audience [DECK sl.7]); secondary markets UK, Canada, India.
- Customer: B2B

## About the company

Our Future is a short-form video business-news and education platform aimed at Gen Z. It makes markets, careers, and economic issues accessible through a format native to younger audiences, positioning itself as a missing media brand for that demographic.

This is a content-first publisher, not SaaS. Revenue can come from advertising and sponsorships, licensing, subscriptions, and brand partnerships, with viewership scale and content output driving the economics; 51% of its audience was in the US, followed by the UK, Canada, and India.

The model builds media revenue from audience growth, views, ad yield, sponsorships, licensing, and paid products. Creator distribution, content production, platform costs, engagement, repeat audience, and advertiser demand determine contribution margin and operating cash needs.

## 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

Multi-channel short-form video content teaching Gen Z about business, finance, and entrepreneurship. Two active shows at time of deck:
- **Our Future Stories** - general business narratives hosted by Michael Sikand (TikTok: 125K followers).
- **Our Future Bites** - business news hosted by Jackson Kessler (TikTok: 104K followers).

Distributed across YouTube (67% of views), TikTok (30%), and Instagram (3%). Value prop to advertisers: only Gen Z-native business media brand; category gap in market (slide 1 positions Gen Z column as empty vs. Morning Brew for Millennials and Forbes/WSJ/CNBC for legacy audiences).

## Revenue model

Three revenue streams with stated mix:
1. **Advertising & Brand Sponsorships - 70%** of revenue. Sell access to Gen Z audience. Current advertisers include HubSpot, Morning Brew, The Hustle, Index Ventures, public.com, WONDR Gaming, StartEngine, Faves.
2. **Licensing Deals - 20%** of revenue. Co-branded content via partnerships, podcasts, newsletters, events, and original content.
3. **Subscription / Events - 10%** of revenue. Exclusive paywalled content and experiences via paid monthly subscriptions (described as future/planned, not yet active).

No pricing, CPM rates, deal sizes, or ARPU figures stated in deck.

## Traction & metrics

- 500M+ total views, Oct 2021 – Mar 2022 (6 months)
- 500K+ combined cross-platform subscribers
- 40.4% returning viewers
- Platform breakdown: 67% YouTube, 30% TikTok, 3% Instagram

**YouTube (last 365 days as of ~Mar 2022):**
- 409,025,939 views (>999% vs. prior 365 days)
- 4.1M watch hours (>999% vs. prior 365 days)
- +251.4K subscribers added (>999% vs. prior 365 days)
- 251,604 live subscriber count at time of screenshot
- Estimated revenue: $14,093.49 (YouTube AdSense only, last 365 days)
- 3,009,582 views last 48 hours
- Featured #6 Trending on YouTube homepage (DoorDash video, 476,656 views, Jan 5 2022)

**YouTube engagement vs. competitors:**
- Our Future: 166,000 subs, 60 posts, 5,929,837 interactions, **59.54% ER**
- Vox: 10.2M subs, 24 posts, 799,424 interactions, 0.33% ER
- Business Insider: 5.87M subs, 50 posts, 902,994 interactions, 0.31% ER
- Bloomberg Quicktake: 2.99M subs, 37 posts, 168,537 interactions, 0.15% ER
- VICE: 15.2M subs, 60 posts, 714,647 interactions, 0.08% ER
- Supporting metrics: 18.9M returning viewers, 46.7M unique viewers, +164.4K subscribers (+129%)

**TikTok engagement vs. competitors:**
- Our Future Bites: 104K followers, **9.43% ER**, 386 posts
- Our Future Stories: 125K followers, **14% ER**, 362 posts
- Morning Brew: 302.9K followers, 6.42% ER, 223 posts
- BuzzFeed: 1.1M followers, 1.54% ER, 2K posts
- Business Insider: 36.4K followers, 2.35% ER, 66 posts
- Planet Money: 642.8K followers, 5.73% ER, 246 posts

## Competition / moat

**Competitive positioning:**
- Millennials: Morning Brew, Cheddar News, Business Insider / TechCrunch
- Legacy: Forbes, WSJ, CNBC
- Gen Z: empty - Our Future claims this whitespace

**Moat claims:**
- Engagement rate structurally above incumbents (59.54% vs. <0.35% for much larger channels)
- TikTok ER of 9.43–14% vs. 1.54–6.42% for competitors
- Brand affinity with Gen Z creators/hosts (Jackson Kessler, Michael Sikand)
- Existing advertiser relationships (HubSpot, Morning Brew, Index Ventures)

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- Named hosts/creators: Jackson Kessler (Our Future Bites), Michael Sikand (Our Future Stories)
- No other team members named; no founder backgrounds disclosed
- No funding ask, raise amount, valuation, or use of funds stated in deck
- No investors or prior funding rounds mentioned

## Recommended financial model

**Archetype + why:** Digital media / creator revenue model. This is a content-first multi-platform publisher, not a SaaS or marketplace. Revenue is driven by viewership scale, sponsorship yield, and content output. Best modelled as a media P&L with three revenue lines (advertising/sponsorship, licensing, subscription) tied to audience growth and monetization rates.

**Forecast horizon & granularity:** Monthly for Year 1–2 (content cadence and sponsorship booking are monthly); quarterly for Years 3–5. 3-year operating model minimum; extend to 5 years if fundraising.

**Key drivers & assumptions:**
- Combined subscriber count: 500K+ → grow at 15%/month Year 1 tapering to 5%/month by Year 3; engagement-driven virality supports above-average early growth
- Monthly views: ~83M/month implied by 500M in 6 months → used as base run rate
- YouTube AdSense CPM: ~$1–3 RPM for finance/business niche; calibrate to $14K/yr AdSense shown - implies low direct monetization relative to views, confirming sponsorship is primary revenue
- Sponsorship revenue per video: $500–$5,000/video (early stage, growing); no deck data; benchmark against nano/micro-influencer B2B rates
- Licensing deal value: 20% of total revenue per stated mix; model as a fixed retainer or per-deal fee; no deal size disclosed
- Subscription ARPU: $5–10/month; 10% of revenue per stated mix; subscriber conversion rate 1–3% of combined audience
- Content cadence: ~3–5 videos/week across channels; drives sponsorship inventory
- Content cost per video: $500–$2,500 (small team, creator-led); major cost driver
- Platform mix: 67% YouTube / 30% TikTok / 3% Instagram - used to weight viewership and monetization by platform
- Headcount: founders + 2–5 contractors currently; model hiring plan tied to revenue milestones
- Gross margin: 60–75% before platform fees and content costs; high-margin at scale once content amortizes

**Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
- **Base:** Monthly sub growth 10–15%; sponsorship yield $1,500/video; 2 new channel verticals launched in Year 2
- **Bull:** Viral growth sustains at 20–25%/month; premium sponsorship deals ($5K+/video); early subscription traction; one licensing deal with major media co
- **Bear:** View growth plateaus; sponsorship yield stays low ($500/video); subscription launch delayed; creator turnover risk (key-person dependency)

**Required sheets / outputs:**
1. Assumptions tab (all drivers, platform-split inputs)
2. Audience growth model (subs + views by platform, monthly)
3. Revenue build: Advertising/Sponsorship, Licensing, Subscription - separate rows
4. Content cost schedule (videos produced × cost per video)
5. P&L (Revenue → Gross Profit → EBITDA)
6. Headcount plan
7. Cash flow / runway (critical: no disclosed funding, burn unknown)
8. KPI dashboard: Views, Subs, ER%, Revenue/view, Sponsorship deals closed

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Our Future financial model free?

Yes. The Our Future 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.