Sherpa Financial Model
Media/Gaming Startup Financials (Free Excel Download)
B2B SaaS API that notifies, guides, and validates traveller eVisa/eTA compliance for airlines, OTAs, GDSs, and airports.
professionals from Deloitte
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About this model
Sherpa offers a travel-documentation API for airlines, airports, online travel agencies, and distribution systems. Its workflow notifies travellers of missing eVisas or eTAs, guides them through a passport-OCR application flow, and validates documentation status for airline staff through a seat-map overlay.
Revenue combines a B2B SaaS or platform fee with an ancillary transaction share. Sherpa retains $5 from an average $20 eVisa service fee when a traveller applies through the embedded flow. The platform also aims to reduce airline documentation fines and check-in friction, although its base pricing is not disclosed.
The deck cites 75 companies added to the pipeline in six months: 51 airlines, 14 distributors or airports, and ten GDS or passenger-processing providers. It reports no signed customers, revenue, or application volume. The model should use live partners, passengers, application conversion, fee share, implementation cost, and renewal assumptions.
A turnkey financial model
Live formulas, no hardcoded values
Outputs are driven by live formulas, so the workbook updates from its assumptions instead of relying on hardcoded results.
All assumptions in one tab
Inputs are clearly marked in the Assumptions tab and separated from calculations, making it clear what to change and what to leave intact.
Statements always balancing
For integrated-statement models, the balance sheet, cash flow, and supporting schedules tie through properly.
Distinct schedules for clarity
Debt, working capital, taxes, and cash flow can get messy quickly. We group calculations in clear schedules, not across disconnected tabs.
No hidden macros or external links
There are no unexplained external workbook links or macros to undermine auditability or portability.
Changes flow through the model
Update a key driver and see the impact carry through the forecast, financing, and return outputs. We never use hardcoded numbers in formulas.
About Sherpa
sherpa.com
How to build a detailed financial model for Sherpa
A complete walkthrough of the business, drivers, and assumptions behind the downloadable Sherpa model - distilled from its pitch deck and publicly available information.
Product & value proposition
Three-step workflow:
- Notify - proactively alert travellers (and airlines) when a valid eVisa/eTA is not found on a passport.
- Guide - embedded application flow within the airline/OTA checkout experience; passport OCR pre-fills the application, reducing errors.
- Validate - real-time eTA/eVisa status overlay on airline seat map so check-in agents see compliance at a glance.
Positioning: first general-purpose API for travel visas; built for scale with new electronic documentation; offers distributors a revenue-generating integration (ancillary revenue share).
Market
eVisa country coverage trajectory (market expansion driver):
- 2016: 20 countries → 1 in 100 international travellers affected
- 2018: 40+ countries → 1 in 10 international travellers affected
- 2020 (projected): 80+ countries → 1 in 4 international travellers affected
SaaS opportunity (B2B - airline documentation fines/ops):
- Average documentation fine: $3,500/PAX
- Check-in costs and lost opportunity: $0.45/PAX
- TAM (fine avoidance): $500M; SAM (addressable near-term): $2B
Ancillary revenue opportunity (eVisa facilitation fees):
- Average service fee: $20/eVisa
- Sherpa's share: $5/eVisa
- TAM: $6B; SAM: $1.5B
Revenue model
Two revenue streams implied by the deck:
Stream 1 - B2B SaaS subscription / platform fee (slide 14 frames as "SaaS Opportunity"):
- Sold to airlines, airports, OTAs, GDSs, PPSs.
- Value driver: reduces $3,500/PAX documentation fines and $0.45/PAX check-in friction costs.
- Pricing structure not explicitly stated; TAM framing ($500M–$2B) implies per-PAX or per-seat licence.
Stream 2 - Transaction/ancillary revenue share (slide 15 "Ancillary Revenue Opportunity"):
- Sherpa takes $5 of the $20 average eVisa service fee per transaction.
- Revenue flows when a traveller applies through the Sherpa-embedded flow.
- TAM: $6B; Sherpa-addressable: $1.5B.
Channels: airlines (51 in pipeline), distributors & airports (14), GDSs & PPSs (10).
Traction & metrics
- Pipeline: 75 companies added in 6 months
- 51 Airlines
- 14 Distributors & Airports
- 10 GDSs & PPSs
- No signed contract counts, live-customer counts, GMV, or revenue-to-date figures disclosed in the deck.
Unit economics
- Sherpa revenue per eVisa transaction: $5
- Average end-customer service fee: $20/eVisa
- Implied take rate: 25% of service fee.
- No CAC, LTV, payback period, or gross margin data in deck.
Competition / moat
Competitive landscape framed as fragmented and unscalable:
- B2C eVisas: iVisa.com, Fulfill Solutions, Visas Simply
- Mobility/immigration services: VFS, CIBTvisas, VisaPro, Immigration Attorneys
- Information only: IATA TravelDoc, VisaHQ, Visa Guide
- Automated couriers (unnamed)
Moat claims:
- First mover: only general-purpose API for visas.
- Focus on scale: built for electronic/scalable travel documentation.
- Revenue-driving offer: distributors earn ancillary revenue, lowering adoption friction.
Team & funding ask / use of funds
Team:
- Max Tremaine / CEO - Lead @ Nielsen & Tier1CRM; Founder @ TravelTechTO; Strategy & Business Operations
- Ivan Sharko / CPO - Lead @ SidLee; Founder @ Arbiter; Design, Development & Product Operations
- Jake Kotzer / Director, Growth & Partnerships - Executive @ Vision Critical; Founder @ FirstInterview; Sales & Partnerships
Advisors:
- Erik Blachford - prev. CEO @ IAC/Expedia
- Stuart MacDonald - prev. Founder @ Expedia.ca
- Sveinn Akerlie - CIO & Head of WOW Labs @ WOW Air
Funding ask: $1.5M seed
Use of funds (Fixed Cost Breakdown pie chart):
- Growth: 33.7%
- Ops: 33.3%
- Product: 13.6%
- Success: 9.5%
- Office: 10.0%
Revenue targets:
- 2020: $3M revenue
- 2022: $30M revenue
- Revenue chart y-axis extends to $125M, with an A-Round marker implied around 2021.
Recommended financial model
- Archetype + why: Dual-stream B2B SaaS + transaction/ancillary revenue model. The deck presents two distinct revenue lines - a platform/SaaS fee to airlines (valued on fine avoidance) and a per-transaction eVisa fee share ($5/eVisa). A combined model is needed that separately tracks contracted B2B seats/licences and transaction volume. Closest archetype is a marketplace/API business with a subscription layer.
- Forecast horizon & granularity: 2019–2022 (4 years), annual, matching the deck's own horizon. Monthly detail for Year 1 to track $1.5M runway burn to $3M revenue milestone.
- Key drivers & assumptions:
- *B2B pipeline conversion rate*: 75 companies in pipeline; % converting to paying contracts
- *Contracted airline PAX per airline customer*:
- *eVisa-eligible PAX rate*: 1 in 10 travellers in 2018 → 1 in 4 by 2020; drives addressable transaction volume
- *eVisa application conversion rate*: % of eligible PAX who apply via Sherpa
- *Sherpa revenue per eVisa*: $5/transaction
- *SaaS/platform fee per airline per year*:
- *Gross margin*:
- *Headcount ramp*: implied by cost breakdown (Growth 33.7%, Ops 33.3%, Product 13.6%, Success 9.5%, Office 10.0%); absolute headcount not stated
- *Burn rate*: $1.5M raise implies ~12–18 months runway
- *Revenue milestones*: $3M by 2020, $30M by 2022
- Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):
- Base: Pipeline conversion 25%, eVisa application rate 8%, 40 airline contracts by 2022, SaaS + transaction revenue as modelled.
- Bull: Faster country expansion (80+ countries by 2020 as projected), conversion 40%, application rate 15%; A-Round closes 2021 accelerating Growth & Product spend.
- Bear: Slow enterprise sales (conversion 15%), eVisa adoption delayed, transaction take rate compressed by government API competition; runway exhausted without bridging.
- Required sheets / outputs:
- Assumptions - all drivers with / tags
- Pipeline & Contract Model - funnel from pipeline (75 companies) → signed → live, by channel (Airlines / Distributors & Airports / GDSs & PPSs)
- Revenue - Stream 1: B2B SaaS/platform fees; Stream 2: eVisa transaction fees ($5/eVisa × volume)
- Cost / Headcount - opex split per deck's pie (Growth, Ops, Product, Success, Office); headcount by function
- P&L - annual 2019–2022, monthly Year 1
- Cash Flow & Runway - $1.5M seed; burn to $3M ARR milestone
- Scenarios - Base / Bull / Bear toggle on key drivers
- TAM Bridge - eVisa country coverage growth → addressable traveller volume → Sherpa-reachable transactions (ties slides 5–7 + 15 together)
Frequently asked
Is the Sherpa financial model free?+
Yes. The Sherpa model is a free Excel (.xlsx) download with live formulas. Sign up with your email and the workbook is yours to keep, review, and edit.
What's included in the model?+
A 5-year monthly forecast with P&L, cash flow and runway, valuation (exit multiple plus a DCF cross-check), MOIC/IRR returns, and unit economics, with live formulas throughout.
How was this model built?+
It was built from Sherpa's pitch deck and publicly available information, then structured to investment-banking standards as a fully editable Excel model.
Can I change the assumptions?+
Yes. You can change assumptions and the live formulas will recalculate in the downloadable Excel model.
Have more financial modelling questions? Contact us
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