# Sherpa Financial Model B2B SaaS API that notifies, guides, and validates traveller eVisa/eTA compliance for airlines, OTAs, GDSs, and airports. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/sherpa - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/sherpa.xlsx - Category: Media/Gaming - Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation - Funding round: Seed - Funding: $2.5M - Founded: 2020 - Geography: Global; deck dated January 2019. - Customer: B2C ## About the company 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. ## 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-step workflow: 1. **Notify** - proactively alert travellers (and airlines) when a valid eVisa/eTA is not found on a passport. 2. **Guide** - embedded application flow within the airline/OTA checkout experience; passport OCR pre-fills the application, reducing errors. 3. **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**: 1. **Assumptions** - all drivers with / tags 2. **Pipeline & Contract Model** - funnel from pipeline (75 companies) → signed → live, by channel (Airlines / Distributors & Airports / GDSs & PPSs) 3. **Revenue** - Stream 1: B2B SaaS/platform fees; Stream 2: eVisa transaction fees ($5/eVisa × volume) 4. **Cost / Headcount** - opex split per deck's pie (Growth, Ops, Product, Success, Office); headcount by function 5. **P&L** - annual 2019–2022, monthly Year 1 6. **Cash Flow & Runway** - $1.5M seed; burn to $3M ARR milestone 7. **Scenarios** - Base / Bull / Bear toggle on key drivers 8. **TAM Bridge** - eVisa country coverage growth → addressable traveller volume → Sherpa-reachable transactions (ties slides 5–7 + 15 together) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Sherpa financial model free? Yes. The Sherpa 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.