Spacecadet Ventures Financial Model
Hardware/Deep-tech Startup Financials (Free Excel Download)
Spacecadet+ is a marketing-focused pre-seed/seed venture fund that provides brand storytelling services to portfolio companies alongside capital.
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About this model
Spacecadet+ is a marketing-focused early-stage venture fund pairing seed capital with brand-storytelling services. Its differentiated proposition combines investment returns with hands-on portfolio support, using creative and marketing expertise to help founders sharpen company narratives and commercial positioning.
The economics combine conventional LP/GP fund mechanics with service revenue. Management fees fund the management company while capital is deployed into seed investments; carry depends on eventual portfolio outcomes, and the services offering can create near-term revenue but also consumes specialist team capacity.
Model commitments, closing timing, management fees, service contracts, portfolio deployment, reserves, exits, carry, and distributions. Include investment-team and creative-studio payroll, operating expenses, and fund administration. Fund size, deployment pace, service utilisation, fee coverage, portfolio values, exit timing, and carry allocation should drive scenarios.
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 Spacecadet Ventures
spacecadet.ventures
How to build a detailed financial model for Spacecadet Ventures
A complete walkthrough of the business, drivers, and assumptions behind the downloadable Spacecadet Ventures model - distilled from its pitch deck and publicly available information.
Product & value proposition
Spacecadet+ positions itself as "The Marketing VC." It invests at pre-seed/seed and runs proprietary "Story Sprints" - a five-step process (Competitive Cosmos → Audience Probe → Unearth Values → Locate Northstar → Craft Narrative) - to help portfolio companies develop brand narrative, which the fund claims accelerates growth, hiring, fundraising, and exit value. Founders and major brands (Coca-Cola, Nike, Spotify, TikTok, Netflix, etc.) are cited as prior clients of the founding team.
Revenue model
Standard VC fund economics:
- Management fee: 2.5% per year on committed capital.
- Carried interest: 20% of profits above return of capital.
- GP commit: 1%.
- Deal structure: Direct investment in portfolio companies + follow-on via SPV.
- No management fee revenue figure or LP fee schedule shown.
Traction & metrics
- 37 deals made.
- $5.9M invested to date.
- 14 portfolio markups.
- Top markups by company:
- MEM: 8× (lead follow-on: Polychain Capital)
- ContentFly: 5.93× (Khosla)
- Levels: 5.1× (a16z)
- Pawp: 3.42× (Lux Capital)
- Hyphen: 3.33× (Tiger Global)
- Campus: 3.33× (Sam Altman)
- Ramp: 3.15× (Founders Fund)
- Airhouse: 3× (Draper Nexus)
- Plus 6 more with follow-ons from a16z, Accel, GGV.
- Deal sourcing funnel: See 200–300 deals/month → diligence 10–15/month → invest 2–3/month.
- $6M raised vs. $10M target fund size.
Unit economics
- Annual mgmt fee on $10M fund = $250K/year.
- Avg check size implied: $5.9M ÷ 37 deals ≈ $159K/deal.
- Target: 80 investments over ~2 years with 100 checks written.
- No carried interest projections, DPI, or TVPI disclosed.
Competition / moat
- "Marketing VC" positioning - brand/storytelling value-add on top of capital is the stated moat.
- Founding team credentials: co-founders Wiz (2× exited HR founder, valued at $100M+; 60+ angel/advisor roles) and Dan (2× exited media founder, 35M+ visitors/year, BuzzFeed Labs Innovation Partner, ex-Anomaly Exec Creative Director - Adage #1 Agency).
- Blue-chip LP network (Bain Capital Ventures, Matt Mullenweg/Automattic CEO, COO Airbnb China, Kid Studio/Drake & The Weeknd & Nike, Eddy Lazzarin/a16z Engineering Head, etc.).
- Co-investment relationships with a16z, Accel, Founders Fund, GGV, Lux Capital, Tiger Global, Greylock, YC, etc..
Team & funding ask / use of funds
Team:
- Wiz (Star Connector): 2× exited HR founder (valued at $100M+); 60+ angel/advisor roles; MIT Exec Ed Design Thinking; HBS Online Disruptive Strategy.
- Dan (Story Scientist): 2× exited media founder; 35M+ visitors/year; BuzzFeed Labs Innovation Partner; Exec Creative Director at Anomaly (Adage #1 Agency).
Fund raise / use of funds:
- Target fund: $10M.
- Currently raised: $6M (implied from cover).
- Remaining to close: ~$4M.
- Deployment: 100 checks / ~80 investments over ~2 years at pre-seed/seed stage.
- Mechanism: Direct investment + follow-on via SPV.
- GP commit: 1% (~$100K on $10M fund).
- LPs offered participation in deal flow shared directly with them.
Recommended financial model
- Archetype + why: Venture fund economics model (not an operating startup model). Spacecadet+ is a fund, so the right model is a VC fund waterfall / J-curve model - tracking capital deployment, fair-value markups, management fee P&L, carried interest calculation, DPI/TVPI/RVPI, and LP return waterfall. Not a SaaS, DTC, or 3-statement operating model.
- Forecast horizon & granularity: 10-year fund life (standard VC); quarterly for deployment (years 1–2 active investment), annual thereafter for value creation and exit harvesting. Vintage year: 2021 (per deck context).
- Key drivers & assumptions:
- Fund size: $10M target; $6M currently raised; model both $6M close and $10M close scenarios.
- Management fee rate: 2.5% p.a. on committed capital; step-down after investment period.
- Carry rate: 20%.
- GP commit: 1% (~$100K).
- Portfolio construction: ~80 investments over 2 years; avg check ~$125K; follow-on reserve.
- Markup multiples: Observed portfolio shows 3×–8× on marked positions; base assumption = 3× MOIC on realized exits; bull = 5×; bear = 1.5×.
- Loss rate:.
- Exit timing:.
- DPI target:.
- Deployment pace: 2–3 investments/month.
- Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):
- Base: Fund closes at $10M; 80 investments; 40% write-off rate; 3× gross MOIC on survivors; 7-year avg exit.
- Bull: Fund closes at $10M; 80 investments; 25% write-off; 5× gross MOIC; 5-year exits; 1–2 breakout positions (10×+).
- Bear: Fund closes at $6M (current raise, fails to reach target); 60 investments; 50% write-off; 1.5× gross MOIC; 9-year exits; drag on management fee income.
- Required sheets / outputs:
- Assumptions - Fund size, fee rates, carry, hurdle, deployment schedule, loss rate, MOIC by cohort.
- Deployment schedule - Quarterly capital deployment over 24-month investment period.
- Portfolio model - Per-company investment, markup multiple, exit timing, realized/unrealized value.
- Management fee P&L - Annual fee income, fund expenses, GP net income.
- Fund waterfall - Return of capital → preferred return (if any) → carry split (80/20); LP vs. GP distributions by year.
- J-curve - Cumulative net cash flow to LPs (contributions negative, distributions positive) by year.
- Fund KPIs - TVPI, DPI, RVPI, net IRR by scenario.
- Sensitivity table - MOIC × loss rate → net IRR to LPs.
Frequently asked
Is the Spacecadet Ventures financial model free?+
Yes. The Spacecadet Ventures 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 Spacecadet Ventures'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
Created by ex-finance professionals
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