# Starburst Financial Model

Enterprise data analytics platform ("Analytics Anywhere") built on open-source Trino/PrestoSQL - lets companies query data across any source without centralising it first.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/starburst
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/starburst.xlsx
- Category: Enterprise/Security
- Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation
- Funding round: Series D
- Funding: $250M
- Founded: 2022
- Geography: Global (US-headquartered; customers across US and Europe confirmed by logos) [DECK slide 12].
- Customer: B2B

## About the company

Starburst lets enterprises query data across sources without centralising it first. Built on open-source Trino and PrestoSQL, the platform's Analytics Anywhere proposition supports distributed data access across an organisation's existing technical environment.

The company sells annual enterprise subscriptions and had raised $164 million at the time of its deck. Technical adoption can begin with a focused workload and expand across data sources, users, and environments, making net retention and deployment breadth central commercial assumptions.

The model builds subscription ARR from new logos, ACV, expansion, and churn. It can include a clearly separated consumption sensitivity where Starburst Galaxy evidence supports it, while infrastructure costs, sales capacity, R&D, gross margin, and operating expenses determine runway.

## 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

- Starburst Enterprise: a distributed SQL query engine (Trino / PrestoSQL) that sits on top of existing data sources (data lakes, warehouses, operational RDBMS, streaming, non-relational DBs) and queries them in place - no data movement required.
- Deployed on-prem, hybrid, cloud, or multi-cloud.
- Core pitch: replaces the "move everything into one EDW" model. Data stays where it lives; Starburst federates queries across it.
- Positioned as "The Analytics Engine for Data Mesh".
- Key technical differentiators called out: performance, connectivity, query auditing, global security, fine-grained access control, column + row-level permissions.

## Market

- Big Data Market Size ('24): $164B
- Sub-markets addressed:
  - BI Market ('25): $33B
  - Data Warehousing Market ('25): $30B
  - Data Integration Market ('25): $18B
  - Data Lake Market ('26): $17B
- Starburst stated TAM: $100B+ (intersection of sub-markets above)

## Revenue model

- Not explicitly stated in deck.
- Enterprise software licensing / subscription (annual contracts), consistent with Starburst Enterprise branding and standard data infrastructure go-to-market. Likely seat-based or compute/cluster-based pricing.
- Possible cloud consumption component for Starburst Galaxy (cloud-native SaaS offering known from public context; not named in this deck).
- Distribution: direct enterprise sales (implied by named enterprise customer logos and "Starburst Voyagers" customer community program).

## Traction & metrics

- Total funding raised: $164M
- Net Promoter Score: 85
- Named investors: Index Ventures, Coatue, a16z, Salesforce Ventures
- Named customers: Comcast, Verizon, Condé Nast, VMware, FINRA, Grubhub, M&S, Upwork, Simon, EMIS, Carrefour, Prezi
- Awards: InfoWorld Technology of the Year 2021; Data Breakthrough Award 2021 - Data Source Solution of the Year
- "Largest team of Trino experts in the world"

## Competition / moat

- Implicit competitive framing vs. legacy on-prem data warehouses (Teradata) and cloud data warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift implied by "move all your data into one place... in the cloud" critique).
- Moat claims:
  - Founded by and employs the original creators and top committers of Presto/Trino open-source project: Justin Borgman (ex-Teradata), Matthew Fuller, Kamil Bajda-Pawlikowski, Martin Traverso, Dain Sundstrom, David Phillips (Facebook alumni).
  - Authors of "Presto: The Definitive Guide" (O'Reilly).
  - "100% committed to Trino" - deepest OSS expertise claim.
  - 85 NPS implies strong retention / low churn.

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- CEO/Co-Founder: Justin Borgman (ex-Teradata)
- Other co-founders: Matthew Fuller, Kamil Bajda-Pawlikowski (ex-Teradata), Martin Traverso, Dain Sundstrom, David Phillips (ex-Facebook)
- Total raised to date: $164M

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## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why:** Enterprise SaaS ARR model. Starburst sells annual subscription licenses to large enterprises; the key value driver is ARR growth (new logos + expansion), retention (NRR), and path to profitability. A consumption overlay can be added if Starburst Galaxy data is available, but the deck frames this as subscription/enterprise go-to-market.

- **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 5 years (Year 1–5); quarterly for Y1–Y2, annual for Y3–Y5. Monthly granularity is unnecessary given no disclosed MRR base.

- **Key drivers & assumptions:**

| Driver | Value |
| -- | -- |
| Starting ARR | Unknown |
| New logo growth rate (Y1–Y3) | 40–60% YoY |
| Average ACV (new logos) | $150K–$300K |
| Net Revenue Retention (NRR) | 120–130% |
| Gross margin | 70–75% |
| Sales & marketing as % of revenue | 40–50% |
| R&D as % of revenue | 25–35% |
| G&A as % of revenue | 10–15% |
| Rule of 40 target | >40 by Y3 |
| TAM penetration ceiling | $100B stated |

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
  - **Base:** 50% ARR growth Y1–Y2, tapering to 35% by Y5; NRR 120%; gross margin 72%.
  - **Bull:** 70% ARR growth Y1–Y2, NRR 130%, faster logo adds; margin expansion to 78% by Y5.
  - **Bear:** 30% ARR growth, NRR 110% (macro headwinds, elongated enterprise sales cycles), gross margin 68%.

- **Required sheets / outputs:**
  1. Assumptions - all drivers with toggle for Base/Bull/Bear
  2. ARR Bridge - new ARR, expansion ARR, churned ARR, net new ARR
  3. Income Statement - revenue, COGS, gross profit, OpEx (S&M, R&D, G&A), EBITDA, net income
  4. Headcount Plan - sales, engineering, G&A (feeds S&M and R&D lines)
  5. Cash & Runway - burn rate, cash balance given $164M raised (partial; actual cash unknown)
  6. Unit Economics - ACV, CAC, LTV, payback (inputs assumed; update when data available)
  7. Dashboard - ARR waterfall, NRR trend, Rule of 40, burn multiple

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Starburst financial model free?

Yes. The Starburst 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.