# Stoke Financial Model SaaS platform that lets enterprises source, onboard, pay, and govern on-demand / freelance talent through a single cloud hub. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/stoke - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/stoke.xlsx - Category: Marketplace - Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation - Funding round: Seed - Funding: $45M - Founded: 2019 - Geography: Not in deck (team is Israel-based ex-VMware/Kenshoo; marketplace integrations are US-centric - Upwork, Toptal, Fiverr, etc.). - Customer: B2B ## About the company Stoke is an enterprise platform for sourcing, onboarding, paying, and governing freelance and on-demand talent. It sits above external marketplaces and individual providers, giving organizations policy controls, contracting, approval workflows, consolidated invoicing, and budget visibility. The product is designed for enterprise buyers that need control without sacrificing access to flexible talent. The deck was pre-revenue, but its commercial structure points to a recurring SaaS fee for governance and a possible transaction cut on freelancer payments passing through the platform. The model should use enterprise accounts, active managers or workers, subscription price, implementation timing, and churn to build ARR. Freelancer spend, payment volume, and a flexible take rate can form a secondary revenue layer. Sales cycles, customer activation, managed spend, compliance costs, and retention are the central forecast 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 Stoke is an "On-Demand Talent Cloud" - a unified platform sitting on top of freelance marketplaces (Upwork, Toptal, Freelancer, Fiverr, 99designs) and verified individual freelancers and service providers. Key capability pillars: - **Talent Access**: model-based policies, pay-band controls, top-talent-to-cost-effective tiers. - **Trusted Hiring**: digital contracting, predefined contract templates, onboarding/offboarding. - **Transparent Budget Control**: digital approvals, built-in notifications. - **Payments**: one aggregated invoice, flexible hourly / project-based payment. - **Policy & Governance**: role-based access, downstream budget, upstream approvals. - **Regulatory Compliance**: workforce classification assurance (1099 vs W-2), on-time payments. Mission: "Empower organizational leaders to embrace on-demand talent so they can increase productivity and democratize access to skills and knowledge." ## Market - No explicit TAM/SAM/SOM figures in deck. - Market context: 1099-MISC forms (freelance) indexed to ~120 in 2014 vs. ~95 for W-2 forms, both indexed to 100 in 2000. Freelance workforce growth is 3× faster than traditional workforce. - 65% of executives say external workforce is "important or very important to operate at full capacity." - No dollar market size cited. ## Revenue model Not explicitly stated in deck. Based on platform description: - SaaS subscription (seat-based or per-active-worker) charged to enterprise buyers - consistent with "model-based policies," role-based access, budget control tooling. - Possible take-rate / transaction fee on freelancer payments flowing through the platform (aggregated invoice model suggests Stoke may sit in the payment flow). - Channels: direct enterprise sales (implied by focus on "organizational leaders" and approval-chain governance). ## Traction & metrics - Soft launch / Open Beta targeting ~30 customers in Q4 2019 - implies pre-revenue at time of deck. - Market Launch targeted Q1 2020. - No revenue, ARR, MRR, customer count (current), GMV, or retention figures in deck. ## Competition / moat Not explicitly named in deck. Implied differentiation: - Sits above existing marketplaces (Upwork, Toptal, Freelancer, Fiverr, 99designs) rather than competing with them - aggregator layer. - Moat claim: compliance / classification assurance (1099 vs W-2), policy governance, and single aggregated invoice - pain points not solved by point marketplace tools. - Adjacent competitive space (not named in deck): Workmarket, Coupa Contingent Workforce, SAP Fieldglass, Beeline. ## Team & funding ask / use of funds **Founders**: - Shahar Erez - Co-founder, CEO; formerly CPO & CMO Kenshoo, Sr. Dir Product VMware. - Hilik Paz - Co-founder, CTO; formerly VP R&D Cloudyn (acquired by Microsoft), Sr. Dir Engineering VMware. **Advisory / Board**: - Boaz Chalamish (Board) - CEO Clarizen, GM VMware, SVP R&D HP SW & Mercury. - Bogomil Balkansky (Investor) - Prev VP Recruiting Solutions Google, Bebop founding team, SVP Cloud Infrastructure VMware. - Gil Bickel - Global Procurement Amdocs. - Vered Raviv - COO Guesty, prev COO Fiverr. --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why**: B2B SaaS ARR model with a GMV / take-rate overlay. The platform charges enterprises a recurring SaaS fee for the governance/compliance layer, and likely earns a transaction cut on freelancer spend flowing through. Both levers need modelling; the SaaS seat/subscription component is the primary valuation driver at this stage. - **Forecast horizon & granularity**: Monthly for Years 1–2 (pre-revenue through early commercialisation); annual for Years 3–5. Given deck is circa late 2018/early 2019, model should open Jan 2019 and run to Dec 2023. - **Key drivers & assumptions**: - **Customers (logo count)** - Beta cohort: ~30 in Q4 2019; market launch Q1 2020. - Post-launch ramp: 5–10 new logos/month in Year 1 post-launch, scaling to 20–30/month by Year 2; enterprise sales cycle 60–90 days. - **ACV (Annual Contract Value) per customer**: $30k–$80k range for SME/mid-market enterprise; placeholder $50k base case pending pricing validation. - **Freelancer spend under management (GMV) per customer**: $200k–$1M/year per enterprise; drives take-rate revenue if applicable. - **Take-rate on GMV**: 2–4% (typical HR-tech/VMS range); only model if deck confirms payment flow sits with Stoke. - **Gross margin on SaaS**: 70–80% at scale; typical for B2B SaaS. - **Headcount**: seed team 2+4 growing to 2+10 by Q4 2019; sales/CS hires post-market-launch. - **Churn / net revenue retention**: 8% annual gross logo churn; 105% NRR base case (expansion through additional seats/modules). - **CAC**: $20k–$40k blended (enterprise outbound); placeholder pending sales team sizing. - **Payback period**: 12–18 months at $50k ACV and $30k CAC. - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex)**: - **Base**: 30 beta customers → 150 logos by end-Year 1 post-launch → 500 by end-Year 2; $50k ACV; 8% churn. - **Bull**: faster enterprise adoption (20+ logos/month), upsell into GMV take-rate, ACV expands to $80k via module adds. - **Bear**: slow enterprise sales cycle, beta-to-paid conversion <50%, ACV stays $30k, no take-rate revenue materialises. - Flex variables: logo growth rate, ACV, take-rate activation, churn. - **Required sheets / outputs**: 1. **Assumptions** - all drivers in one place with Base/Bull/Bear toggles. 2. **Revenue Build** - SaaS ARR waterfall (new / expansion / churn / net) + optional GMV take-rate module. 3. **Headcount & Opex** - salary by function (Eng, Sales, CS, G&A), external contractor spend. 4. **P&L (Income Statement)** - monthly Y1–Y2, annual Y3–Y5; gross margin, EBITDA. 5. **Cash & Runway** - cash burn, months of runway, fundraise trigger. 6. **KPI Dashboard** - ARR, logo count, ACV, NRR, CAC, LTV, LTV/CAC, runway. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Stoke financial model free? Yes. The Stoke 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.