# Upvest Financial Model API-first Brokerage-as-a-Service infrastructure enabling fintechs and apps to embed investment products (securities, ETFs, crypto) without building their own brokerage stack. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/upvest - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/upvest.xlsx - Category: Crypto/Web3 - Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation - Funding round: Series A - Funding: $5M - Founded: 2020 - Geography: Germany (Berlin HQ); EU-wide expansion scope referenced [DECK slide 11]. - Customer: B2B2C ## About the company Upvest provides API-first Brokerage-as-a-Service infrastructure for fintechs and apps embedding securities, ETFs, and crypto. Clients can offer investment products without building their own brokerage stack, while Upvest supplies the regulated technology and operational layer behind the customer-facing experience. Berlin-based Upvest is designed for EU expansion and operates in a setting where custody, clearing, and regulatory capital shape the economics as much as software delivery. Its revenue can combine assets-under-custody fees with per-transaction charges, making end-investor growth at client platforms a key demand driver. Model platform clients, onboarded end-investor accounts, assets under custody, product mix, trades, and blended custody or transaction yield. Include clearing, custody, regulatory capital, compliance, API infrastructure, and customer-success costs. Client onboarding, AUC per client, trading activity, pricing, retention, and expansion into new EU markets should control the scenarios. ## 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 - Securities API allowing third-party apps (neobanks, fintechs, loyalty platforms) to offer investment products to their end users. - Four core use cases via the API: - Direct investments - fractional securities in-app - Saving plans - automated recurring investments - Round-ups - spare change converted to securities - Cashbacks - reward conversion into securities - All-in-one infrastructure stack: brokerage, settlement, custody, trading gateway, market data, tax reporting, compliance (MiFID II), and regulatory licensing (BaFin). - Key differentiation vs. DIY/incumbents: real-time onboarding, full UX customisation, multiple trade gateways, EU-wide tax and licensing coverage. - BaFin licensed, providing regulatory cover for clients. ## Market - No explicit TAM/SAM/SOM figures in deck. - Brokerage-as-a-Service market CAGR cited as 60%, vs. Banking-as-a-Service CAGR 48% and Payments infrastructure CAGR 12.5%. - Macro drivers cited: - Millennials projected to hold $20T in wealth by 2030. - Regulatory costs up ~800% over last 10 years, pushing fintechs toward securities brokerage to improve CLV. - Negative interest rates driving demand for yield-bearing investment products. ## Revenue model - Not explicitly stated in deck. Business model inferred: - Revenue likely structured as a combination of: (a) basis-point fee on Assets under Custody (AuC) / transaction volume, and/or (b) per-order/API-call fee, consistent with B2B infrastructure peers (e.g. Alpaca, DriveWealth, solarisBank). Rationale: deck tracks "Volume" (€10m → €100m → €1bn) as the primary growth metric, suggesting volume-linked monetisation. - Possible secondary revenue: monthly platform/access fees per client; not confirmed in deck. - Channels: direct B2B sales to fintechs, neobanks, loyalty/retail platforms. ## Traction & metrics - AuM / AuC volume: - €10m transaction volume - 2019 - €100m transaction volume - 2020 (10x YoY) - €1bn transaction volume - 2021 projection (10x YoY) - €100m+ in AuM at time of deck - Funding: €14m+ raised - Team: 25 full-time employees - Founded: 2017 - Named clients/partners: Exporo, Bitwala, cashlink, micobo, Brickblock - No revenue figures, client count, or retention data disclosed in deck. ## Competition / moat - Positioning: the "Stripe/Adyen of brokerage" - infrastructure layer beneath consumer-facing apps. - Competitive context: - Payment infrastructure analogy: Stripe, Adyen, Marqeta (started ~2010, CAGR 12.5%) - Banking infrastructure: Thought Machine, Mambu, solarisBank (started ~2015, CAGR 48%) - Brokerage infrastructure: Upvest as the designated winner (started ~2020, CAGR 60%) - Moat factors cited: - BaFin licence (regulatory barrier) - EU-wide tax and compliance coverage - Multi-gateway access (not single-exchange dependency) - Real-time onboarding vs. legacy >24h - Full UX customisation ## Team & funding ask / use of funds - Leadership: - Martin Kassing - CEO & Founder (finleap, Klarna) - Tobias Auferoth - CFO & MD (Goldman Sachs, UBS) - Parker Crockford - VP Growth (Judo, Onfido) - Til Rochow - CPO (Raisin, McKinsey) - Juha Ristolainen - CTO (TransferWise, Futurice) - Investors: Notion, Speedinvest, Partech, HV Capital, Earlybird; EU Regional Development Fund co-funding one project. - Total funding: €14m+ --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why:** API/infrastructure platform model with AuC-based revenue (similar to B2B BaaS / usage-based SaaS). Primary driver is Assets under Custody × blended fee rate, with client count and average AuC per client as sub-drivers. A 3-statement model is appropriate given BaFin-licensed balance sheet requirements (custody assets, regulatory capital). - **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 3–5 years; monthly for Years 1–2 (to capture ramp of new client onboarding), quarterly thereafter. - **Key drivers & assumptions:** - AuC / transaction volume: €100m (2020 actual) → €1bn (2021 projected) → growth decelerates to ~3–4x in 2022, ~2x in 2023–2024 as base grows; rationale: 10x trajectory is early-stage; infrastructure platforms historically decelerate post-€1bn AuC. - Revenue take rate: 10–30 bps on AuC/volume (range consistent with comparable BaaS infrastructure providers); to be confirmed if pricing data available. - Number of client fintech/app integrations: ~5–10 live clients at end of 2020 (inferred from named clients); growth ~50–100% per year driven by EU expansion. - Average AuC per client: grows as clients scale their own user bases. - Headcount: 25 FTE at time of deck; scales ~30–40% per year ahead of revenue, common for infrastructure buildout. - Gross margin: 60–75% at scale (software/API infrastructure with custodian pass-through costs); lower early due to fixed regulatory/compliance overhead. - R&D and S&M as % of revenue: high early (>50% combined), normalising to 30–40% by Year 3–4. - Regulatory capital requirements: modest but non-zero given BaFin licence; model as fixed cost line. - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):** - Bull: 10x AuC growth sustains through 2022; fee rate stable; 15+ new client signings per year. - Base: AuC grows 3–5x annually through 2023; fee rate holds; 8–12 new clients per year. - Bear: AuC growth slows to 2x (competitive pressure, slower client onboarding); fee compression to <10 bps; 4–6 new clients per year. - **Required sheets / outputs:** - Assumptions (all drivers with scenario toggles) - Revenue build (clients × avg AuC × fee rate; by use-case type optional) - P&L (gross profit, EBITDA, net income) - Headcount & OpEx schedule - Balance sheet (regulatory capital, custody assets off-balance or noted) - Cash flow & runway - KPI dashboard (AuC, client count, revenue per client, gross margin %) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Upvest financial model free? Yes. The Upvest 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.