# Yac Financial Model

Async voice messaging tool that eliminates unnecessary meetings for remote and distributed teams.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/yac
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/yac.xlsx
- Category: Enterprise/Security
- Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation
- Funding round: Series A
- Funding: $7.5M
- Founded: 2021
- Geography: US-based; targeting distributed/remote teams globally.
- Customer: B2C

## About the company

Yac is an asynchronous voice-messaging product for remote and distributed teams. It helps colleagues replace unnecessary meetings with short recorded messages and a more flexible communication workflow.

The company uses a freemium product-led model with a paid Teams tier. Individual adoption can spread within a workspace, creating the central commercial path from free usage to paid seats and account expansion.

The model follows free users through activation, paid conversion, team seats, expansion, and churn. Audio delivery, PLG acquisition, gross margin, customer support, product investment, and sales assistance determine ARR and cash 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

- Podcast-like voice messages sent asynchronously - no scheduling, no calls, no overhead.
- Features: unlimited voice messages, transcription & full-text search, screen & cam recording, playback speed controls (1x/2x), heard-status, Slack-like channels, group messaging, selfie/rear-facing cam, photo/video attachments, unread inbox.
- Deep Slack integration: replaces Slack call button, messages play natively in Slack - one of very few companies with this permission.
- Miro co-branding partnership for async workshops in progress.
- BackTrack companion app: #9 for Utilities on Mac App Store.
- Value claim: teams save avg. $35,000+/year/employee in meeting time; avg. 10 meetings/week saved; users feel 2–3x more connected.

## Market

- No explicit TAM/SAM/SOM figures in deck.
- Problem framing (proxy for market size): employees spend 31 hours/month in unproductive meetings; businesses spend 68 hours/month clarifying prior communication.
- Competitive positioning: quadrant map places Yac in the shortform + async quadrant - distinct from Zoom/Teams (sync/longform), Slack (shortform/sync), Loom/email (async/longform). Direct async voice competitors shown: Echo, Voxer.

## Revenue model

- Freemium SaaS, per-seat subscription:
  - **Free tier** - $0: unlimited voice messages, native mobile apps, public sharing links, Yac.com profile, unlimited friends, transcription & search.
  - **Teams tier** - $5/seat/month (or $3/seat/month billed annually): adds screen & cam recording, team management, desktop app, transcription & search, Slack integration, group messaging.
- Distribution: self-serve / product-led growth via app stores (Mac, mobile), Product Hunt, Slack App Directory, partner integrations.
- No enterprise tier, usage-based pricing, or professional services mentioned in deck.

## Traction & metrics

- Beta testers & users include: Bose, Mailchimp, Buffer, Google, HubSpot, Zapier, Upwork, Spotify.
- Investment from Slack (strategic).
- 2x Golden Kitty Winners; #1 Product Hunt Remote Winner.
- Top 10 Mac App Store; BackTrack #9 Utilities on Mac App Store.
- Voted Best Remote Tool - Hacker Noon, Fast Company, CB Insights.
- Press: WSJ, TechCrunch, Fast Company.
- Advisor: Darren Murph, Head of Remote at GitLab.
- Workfrom AMA: 35,000-person remote work community.
- No ARR, MRR, DAU/MAU, paying seat counts, churn, or growth rates disclosed.

## Unit economics

- Implied blended ARPU: $5/seat/month (monthly) or $3/seat/month (annual). No average team size or seats-per-account stated.

## Competition / moat

- Quadrant positioning: async + shortform voice = differentiated from Zoom (sync/longform), Teams (sync), Slack (sync/shortform text), Loom/email/Threads (async/longform).
- "Goldilocks Zone" framing: goal-based, voice-first, semi-synchronous, historical context, time-zone independent - vs. Slack (chat, no context) and Zoom (synchronous, disruptive).
- Direct async voice competitors: Echo, Voxer.
- Moat claims: exclusive Slack call-button replacement permission; native Slack playback (very few companies); Miro co-brand partnership; strategic Slack investment.

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- Founding team:
  - Justin Mitchell - Vision & Technical
  - Hunter McKinley - Growth & Marketing
  - Jordan Walker - Operations & Finance
- Advisor: Darren Murph (Head of Remote, GitLab).
- Ask: $7.5M raise.
- Prior funding: Strategic investment from Slack (amount not disclosed).

## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why:** SaaS freemium ARR model. Revenue is per-seat subscription; growth driven by PLG (free-to-paid conversion) and team expansion within existing accounts. No transactional or usage-based revenue.
- **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 3 years monthly (M1–M36), with annual summary. Monthly needed to model free-to-paid conversion funnel and cohort expansion.
- **Key drivers & assumptions:**

| Driver | Seed value |
| -- | -- |
| Teams tier price (monthly) | $5/seat/month |
| Teams tier price (annual) | $3/seat/month |
| Annual billed mix (% of paid seats on annual plan) | 40% |
| New free signups per month (M1) | 500 |
| Free signup monthly growth rate | 15% |
| Free-to-paid conversion rate | 5% |
| Avg. team size on paid plan (seats/account) | 8 |
| Monthly churn (paid seats) | 2.5% |
| Gross margin | 75% |
| Sales & marketing as % of revenue | 40% |
| R&D as % of revenue | 30% |
| G&A as % of revenue | 15% |
| Headcount (M1 employees) | 10 |
| Avg. fully-loaded salary | $120K |
| $7.5M raise deployed over | 24 months |

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
  - **Bear:** free signup growth 8%, conversion 3%, churn 4% - capital-constrained, slower PLG
  - **Base:** free signup growth 15%, conversion 5%, churn 2.5%
  - **Bull:** free signup growth 25%, conversion 8%, churn 1.5% - Slack integration drives viral loop

- **Required sheets / outputs:**
  1. Assumptions (all toggleable drivers above)
  2. Funnel (free signups → free users → paid conversions → paid seats, monthly cohorts)
  3. Revenue (MRR/ARR bridge: new, expansion, churn, net new)
  4. P&L (revenue → gross profit → EBITDA, monthly)
  5. Headcount plan (by function, linked to opex)
  6. Cash & runway (opening cash, monthly burn, ending cash, months runway)
  7. KPI dashboard (ARR, MRR growth %, net revenue retention, LTV/CAC, months runway)

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Yac financial model free?

Yes. The Yac 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.