Although Trickle already has a few SME customers and a corporate customer, it is still actively working on capturing its initial beachhead market. The funds raised from the crowdfunding campaign will be used to drive market expansion, starting with the Belgian and European markets and eventually expanding to international markets.
As an initial go-to-market strategy, Trickle will focus on launching a closed (invite-only) beta for its customers for several key reasons:
Safe and Supported Experience This approach allows customers to experience the product, which may feel disruptive compared to traditional workflows, in a safe and supported environment.
Exemplary Service and Manageability A closed beta enables the Trickle team to provide high-quality, personalized service to onboarded customers. This approach is manageable for a small team, offering valuable learning opportunities and potential commercial gains.
Onboarding Atomic Networks By onboarding atomic networks - groups of people connected in a professional context—Trickle ensures that users can fully leverage the product's capabilities, enhancing their overall experience.
Targeting Early Adopters The closed beta allows the commercial team to specifically target early adopters within Trickle's Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), helping to build a strong foundation for future growth.
To establish an initial foothold in its Belgian user base, Trickle has organized a beta launch event targeting 250 Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) based at its location, the Corda Campus. During this event, scheduled for the beginning of October 2024, teams will be invited to create accounts and invite their team members, with the incentive of receiving physical rewards. Updates -if allowed- will be provided on this page as the event progresses.
The close proximity of Trickle's commercial team to these customers enables swift and consistent follow-up after they have experienced the product, which is expected to result in a higher conversion rate to paid plans.
Additionally, the Founders have strong connections with many medium to large consultancy agencies in Belgium, several of which have already shown interest in further commercial discussions. The inclusion of Trickle's first corporate customer serves as a significant endorsement from a market leader, likely to positively influence these discussions.
In summary, starting from Q4 2024 through Q1 2025, Trickle's efforts will be heavily focused on direct sales within the Euro-region, beginning with Belgium.
Short term objectives
Over the next 6 months, Trickle plans to grow its sales to approximately 100 subscribers, primarily SMEs, representing around 400 paid seats and generating a monthly recurring revenue of about €6,000. By leveraging the financial boost from the crowdfunding campaign and the subsequent investment round, Trickle aims to expand this base to 600 subscribers and nearly 3,000 seats within the next 18 months, resulting in a projected monthly recurring revenue of approximately €40,000.
Seat growth forecast over the course of the next 18 months
Financial forecast
Trickle's strategy is focused on capturing a dominant position in its market. To achieve this, the company is prioritizing growth by reinvesting its earnings back into the business, aiming to boost revenue and establish itself as the leading player. This approach results in a planned negative EBITDA during the first three years of investment, but it is expected to yield significant returns. Specifically, Trickle anticipates positive net income starting in 2027 and projects an estimated valuation of around €60 million by the end of that period. This valuation is based on a 10x multiplier of the projected gross revenue of €6 million. These projections are grounded in historical subscription data and average market statistics within the B2B SaaS sector.
A detailed financial forecast, with the ability to adjust parameters, is available through the financial planning tool Struppy. It can be accessed here: Trickle's financial plan.
(All assumptions are detailed in the assumptions tab. For instance, seat pricing is calculated as the average price across plans, with a 2.5% annual modifier to account for a gradual rise in pricing.)
Trickle's income statement for the next 4 years
Business model and pricing
Trickle's business model is straightforward: the majority of its revenue is expected to come from product licenses. The company offers Trickle to customers through a per seat, per month license, available in three pricing plans:
A Premium plan at 15 euro per seat per month
An Elite plan at 27 euro per seat per month
An Enterprise plan at a custom price point for corporate customers.
All pricing plans are structured as yearly recurring plans, with the flexibility for customers to choose between monthly or yearly payments. Discounts are available for longer-term commitments or larger seat purchases.
All of Trickle's current customers fall within this pricing bracket, a range that was validated by an independent market research study commissioned by Trickle from PXL in 2023. The study surveyed 3,600 respondents, 85% of whom indicated they would be willing to pay for Trickle's features within these price ranges.
To enhance the network effect, Trickle employs a free invite system that allows users to invite additional non-paying users onto a "guest plan." This guest plan enables those users to participate in scheduling events without accessing the additional features available to Premium and Elite users. This approach not only strengthens brand recognition but also enhances the user experience for existing customers and creates a stronger lock-in effect for both paying and non-paying users.
In essence, Trickle's business model combines the benefits of a typical three-tier SaaS model with a freemium component, while avoiding the common downsides associated with freemium models.
Funding Requirements
This crowdfunding campaign is part of Trickle's upcoming funding round, through which the company aims to secure a financial injection of €500,000 to enhance its commercial activities and drive expansion across Europe over the next 18 to 24 months.
The campaign offers a maximum investment opportunity of €250,000, with an initial target of approximately €75,000. The remainder is expected to be raised in a subsequent funding round shortly thereafter. These combined funds will then be leveraged to secure an additional €250,000 grant from VLAIO, through the O&O project that Trickle is developing with the support of the University of Hasselt and a large consultancy as partners.
The remaining funds will be raised through an investment round involving professional investors, including the imec.istart fund (with a conditional CLA already committed), current investors, and shortlisted investors from Trickle's investment pool, supported by imec.istart (with initial discussions already underway).
These funds will be allocated as follows:
40% for Research and Development The company receives grants to support its R&D efforts, but it is responsible for covering 55% of the project costs. Furthermore, not all development streams qualify for grant funding, so the company must also allocate resources to cover the required internal and external expertise in those areas. The product offered by the company is highly advanced and holds the potential for disruptive innovation, which is a key element of its commercial proposition and go-to-market strategies. To successfully move into the production and industrialization phase, these critical aspects must be developed and emphasized.
25% for Commercial development In the coming months, the company needs to capitalize on the commercial traction gained in the first year while also building its commercial pipeline. This effort is crucial to achieving product-market fit, which will enable the company to identify a scalable business model and drive growth in the B2B environment.
25% for Marketing Establishing Trickle as a trusted brand is essential, as the network effect plays a significant role in driving commercial conversions. To achieve this, Trickle must carefully execute its Product-Led Growth strategy. From the outset of its commercial efforts, the company needs to undertake broad, yet targeted and consistent actions to convince and reassure teams in both the Corporate and SME segments of the product’s potential.
5% for Costs of Goods Sold Trickle currently has minimal costs directly associated with keeping the product operational. However, these are variable costs that fluctuate based on the size of the user base, so they must be carefully accounted for.
5% for Operational Costs Like any business, Trickle incurs overhead costs and must equip itself to optimize operations and support growth. These costs include accounting, talent acquisition, HR, and other operational expenses.
Why opt for crowdfunding instead of "traditional" funding?
While the entire funding round could be directed towards traditional sources such as business angels and VCs, the decision was made to give supporters the chance to be part of the next big thing in scheduling.
Numerous offers for smaller investments have been received, which would be challenging to manage independently. This led to a partnership with Spreds. An additional benefit for investors is the opportunity to receive a 45% tax reduction.
Any portion of the round not committed through crowdfunding will be allocated to the general funding round.
