What is Holdbar's core value proposition?

Holdbar provides an all-in-one 'Business in a Box' software for the experience economy. As shown on slide 3, it consolidates fragmented operations—marketing, booking plugins, payments, gift cards, and customer service—into a single back-office and storefront solution to help small-to-medium experience creators improve conversion rates and streamline admin tasks.

How does the team demonstrate founder-market fit?

The founders previously built Truestory, which became a leading experience marketplace in the Nordics. Slide 2 explicitly mentions that this journey revealed the digital immaturity of the tours and activities vertical. Their successful exit to Smartbox Group in 2023 serves as the primary validation for their ability to execute in this specific sector.

What are the projected financial outcomes for Holdbar's customers?

Slide 6 outlines a two-phase growth plan for Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). In Phase 1 (2023-2024), they target a $40,000 CLV through core features like booking engines and payments. In Phase 2 (2025 onwards), they aim to exceed $60,000 CLV by adding AI advertising, insurance, lending, and dynamic pricing.

Which industries does Holdbar target?

According to slide 4, Holdbar currently serves tour guides, distilleries, breweries, wineries, hotels, health experience creators, boat tours, cooking classes, and destination organizations. They plan to expand into museums, municipalities, kayaking companies, and surf schools in the near future.

Does the deck include a competitive analysis?

No, the provided slides do not include a traditional 2x2 matrix or a list of competitors. Instead, slide 3 focuses on the 'status quo' as the competitor, illustrating the mess of disconnected tools (spreadsheets, manual emails) that Holdbar aims to replace with its integrated 'Core' platform.

Holdbar Pitch Deck: All 17 Slides + Teardown

See all 17 slides of the Holdbar pitch deck — a 2024 Seed deck — with a slide-by-slide teardown of what the deck does well and where it falls short.

Holdbar’s pitch deck is a masterclass in establishing founder-market fit. By prominently featuring the acquisition of their previous company, Truestory, by Smartbox Group on slide 2, the founders immediately bypass the 'why you' question. The deck frames the 'experience economy' as a fragmented, digitally immature vertical ripe for a 'business in a box' solution. While the deck is light on current revenue metrics and specific unit economics, it compensates with a clear two-phase product roadmap that projects a Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) increase from $40,000 to over $60,000. This narrative…

Key takeaways

The deck leads with founder credibility, highlighting the acquisition of their previous startup, Truestory, by Smartbox Group (Slide 2).
Holdbar positions itself as a 'Business in a box' to replace fragmented tools like sheets, manual booking plugins, and separate gift card modules (Slide 3).
The product is already serving seven distinct niches, including distilleries, boat tours, and cooking classes, with five more in the immediate pipeline (Slide 4).
Market validation is supported by a macro trend chart showing U.S. consumer spending on experiences rebounding to nearly 4% of total spending by 2022 (Slide 5).
The company projects a significant CLV expansion from $40,000 in Phase 1 to $60,000+ in Phase 2 through AI-powered automation and financial products (Slide 6).
The distribution strategy relies on 'Holdbar Connect' to link experience creators with local marketplaces and OTAs (Slide 7).
The team slide emphasizes a 'bias towards action' and lists prior experience at Stibo, Truestory, and Lunar (Slide 8).
The deck lacks a specific 'Ask' slide detailing the exact use of funds or the valuation sought for the $3.5M round.

Holdbar Pitch Deck Analysis

Holdbar, a Denmark-based startup, raised $3.5M in Seed funding in 2024 to tackle the digital fragmentation of the 'experience economy.' The deck is a lean, 17-slide presentation that prioritizes founder pedigree and a clear product vision over dense financial modeling. By positioning their software as the 'operating system' for tour and activity providers, the team makes a compelling case for consolidation in a traditionally low-tech sector.

Slide 1: Title Slide

The deck opens with a minimalist title slide featuring the Holdbar logo against a purple background, paired with a high-quality lifestyle image of a traveler looking out over a mountain range. This establishes the brand identity immediately: clean, modern, and focused on the end-user experience of travel and discovery.

Slide 2: The 'Why Us' (Founder Pedigree)

Slide 2 is arguably the most important slide in the deck. Titled 'Passionate about solving the problem,' it features a large screenshot of a Skift article announcing that Smartbox Group acquired the founders' previous company, Truestory, in August 2023. The text explains that their experience building the 'leading experience marketplace in the Nordics' gave them a front-row seat to how 'digitally immature' the tours and activities vertical is. This slide effectively eliminates the need for a long explanation of why this team is qualified to build Holdbar.

Slide 3: The Problem and Solution (Before vs. After)

Slide 3 uses a classic 'Before and After' framework. On the left, 'Before Holdbar' shows a scattered array of icons representing the fragmented tools creators currently use: marketing, booking plugins, payments, gift card modules, ticket shops, customer service, and 'sheets with customers.' On the right, 'With Holdbar,' these icons are all funneled into a single 'Holdbar Core' box. The slide also teases future modules: Apps, Finance, and Marketing, signaling that the platform intends to be more than just a booking engine.

Slide 4: Product and Market Traction

This slide provides a concrete look at the software. It displays screenshots of the 'Storefront' (a website solution for conversion) and the 'Backoffice' (the 'brain' of the business for admin and distribution). Crucially, it lists the types of businesses already using the platform, such as distilleries and boat tours, and lists upcoming targets like museums and surf schools. This demonstrates that the product is versatile and has already found early product-market fit across multiple niches.

Slide 5: The Macro Trend

To justify the market size, Slide 5 presents a line graph of 'U.S. Consumer Spending on Experiences vs. Things.' The data, sourced from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Skift Research, shows a long-term decline in spending on goods and a steady rise in experiences, which rebounded sharply post-2020 to nearly 4% of total spending. This slide contextualizes Holdbar within a 'rebounded mega-trend,' assuring investors that the underlying market is growing.

Slide 6: The Roadmap and CLV Expansion

Slide 6 outlines the business's evolution. Phase 1 (2023-2024) focuses on the core ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) with a projected $40,000 CLV based on booking engines and payments. Phase 2 (2025+) projects a $60,000+ CLV by adding high-margin services like AI-powered advertising, insurance, lending, and dynamic pricing. This is a critical slide for a Seed round, as it shows a clear path from a simple SaaS tool to a comprehensive financial and marketing platform.

Slide 7: Distribution and Ecosystem

Slide 7 illustrates the 'Holdbar Connect' ecosystem. It shows how 'Experience Customers' using Holdbar Core are linked via 'Holdbar Distribution' to Destinations, Local Marketplaces, and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). This visualizes the company's role as a central hub, creating a network effect where the more creators use the platform, the more valuable the distribution network becomes.

Slide 8: The Team

The team slide features six key members, led by Co-Founders Lars Rasmussen (Computer Science) and Lasse Kjær. The slide highlights a 'bias towards action' and includes logos for Stibo, Truestory, and Lunar. By placing the team slide near the end, the deck reinforces the earlier credibility established on slide 2, showing the full bench of talent supporting the founders.

Slide 9: Contact Information

The final slide is a simple purple screen with the contact details for Co-Founder Lasse Kjær, including his email and a Danish phone number. It maintains the minimalist aesthetic of the rest of the deck.

What Holdbar Does Well

The Holdbar deck excels at narrative simplicity. Instead of overwhelming the reader with technical specifications, it focuses on the 'Business in a Box' concept. The use of the Truestory acquisition as an anchor for credibility is a professional move that immediately builds trust. Furthermore, the clear distinction between Phase 1 and Phase 2 product features shows that the founders have a long-term strategic vision for monetization beyond simple subscription fees, specifically through fintech and AI integrations.

What is Missing from the Holdbar Deck

While the deck is visually appealing and tells a strong story, it omits several key data points that investors typically look for in a Seed round. There is no mention of current revenue (ARR), the number of active customers, or the current burn rate. The 'Ask' is also missing—there is no slide detailing how much capital is being raised (though we know from publisher reports it was $3.5M) or how that capital will be allocated between hiring, marketing, and R&D. Additionally, a competitive landscape slide is absent, which might leave investors wondering how Holdbar differentiates itself from established players like FareHarbor or Peek.

What Other Founders Should Copy

Founders should emulate Holdbar’s 'Before vs. After' visualization (Slide 3). It is one of the most effective ways to communicate the value of a consolidation play. If you have a previous exit, make it the centerpiece of your 'Why Us' argument, as Holdbar did on Slide 2. Finally, the use of a two-phase roadmap (Slide 6) is an excellent way to show how a company can grow its average revenue per user (ARPU) or CLV over time without needing to constantly acquire new customers, which is a key driver of long-term profitability.

Frequently asked questions

What is Holdbar's core value proposition?: Holdbar provides an all-in-one 'Business in a Box' software for the experience economy. As shown on slide 3, it consolidates fragmented operations—marketing, booking plugins, payments, gift cards, and customer service—into a single back-office and storefront solution to help small-to-medium experience creators improve conversion rates and streamline admin tasks.
How does the team demonstrate founder-market fit?: The founders previously built Truestory, which became a leading experience marketplace in the Nordics. Slide 2 explicitly mentions that this journey revealed the digital immaturity of the tours and activities vertical. Their successful exit to Smartbox Group in 2023 serves as the primary validation for their ability to execute in this specific sector.
What are the projected financial outcomes for Holdbar's customers?: Slide 6 outlines a two-phase growth plan for Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). In Phase 1 (2023-2024), they target a $40,000 CLV through core features like booking engines and payments. In Phase 2 (2025 onwards), they aim to exceed $60,000 CLV by adding AI advertising, insurance, lending, and dynamic pricing.
Which industries does Holdbar target?: According to slide 4, Holdbar currently serves tour guides, distilleries, breweries, wineries, hotels, health experience creators, boat tours, cooking classes, and destination organizations. They plan to expand into museums, municipalities, kayaking companies, and surf schools in the near future.
Does the deck include a competitive analysis?: No, the provided slides do not include a traditional 2x2 matrix or a list of competitors. Instead, slide 3 focuses on the 'status quo' as the competitor, illustrating the mess of disconnected tools (spreadsheets, manual emails) that Holdbar aims to replace with its integrated 'Core' platform.

Cover slide of the Holdbar pitch deck — Seed 2024 — Holdbar pitch deck, slide 1 (2024)

Holdbar pitch deck: the facts

Company: Holdbar
Year: 2024
Stage: Seed
Slides: 17
Sector: Consumer software
Deck type: Fundraising
Outcome: $3.5M raised
Headquarters: Denmark (Europe)

Holdbar pitch deck PDF

The full Holdbar deck is embedded on this page and can be read slide by slide in the browser — no download or account required. Each slide is covered in the breakdown above.

What the Holdbar pitch deck was used for

This is the 17‑slide **seed round pitch deck** Holdbar used in 2024 to raise $3.5M for its "experience economy OS"—a vertical SaaS platform for tours, activities, and small experience operators.[1][2] The company had previously raised a $1M pre‑seed round in early 2023 and was now financing product development, go‑to‑market, and commercial scaling.[6][2][1] The deck prominently highlights the founders’ prior success with Scandinavian experience platform Truestory as evidence of deep market expertise.[5][1] It was used as Holdbar exited stealth and announced its seed funding with institutional VCs and notable angels.[1][2][7]

Business model: Vertical SaaS platform providing experience management, booking, sales, marketing, and administration software for tours, activities, and small accommodation providers in the experience economy.[2][5][6]

Round: Seed
Year: 2024
Raised: $3.5M
Investors: Seed Capital, Firstminute Capital, Founderment, Steve Fredette, Christoph Deckert
Founders: Lasse Kjær, Lars Daniel Blom Rasmussen
Headquarters: Aarhus, Denmark.[3][12]

Raising: Seed funding round to develop the platform, invest in go‑to‑market, and grow commercial operations.[1][2]

Lead investor: Seed Capital and Firstminute Capital (described as backing the seed round; Founderment referenced as existing investor in founder’s announcement).

Founded: 2022–2023 (product building since May 2022; company described as founded about one year before Feb 2024). [4][6][2]

Industry: Traveltech / leisure experiences software (tours and activities technology platform; experience management software for experience providers and tour operators). [2][3][5][6]

Total funding: At least $4.5M total: $1M pre-seed announced Feb 2023, plus $3.5M seed announced Feb 2024.[6][9][2][1][7][12][13]

Use of funds as presented: Invest in product development and go‑to‑market initiatives, grow commercial operations, and further develop the platform into the preferred experience provider solution globally.[1][2]

What happened after the Holdbar deck

By early 2024, Holdbar had progressed from a pre‑seed beta with about 30 customers and $1M in funding to a $3.5M seed round with notable VCs and angels, positioning itself as a leading experience management OS for tours and activities providers.[6][9][1][2][13]

Raised $1M pre‑seed funding in early 2023 led by Founderment, following closed beta testing with about 30 customers.[6][
Exited stealth and announced a $3.5M seed round in February 2024, backed by Seed Capital, Firstminute Capital, Founderme
Established positioning as an all‑in‑one experience management platform for global tours, activities, and small accommod

What the Holdbar deck got right

Repeat founders with directly relevant, scaled experience in the experience economy. Holdbar is founded by experienced entrepreneurs Lasse Kjær and Lars Daniel Blom Rasmussen, who previously bootstrapped Truestory into the leading experience platform in Scandinavia with more than $10M in sales and over 30 employees, providing strong sector‑specific execution credibility.[5][4]
Compelling, validated pain point among experience operators. The company addresses a clearly documented gap: many tours and activities operators either use outdated systems or have no systems at all, making it hard to integrate into distribution channels and offer smooth direct‑booking experiences.[6] This gives Holdbar a well‑defined problem and value proposition for its vertical SaaS platform.
Integrated vertical SaaS platform for the experience economy. Holdbar’s product is positioned as an all‑in‑one experience management OS covering sales, marketing, administration, and booking distribution for tours, activities, and small accommodations, which simplifies operators’ tech stack and supports independence from large OTAs.[2][5][6][11]
Strong funding momentum and high‑quality investor syndicate. The funding trajectory—$1M pre‑seed led by Founderment followed by a $3.5M seed round within roughly a year—demonstrates momentum and strong investor confidence, reinforced by a syndicate including Seed Capital, Firstminute Capital, Steve Fredette, and Christoph Deckert.[6][9][1][2][7][12][13]
Early customer validation before large scale-up. Early validation through closing beta testing with around 30 customers before the pre‑seed raise indicates that Holdbar had initial market feedback and product usage prior to institutional scaling capital.[6]
Large, under‑digitised target market in the global experience sector. Positioning as infrastructure for global experience providers and tour operators in a still under‑digitised segment creates a sizable opportunity if Holdbar can become the preferred platform for operators worldwide.[2][11]

What could have been stronger

Limited externally verified traction metrics at seed time. External coverage of Holdbar’s seed round centres on vision and investor credibility but provides little quantified traction at the time of the 2024 deck—no verified user counts, GMV, or revenue metrics—making it harder for investors to calibrate market adoption from the deck alone.[1][2][6]
Product differentiation versus existing traveltech tools not clearly evidenced. While sources describe Holdbar as "experience management" and "all‑in‑one" software for tours, activities, and small accommodations, they do not clearly show, in deck‑visible materials, how the product differentiates from established booking and channel‑manager solutions in the sector.[2][5][6][11] This may leave some investors questioning defensibility and category positioning.
Heavy reliance on founder track record over Holdbar‑specific performance. The seed narrative emphasises the founders’ previous success with Truestory but offers limited externally documented detail on Holdbar’s own go‑to‑market performance, unit economics, or scalability at the time of the raise.[1][5][6] That concentration on founder story can be perceived as a relative imbalance if the deck does not equally substantiate Holdbar‑specific traction.
Market and segment focus described at high level. Press coverage notes Holdbar’s ambition to digitise global experience providers and make the platform preferred worldwide, but there is little verified information on how the company prioritises segments, markets, or channels, which could make the deck’s market strategy appear high‑level rather than operationally detailed.[2][11]

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

Founders’ prior success with Truestory, including bootstrapping to >$10M in sales and team scale, strongly de‑risks founder execution and gives unique insight into experience‑economy operators.[5]
Clear articulation of the pain point: many tours and activities operators lack modern systems or any system at all, making integration into distribution channels difficult and degrading the customer booking experience.[6]
Vertical SaaS focus on the experience economy, an under‑digitised but growing segment where operators increasingly seek independence from major OTAs and better direct‑booking tools.[2][6][11]
Evidence of early validation through a $1M pre‑seed round, beta testing with about 30 customers, and rapid follow‑on $3.5M seed within roughly a year, signalling momentum and investor confidence.[6][9][1][2][7]
Strong investor syndicate at seed (Seed Capital, Firstminute Capital, Founderment, notable angels) providing capital, traveltech expertise, and network leverage for go‑to‑market.[1][2][7][12][13]

Risks that stand out

Execution risk in a competitive traveltech landscape where multiple booking and experience‑management tools exist, requiring Holdbar to demonstrate strong differentiation and operator switching incentives.[2][5][6]
Sector cyclicality risk: tours and activities demand is tied to travel and discretionary spending, which can be impacted by macroeconomic downturns or external shocks, potentially affecting operator budgets for SaaS tools.[2][11]
Reliance on founder brand and prior Truestory success in the narrative; if Holdbar’s own traction lags expectations, subsequent rounds may be more challenging despite strong early investor support.[1][5][6]
Operational risk in onboarding and supporting a fragmented base of small operators who may have limited technical resources, requiring high‑touch support and implementation to realise the promised efficiencies.[6][5]

Questions this deck invites

What are Holdbar’s current key traction metrics (number of paying customers, GMV processed, retention, and revenue) since the 30‑customer beta mentioned around the pre‑seed?[6]
How does Holdbar’s product roadmap concretely differentiate from existing booking engines, channel managers, and experience management platforms in tours and activities, and what specific features drive switching from incumbents?[2][5][6]
What is the go‑to‑market strategy by segment (small creators vs. larger operators), geography, and channel, and what CAC / payback assumptions underpin the seed‑stage scaling plan?[2][11]
How dependent is growth on disintermediating OTAs versus partnering with them, and what is the company’s exposure to regulatory changes or macro shocks in leisure travel demand?[2][11]
What are the unit economics for typical operator cohorts (pricing model, churn, gross margin, onboarding costs), and how do these compare to benchmarks from Truestory and other vertical SaaS businesses in traveltech?[5][6]

What founders can take from the Holdbar deck

Demonstrated founder track record in the same vertical—here, Truestory’s scale in the Scandinavian experience market—can substantially strengthen a seed deck by evidencing domain insight and prior execution.[5][1]
Combining a clear statement of operator pain (outdated or absent systems blocking distribution and direct bookings) with an all‑in‑one vertical SaaS solution can create a compelling, problem‑solution narrative for investors.[6]
Securing an initial pre‑seed round, validating the product with a beta cohort (around 30 customers), and then raising a larger seed round within about a year illustrates an effective staged‑funding approach for B2B SaaS.[6][9][1][2]
Assembling a syndicate that mixes institutional VCs (Seed Capital, Firstminute Capital, Founderment) and strategic angels (e.g., Toast co‑founder Steve Fredette) can support both capital needs and sector‑specific expertise and networks.[1][2][7][12][13]
Positioning a platform as infrastructure for an under‑digitised niche (the experience economy) can attract investor interest, but long‑term success still requires clear differentiation from existing tools and strong go‑to‑market execution.[2][5][6][11]
Media coverage and founder communications that consistently reinforce the same positioning (experience management OS, digitising global experience providers) help solidify the narrative presented in the pitch deck.[1][2][5][6]

Holdbar pitch deck: common questions

What does Holdbar do?

Holdbar is a Denmark‑based vertical SaaS platform for the **experience economy**, offering tours, activities, and small accommodation providers an all‑in‑one system for sales, marketing, administration, and booking distribution.[2][5][6] It aims to digitise and streamline global experience providers and tour operators so they can boost direct bookings and operate independently of large online travel agencies.[2][11]

How much funding has Holdbar raised and who invested in the seed round?

Holdbar raised a **$3.5M seed round** announced in February 2024.[1][2][13] The round was backed by Seed Capital and Firstminute Capital, with participation from Founderment and angels including Toast co‑founder Steve Fredette and investor Christoph Deckert.[1][2][7][12][13] This followed a $1M pre‑seed round led by Founderment in early 2023.[6][9]

Who are Holdbar’s founders and what is their background?

Holdbar was founded by **CEO Lasse Kjær** and **CTO Lars Daniel Blom Rasmussen**, repeat entrepreneurs who previously co‑founded Truestory, a leading Scandinavian experience platform they bootstrapped to more than $10M in sales and over 30 employees.[5][6][4] Their Truestory background and multiple prior exits are central to Holdbar’s narrative and are prominently referenced in coverage of the seed round.[1][5]

What is Holdbar using its $3.5M seed funding for?

The $3.5M seed round is intended to fund further development of Holdbar’s experience OS platform, expand commercial operations, and accelerate go‑to‑market so that Holdbar can become the preferred platform for experience providers globally.[1][2] The company is focused on digitising and streamlining workflows for tours, activities, and small accommodations, improving distribution and booking experiences.[2][6]

Did Holdbar raise any funding before the $3.5M seed round?

Yes. Holdbar raised **$1M in pre‑seed funding** announced in February 2023, led by Danish early‑stage VC Founderment.[6][4][9] That round supported closing a beta with about 30 customers and building an all‑in‑one software platform for tours and activities operators to improve distribution and operational efficiency.[6]