FireKeep Investor pitch · April 2026 Print / Save PDF

Designed in Canada · 2026

Fire was the first technology.
We rebuilt it.

FireKeep is a Canadian-designed brand of solar-rechargeable Class IV laser fire-starting tools. We're building the first premium-craft brand in a novel-tech category — at the intersection of survival, technology, and inheritance.

Problem

Fire-starting hasn't changed in 200 years.

2.4B
Bic lighters sold/yr
Cheap. Fail in cold, wet, wind. Single-use. The 1973 status quo.
12M
Plasma lighters sold/yr
USB-rechargeable, but tiny range and limited ignitions per charge. Commodity.
Skill-based
Ferro rods
Premium ($20–$80) but require practice. Fail when you're cold or panicked.

No premium fire-starting brand has built a tool around rechargeable, weather-immune, skill-free reliability. The category is wide-open.

Solution

A 5W blue laser in your hip pocket.

Reliable

Tinder ignition in 8 sec

450nm focused light works in rain, snow, wind. Skill-free.

Rechargeable

163–330 fires/charge

21700 cell, USB-C + solar input. Self-sufficient ecosystem.

Compliant

FDA + Health Canada

Form 3632, OD4+ glasses bundled, key interlock, serial registration.

Premium

$599 — $1,199

Machined aluminum body. Lifetime warranty on Keeper. Heritage positioning.

Why now

Three converging shifts.

2024
Diode price collapse
5W 450nm lasers hit $48 wholesale (down from $300 in 2018). Component economics finally work.
2024
Climate-driven demand
Hurricane Helene, NA wildfire migration, multi-day grid outages. The preparedness market has tripled.
2025
Premium D2C maturation
Solo Stove, BioLite, Goal Zero, Yeti — proven playbook for premium outdoor hardware exits.

Market

$32B · premium outdoor + preparedness.

SegmentSize (NA)FireKeep TAMRealistic Yr-5 share
Premium outdoor lighting + tools$8.4B$420M0.5% · $42M
Preparedness / preppers$11B$330M0.3% · $33M
Backcountry hunting + thru-hike$4.2B$210M0.4% · $21M
Camp-luxe + glamping$6.8B$170M0.2% · $17M
Premium gift-buyer$1.6B$80M0.6% · $9M
Total addressable market$1.2B

Even a 0.4% share of TAM by Year 5 is a $48M business. Our financial model targets ~$47.6M.

Product line

Three flagships. Five companions.

TierProductOpticalPriceMarginShip
Beacon · IWatchman5W$59942%Q3 2026
Beacon · IIWarden10W$89948%Q3 2026
Beacon · IIIKeeper20W$1,19952%Q4 2026
CompanionOutrider (trekking pole)4W$44938%Q1 2027
CompanionEdge (laser-spine knife)6W$68944%Q2 2027
CompanionAnthem (speaker + igniter)3W$37940%Q3 2027
PowerSolis (solar panel)$21952%Q3 2026
LimitedPhoton (collector)10W$1,09955%Q4 2026

Traction

Pre-orders are live.

$100K
FireKeep 55 founder slots
50 slots @ $2,000 each. Hand-curated, direct-to-customer. Refundable until ship.
$187K
Year-1 D2C pre-order target
250 units · ARPU $748 · refundable until manufacturing run kicks off.
3.5%
Conversion (cold paid)
Modeled conservative. Premium D2C peers (Solo Stove, BioLite) hit 4.8–7%.

Live tracker: firekeep.ca/threshold — public commitment device modeled on Kenner's 1977 Star Wars Early Bird Certificate. Threshold is reached → manufacturing kicks off → first ship. Under threshold → no unit is built. Trust is the product.

Unit economics

Year-3 contribution: $132 per unit.

Year 1 (250u)Year 2 (2,800u)Year 3 (15,000u)
Sale price (avg)$748$748$720
COGS$310$268$242
Gross margin58.6%64.2%66.4%
CAC$240$140$110
Sales overhead$28$22$18
Contribution per unit-$21+$79+$132
PaybackN/A (Yr1)~3 months~1 month

Go-to-market

D2C first. Retail when reviews are real.

Phase 1 · Yr 1

Direct pre-orders

Meta + YouTube + Google. Threshold tracker as commitment device. 250 units to threshold.

Phase 2 · Yr 2

Specialty retail

Sport Chek, MEC, Atmosphere, specialty outdoor outfitters. 5–8 retailers. SHOT Show 2027 booth.

Phase 3 · Yr 3+

Mainline retail

Cabela's, REI, Bass Pro, Backcountry.com. Tier-1 distribution. International expansion.

Phase 4 · Yr 4+

International

EU (post-CE-marking), AU (post-jurisdictional review), JP (specialty). Distributor network.

Competitive position

An empty quadrant.

No premium-craft brand has built around novel laser fire-starting technology. Wicked Lasers + Big Lasers occupy the novel-but-not-premium space. Olight, Surefire, Exotac own premium-but-mature. We sit alone in premium × novel.

BrandTechCompliancePremium positioningStory
DirectFireKeep✓ Novel✓ Full✓ Premium✓ Heritage
DirectWicked Lasers~
DirectBig Lasers~
AdjacentLight My Fire (ferro)~~
AdjacentExotac (ferro premium)
AdjacentOlight / Surefire~~

Founder

Built by one person. Built right.

"I built FireKeep on my workbench in Vancouver. Engineer by trade, designer by obsession. The first units exist because I needed them — every camping trip with my kids, every winter, every wet match made the case stronger. We're at the moment where one person can build a hardware brand that competes with $50M peers, if the product earns it. — Jonathan Ellis · Founder · [email protected]

Hires planned: Q2 2027 — Head of Manufacturing (Shenzhen contact), Head of Sales (specialty retail veteran), Customer Lead. Q3 2027 — Software / e-commerce, Brand & content lead.

5-year financials

Path to $47.6M.

YearUnitsRevenueGross marginS&MNet
2026 · Yr 1250$187K58%$94K-$123K
2027 · Yr 22,800$2.1M58%$520K+$319K
2028 · Yr 315,000$10.8M60%$1.95M+$2.71M
2029 · Yr 438,000$26.4M62%$4.5M+$7.94M
2030 · Yr 570,000$47.6M63%$7.6M+$15.6M

Conservative scenario. Volume growth driven by retailer onboarding, not aggressive D2C. Pessimistic = -50% units. Optimistic = +30% units (international comes 12 months earlier).

Use of funds

$400K seed compresses 12 months.

60%
$240K · Inventory acceleration
Run two production cycles in parallel · 1,500 units stocked vs 250 · cuts Phase-2 ramp from 18 to 6 months.
25%
$100K · Retail rep firm + trade shows
Mike Andrews Marketing or Jeb Garrett Reps · SHOT Show 2027 booth · Outdoor Retailer · pre-scheduled buyer meetings.
15%
$60K · Marketing scale
Doubles paid budget · funds creative production for influencer + reviewer seeding · 18-month runway extension.

FireKeep is currently self-funded + pre-order-funded. We don't need outside capital, but a $400K round before Year 2 compresses the timeline by 12 months and lets us walk into Cabela's with proof, not promises.

Ask

$400K seed.
10% post-money.

$4M post-money. SAFE or priced round at our discretion. 20-min calls open with founder. Calendar at cal.com/firekeep or email [email protected].

Email
[email protected]
Site
firekeep.ca
Live tracker
firekeep.ca/threshold