Gophr Financial Modeling Case Study

Build investor trust through transparency

Enable faster, clearer, data-driven decisions

Quantify runway with confidence

Warren Vandever never set out to launch a tech company. A military veteran turned process operator, he later went back to school to study engineering. But the idea that sparked his startup journey came from an unexpected place: building a house with his dad in their own backyard. After making endless trips to hardware stores, Warren’s dad joked, “You ought to build an app for this.” That offhand comment sparked the idea for Gophr—a logistics and delivery platform originally focused on same-day delivery for everything except food.

The goal was to connect local retailers with customers in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The concept was timely, and Warren’s execution was even better. He pitched Gophr at the Holt business competition hosted by the Clinton Foundation and took second place. Then he hired the winner, repitched, and won. Within six weeks, Gophr raised $1.3 million at a $100 million valuation—before they’d even launched a product.

That early traction gave Gophr a solid head start. Warren brought on 17 former employees from Waitr (a billion-dollar food delivery company also founded in Lake Charles), launched during COVID, and played a key role in keeping dozens of local businesses running during the crisis.

Then, disaster struck twice. When two hurricanes hit back-to-back, Gophr pivoted fast. They turned their office into a distribution center, geofenced their platform, and used it to deliver free essentials to households in need. This move didn’t just show adaptability—it demonstrated smart operational thinking in the face of chaos.

That disaster relief pivot caught the attention of Cummins North America, which had a new question: could Gophr’s tech be used for industrial deliveries? The answer was yes. Warren and his team evolved the product to handle complex industrial logistics, building tools that automatically matched cargo with the best delivery method.

They even patented AI-driven image recognition software that uses a photo to determine a package’s weight, dimensions, and ideal transport method, calculating pricing and routes in seconds.

Today, Gophr is piloting its software with major industrial clients like NOV. And while the product has evolved far beyond its original idea, the mission remains clear: deliver smarter, faster, and more efficiently.

“We’d spend days or weeks building something, and by the time it was done, it was already stale or inaccurate,” Warren said. “It just got to the point where it was impossible to keep up with everything.”

Trying to test assumptions or run different scenarios became a major pain point. Sharing forecasts with investors wasn’t smooth either—every tweak risked breaking the entire model. Worse, it didn’t inspire confidence. Warren realized Gophr needed more than just Excel—they needed a financial tool that could grow with the business. Something dynamic, investor-ready, and built for fast-moving startups.

Warren Vandever didn’t find Forecastr through an ad or a cold email—it came through a trusted connection. Gophr’s COO, Matt Sereday, had previously worked with Evan Diaz, a former teammate from Waitr who had since joined the Forecastr team. That warm introduction made all the difference.

Coming from someone they knew and trusted, the referral gave Warren and Matt confidence from the start. And once they saw the platform in action, the decision was easy. It was clear Forecastr could solve the spreadsheet pain they’d been experiencing for years. “It was exactly what we were looking for,” Warren said. “The price was right, and it solved the issue we’d been trying to fix.”

“The last group we closed asked for a spreadsheet,” Warren recalled. “I said, ‘We don’t do spreadsheets. We use Forecastr.’ And when they saw it, they were blown away.”

That round ultimately closed $615K, with a $2 million lead commitment, including investment from Storybook Ventures. One of the Storybook founders had used Forecastr before and saw it as a signal of maturity and readiness. “She jumped right in, started looking at everything, and said, ‘Yep, we’re in.’ It cut weeks off the process. We were done with diligence in three weeks.”

Warren emphasized how valuable it was to show not just ideas, but well-thought-out, data-backed projections. “It made it clear we weren’t just in someone’s basement. We knew what we were doing.”

Forecastr didn’t just give Gophr better forecasting tools—it changed how the entire team thought about planning.

Before, key decisions like hiring or go-to-market timing were based on gut instinct or static spreadsheets. Now, Warren Vandever and his COO use Forecastr to run clear, data-driven scenarios—measuring customer acquisition cost (CAC) against lifetime value (LTV), and mapping how every hire contributes to long-term, scalable growth.

“Before, we had no real runway,” Warren said. “But now we can look at the model and say, ‘Okay, once we hit this milestone, we hire this person. That person drives this revenue. Here’s how it all compounds.”

That level of clarity didn’t come from the software alone. It came from the hands-on support of Forecastr’s analyst team or finance professionals who helped Warren. “I don’t pretend to be an expert at using the tool, but the analysts are phenomenal. They’re like the operators of the excavator. I might have the machine, but I need someone to dig the hole.”

That expert guidance proved essential—not just for building the model but also for crafting a narrative that connected the dots between strategy, execution, and revenue.

For Warren Vandever, the most important thing Forecastr brings to the table is objectivity. Instead of relying on instinct or best guesses, his team now operates from a single source of truth—one reliable financial framework that guides every key decision.

“It’s the north star for our company,” he said. “It tells you if your business works or not. If you put in a dollar and get back fifty cents, that’s not a good bet—and Forecastr will tell you that upfront.”

That transparency is key for founders raising capital, and for those still figuring out whether they’re ready to raise. “It gives you the truth, whether your baby’s pretty or not,” Warren said. “And you can’t be afraid to hear it.”

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One Source of Truth

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"I use Forecastr in every fundraising conversation. One investor saw it, got full access, and led our $2M seed round. It cut weeks off diligence."
	- Warren Vandever Founder & CEO Gophr