Designed in Canada · 2026
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
No premium fire-starting brand has built a tool around rechargeable, weather-immune, skill-free reliability. The category is wide-open.
Solution
450nm focused light works in rain, snow, wind. Skill-free.
21700 cell, USB-C + solar input. Self-sufficient ecosystem.
Form 3632, OD4+ glasses bundled, key interlock, serial registration.
Machined aluminum body. Lifetime warranty on Keeper. Heritage positioning.
Why now
Market
| Segment | Size (NA) | FireKeep TAM | Realistic Yr-5 share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium outdoor lighting + tools | $8.4B | $420M | 0.5% · $42M |
| Preparedness / preppers | $11B | $330M | 0.3% · $33M |
| Backcountry hunting + thru-hike | $4.2B | $210M | 0.4% · $21M |
| Camp-luxe + glamping | $6.8B | $170M | 0.2% · $17M |
| Premium gift-buyer | $1.6B | $80M | 0.6% · $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
| Tier | Product | Optical | Price | Margin | Ship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beacon · I | Watchman | 5W | $599 | 42% | Q3 2026 |
| Beacon · II | Warden | 10W | $899 | 48% | Q3 2026 |
| Beacon · III | Keeper | 20W | $1,199 | 52% | Q4 2026 |
| Limited | Outrider (trekking pole) | 4W | $749 | 63% | Q1 2027 |
| Limited | Edge (laser-spine knife) | 6W | $989 | 61% | Q2 2027 |
| Limited | Anthem (speaker + igniter) | 3W | $579 | 61% | Q3 2027 |
| Power | Solis (sourced solar panel) | — | $319 | 67% | Q3 2026 |
| Limited | Photon (collector) | 10W | $1,349 | 63% | Q4 2026 |
Traction
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 · reseller model
Blended-mix per-unit economics. ARPU = 40 % Watchman ($399) + 40 % Warden ($649) + 20 % Keeper ($999+). FireKeep is a reseller — a specialist China-based OEM partner manufactures the optical core; we import, brand, bundle with safety + accessories, and warranty. No per-unit losses at any tier.
| Year 1 (250u) | Year 2 (2,800u · wholesale tier) | Year 3 (15,000u · scale) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale price (blended ARPU) | $619 | $619 | $595 |
| OEM cost (no wholesale Y1) | $186 | $140 | $112 |
| Bundle (housing, OD6 glasses, packaging, branding) | $80 | $72 | $60 |
| Stripe fee + shipping | $40 | $38 | $35 |
| Gross margin | $313 (51 %) | $369 (60 %) | $388 (65 %) |
| CAC (paid acq, blended) | $90 | $50 | $30 |
| Sales / G&A per unit | $35 | $22 | $15 |
| Compliance amortization (FDA + REDR) | $80 | $5 | $1 |
| Contribution per unit | +$108 (17 %) | +$292 (47 %) | +$342 (57 %) |
| Payback period | ~10 months | ~3 weeks | < 1 month |
Why margin scales: (1) OEM wholesale discount (25 % off retail) kicks in after first 50 units, (2) compliance fixed-costs amortize over more units, (3) CAC drops as reviews accumulate and brand awareness builds, (4) fixed Sales/G&A spreads across more volume.
Go-to-market
Meta + YouTube + Google. Threshold tracker as commitment device. 250 units to threshold.
Sport Chek, MEC, Atmosphere, specialty outdoor outfitters. 5–8 retailers. SHOT Show 2027 booth.
Cabela's, REI, Bass Pro, Backcountry.com. Tier-1 distribution. International expansion.
EU (post-CE-marking), AU (post-jurisdictional review), JP (specialty). Distributor network.
Competitive position
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.
| Brand | Tech | Compliance | Premium positioning | Story | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct | FireKeep | ✓ Novel | ✓ Full | ✓ Premium | ✓ Heritage |
| Direct | Wicked Lasers | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | ✗ |
| Direct | Big Lasers | ✓ | ~ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Adjacent | Light My Fire (ferro) | ✗ | ✓ | ~ | ~ |
| Adjacent | Exotac (ferro premium) | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Adjacent | Olight / Surefire | ~ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ |
Founder + made-where · confidential
Operating model: founder-led D2C importer + reseller. Q3 2026 — first orders ship from Vancouver. Q4 2026 — Customer Lead (part-time → full-time when volume crosses 50 units/month). Q2 2027 — Brand & content lead. Year 3 — Head of Sales (specialty retail veteran) when ready for Cabela's / REI conversations. No manufacturing hire planned — the core lasers are imported; our OEM partner builds them. The Limited Collection — Outrider, Edge, Anthem, Photon — is hand-assembled in Canada in batches of ten; Solis ships as a sourced solar companion. Sourcing specifics are proprietary and shared in full at close.
5-year financials
| Year | Units | Revenue | Gross margin | S&M | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 · Yr 1 | 250 | $187K | 58% | $94K | -$123K |
| 2027 · Yr 2 | 2,800 | $2.1M | 58% | $520K | +$319K |
| 2028 · Yr 3 | 15,000 | $10.8M | 60% | $1.95M | +$2.71M |
| 2029 · Yr 4 | 38,000 | $26.4M | 62% | $4.5M | +$7.94M |
| 2030 · Yr 5 | 70,000 | $47.6M | 63% | $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
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
$4M post-money. SAFE or priced round at our discretion. 20-min calls open with founder. Calendar at cal.com/firekeep or email invest@firekeep.ca.