Money, pricing & unit economics

Know if you make money on order number one, and price for value, not discounts.

What founders use for money, pricing & unit economics, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. A reference list broader than just CM1/CM2, useful once you've got the basics down and want to know what an actual CFO would... CFO Matrix Article D2C Unit Economics: 16 Metrics Every E-commerce Startup Should Know CFO Matrix In 4 answers
  2. Starts pricing where it should start - unit economics, not competitor-watching - and walks through how price sets your... thehqdigital.com Article D2C Pricing Strategy: From Unit Economics to Profit The HQ Digital In 4 answers
  3. A structured framework for CM1/CM2/contribution margin thinking that applies directly to a D2C brand regardless of market, the... Eightx Article Ecommerce Unit Economics 2026: The Complete Founder's Framework Eightx In 3 answers
  4. A neutral, feature-by-feature comparison of the three tools every Indian founder actually considers, saves you from three... G2 Article Zoho Books vs. Tally vs. Vyapar: How Do They Compare? G2 In 3 answers
  5. A CA firm's practical picks rather than a vendor's self-promotion, useful second opinion when deciding what to actually... PKC India Article Best Bookkeeping Software in India: Best Picks (2025) PKC India In 3 answers
  6. The foundational text on why customers judge price relative to context, not in absolute terms - the psychology behind every... amazon.com Book Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It) William Poundstone In 3 answers
  7. A clean, jargon-free breakdown of what each P&L line actually means, a good first read before you look at your own statement... Bank of America Business Article How to Read and Understand a Profit and Loss Statement Bank of America Business In 2 answers
  8. Ties unit economics directly to Indian D2C cost structures, COD/RTO rates, marketplace commissions, gateway fees, rather than a... RizeVault (Razorpay) Article Mastering Unit Economics and Pricing for D2C Success Razorpay Rize In 2 answers
  9. Flips the standard margin conversation on its head, allocate profit first, then run the business on what's left, which forces... amazon.com Book Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine Mike Michalowicz In 2 answers
  10. The clearest plain-English walkthrough of what a cohort table actually is and how to read one - rows, columns, cells - before... getfairview.com Article Cohort Analysis for Ecommerce: Build and Read Tables Fairview In 2 answers
  11. Frames cohort analysis explicitly around profitable growth rather than vanity retention metrics - useful for tying the analysis... admetrics.io Article Cohort Analysis for DTC Ecommerce: The Practical Way to Measure Profitable Growth Admetrics In 2 answers
  12. A Shopify-specific breakdown that acknowledges the real data-quality challenges (multi-channel orders, guest checkout, refunds)... sarasanalytics.com Article Shopify LTV: Formula, Metrics & Challenges (2026) Saras Analytics In 2 answers
  13. A hands-on 'how to actually build this in Shopify' guide - bridges the gap between understanding cohort analysis conceptually... niblin.com Article Shopify Cohort Analysis: Read & Act on Retention Data (2026) Niblin In 2 answers
  14. The clearest walk-through of how a real DTC model connects operational levers - ad spend, conversion, CAC, retention - to the... eightx.co Article Financial Modeling for DTC Brands: Revenue Forecasting & Unit Economics Eightx In 2 answers
  15. A build-along from an operator, not a template vendor - useful precisely because it shows the reasoning behind each assumption... medium.com Article The Only Financial Model You Need for Your Ecommerce Business Imad El Fay In 2 answers
  16. A forecasting-specific companion to the general modeling articles - useful for the founder who has a model built but needs to... info.woolman.io Article D2C - Ecommerce Financial Forecasting Woolman In 2 answers
  17. A rare India-specific look at non-dilutive funding for D2C brands - working capital and revenue-based debt matched to inventory... recurclub.com Article How D2C SMEs in India Are Using Debt Financing to Scale Sustainably Recur Club In 2 answers
  18. A practical roundup for the pre-finance-hire stage - what lightweight software actually replaces a bookkeeper's spreadsheet... cfoexpertise.com Article D2C Finance Apps That Simplify Accounting and Cash Flow CFO Expertise In 2 answers
  19. Shows how to capture more of what your product is worth - via tiers, bundles and cohort-specific offers - without a permanent... eightx.co Article Dynamic and Tiered Pricing for Ecommerce: The Margin Upside Without Breaking Brand Trust Eightx In 2 answers
  20. A tactical, CFO-lens breakdown of the specific psychological levers - charm pricing, anchoring, framing - that move conversion... eightx.co Article Psychological Pricing for DTC: Charm Pricing, Anchoring, and Framing That Actually Convert Eightx In 2 answers
  21. The clearest arithmetic on why discounting is more expensive than founders think - roughly 1.7 points of contribution margin... eightx.co Article The DTC Price-Increase Playbook (Without Killing Volume) Eightx In 2 answers
  22. The cleanest plain-English starting point from the platform most Indian D2C brands actually run on. It nails the core idea -... shopify.com Article What Is Contribution Margin? Definition and Guide Shopify In 2 answers
  23. The best worked-example explainer for actually doing the math: Net Sales minus product cost, shipping, payment fees, fulfilment... storehero.ai Article Contribution Margin Formula for Ecommerce (With Real Examples) StoreHero In 2 answers
  24. The canonical investor's-eye view of why LTV:CAC drives valuation, and why 3:1 became the rule of thumb. Read it to understand... a16z.com Article Why Do Investors Care So Much About LTV:CAC? Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) In 2 answers

Show the next 24

The questions

Unit economics & contribution margin 7

Do you make money on order number one?

What is contribution margin for a D2C brand, and what do CM1, CM2 and CM3 mean? 4 → How do I calculate CAC, and what's the difference between blended CAC and new-customer CAC? 3 → What does a healthy CM1 / CM2 / CM3 actually look like for an Indian D2C brand? 4 → My revenue keeps growing but I'm still losing money. Why does that happen? 4 → How do I factor RTO, returns, COD, shipping and discounts into my true margin? 4 → All 7 questions in Unit economics & contribution margin →
Pricing & discounting strategy 6

Charge for value; stop training buyers to wait for sales.

How do I price a new D2C product when I have no direct competitor to benchmark against? 3 → Should I price the same on my own website and on Amazon, Flipkart and Zepto? 4 → How much can I discount before I train my customers to wait for the next sale? 4 → How do I raise prices without losing customers or crashing conversion? 3 → What pricing psychology actually works for D2C - charm pricing, bundling, anchoring? 3 → All 6 questions in Pricing & discounting strategy →
Financial modeling & forecasting 6

See the cash before it surprises you.

How do I build a basic financial model for my D2C brand from scratch? 4 → What's the difference between a P&L, a cash flow statement and a balance sheet - and which one actually tells me if I'll run out of money? 3 → How do I calculate my cash runway, and how do I know when I need to raise or borrow? 3 → Should I take on debt (working capital loans, invoice financing) instead of raising equity to fund inventory? 3 → What are the biggest financial modeling mistakes D2C founders make? 4 → All 6 questions in Financial modeling & forecasting →
Cohorts, LTV & repeat rate 6

The metrics that decide if you have a brand.

What is cohort analysis, and why does it matter more than a single repeat-rate number? 3 → How do I calculate customer LTV for my D2C brand - on revenue or on margin? 3 → What's a good repeat purchase rate for my category, and how do Indian brands compare to global benchmarks? 3 → What's the difference between repurchase rate and retention rate, and which should I report to investors? 2 → What is RFM analysis, and how do I use it to segment customers for retention marketing? 3 → All 6 questions in Cohorts, LTV & repeat rate →
Accounting & bookkeeping 6

Books that tell you if you're actually making money.

I'm not a finance person, what books/records do I actually need to keep from day one? 3 → What accounting software should a small D2C brand in India actually use, Zoho, Tally, Vyapar, or just Excel? 4 → How do I actually read my P&L and know if I'm making money, not just growing revenue? 3 → What is 'Profit First' and should I actually run my business that way? 3 → What unit economics numbers should I actually be tracking every week, CM1, CM2, contribution margin? 3 → All 6 questions in Accounting & bookkeeping →
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