Scale, fund & exit

Distributors & channel partners

Add feet on the street without hiring them.

All Intermediate Advanced

Everyone Marketplace Seller Scaling Brand Omnichannel Operator Product Person Tier-2/3 Founder

Should I even bother with offline distribution, or stay D2C-only? If your CAC on paid digital channels keeps climbing, offline is no longer optional - over 800 D2C brands in India now have some offline presence, a... Intermediate 3 resources → What's the difference between modern trade and general trade, and which should I start with? Modern trade (organised retail chains, supermarkets) is the easier entry point - it works like ecommerce, chains buy direct, absorb some cost, and ... Intermediate 3 resources → How do I actually find and vet a distributor in India? Distributors come through market visits, trade shows, referrals from other brand founders, and increasingly B2B platforms that shortcut months of g... Intermediate 3 resources → What is ONDC and should my brand list on it? ONDC is India's open, government-backed digital commerce network - already connecting 370,000+ sellers across 800+ cities - that lets brands and di... Intermediate 3 resources → Is quick commerce killing traditional distributors, or do I need both? Quick commerce and ONDC are eroding the distribution advantage that big FMCG players built over decades, but for most D2C brands they're a compleme... Advanced 3 resources → What terms should I negotiate with a distributor (margins, credit, exclusivity)? Nail down distributor margin (typically layered on top of retailer margin, so know your full trade margin stack before you agree to anything), cred... Advanced 3 resources →

Related in Starting Up

Not D2C-specific, so it lives in our founder hub. Same engine, different corner.

Co-founder dynamics, equity splits and conflict

Finding a co-founder → Co-founder agreements & equity →

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