Scale past 1 crore

What breaks at each level, the operations to hold it together, and the money to fund the next.

5 steps, 30 questions, laid out in the order you'll hit them

Each step is a topic with the real questions D2C founders ask; open whichever one you're stuck on for the answer and the resources on it.

1. 1
   Scaling 1Cr to 10Cr to 100Cr

   What breaks, and what to fix first, at each level.

   What actually breaks when a D2C brand goes from ₹1 crore to ₹10 crore in revenue? 3 → What changes operationally between ₹10 crore and ₹100 crore - what worked before stops working? 3 → Why do most Indian D2C brands get stuck and never cross ₹100 crore? 3 → How do Indian consumer VCs like Fireside Ventures and Sauce.vc actually think about which brands can scale? 4 → What can I learn from how Mamaearth and WOW Skin Science scaled - and where did they hit trouble? 3 → All 6 questions in Scaling 1Cr to 10Cr to 100Cr →
2. 2
   Inventory & demand planning

   Never stock out on your hero, never drown in dead SKUs.

   How much safety stock should I actually be holding on my hero SKU? 4 → How do I forecast demand for a brand-new SKU with zero sales history? 4 → My bestseller keeps going out of stock during sales, how do I fix my reorder timing? 4 → How do I stop drowning in dead and slow-moving SKUs? 4 → Do I need inventory management software, or can I still run this on spreadsheets? 4 → All 6 questions in Inventory & demand planning →
3. 3
   ROAS, CAC & attribution

   Know which rupee of ad spend actually worked.

   What ROAS should I actually be targeting, and how do I use benchmarks correctly? 4 → How do I calculate my true CAC, not just what the ad platform reports? 4 → Why do Meta and Google both claim credit for the same sale? 4 → Should I buy an attribution tool like Triple Whale or Northbeam, or just trust platform data? 4 → What is incrementality testing and do I actually need it? 4 → All 6 questions in ROAS, CAC & attribution →
4. 4
   Building your D2C team

   The first ten hires that make or break a brand.

   What are the first 5-10 hires a D2C founder should make, and in what order? 4 → Should my first marketing hire be a generalist or a specialist - performance marketer vs brand marketer? 3 → When do I need to hire an operations or supply chain person instead of doing it myself? 3 → How do I hire well on a tight budget before I've raised real money? 3 → Where do I actually find good D2C talent in India, and what should I pay? 3 → All 6 questions in Building your D2C team →
5. 5
   Funding a D2C brand

   VC, revenue-based finance, venture debt, or none.

   Should I bootstrap my D2C brand or raise VC money? 4 → What is revenue-based financing and how does it work for D2C brands in India? 4 → What's venture debt, and when should I take it instead of - or alongside - equity? 3 → How do I finance inventory without giving up equity? 3 → Klub, GetVantage or Velocity - which RBF platform is actually right for my brand? 4 → All 6 questions in Funding a D2C brand →