Case study · 02

Preparing a Direct to Consumer Brand for Institutional Investment

A D2C personal care brand fixed its unit economics, cut its product range by roughly a third, and improved contribution margin ahead of a stronger funding round.

Sector: Personal care (D2C)
Engagement: Investment readiness advisory

Roughly a thirdProduct range reduction

Double digitsContribution margin improvement

2 functionsMoved fully out of founder's span

01 The Problem

The operating constraint behind the numbers

A fast growing personal care brand attracted investor interest and failed diligence. The business had no reliable unit economics, marketing spend was allocated on instinct, reporting was assembled manually each month, and every material decision depended on the founder personally.

02 The Evidence

The evidence leadership could act on

Product Range Reduction

Before

Full range

After

Reduced by roughly a third

Source: leading to a range reduction of roughly a third.

Contribution Margin Improvement

Before

Baseline margin

After

Improved by double digits

Source: Contribution margin improved by double digits on a sharper range.

03 The Kingswell Response

What changed in the management system

Build customer level profitability

Advisory built customer level profitability, which revealed one hero category subsidising three loss making ones, leading to a range reduction of roughly a third.

Install automated monthly reporting

Implementation installed automated monthly reporting from the commerce and accounting systems.

Build a marketing analytics view tied to contribution

A marketing analytics view was installed tying spend to contribution rather than clicks.

Restructure leadership span

A leadership structure was installed that moved two functions fully out of the founder's span.

04 What Remained

The management system installed

Automated monthly reporting from the commerce and accounting systems

Marketing analytics view tying spend to contribution rather than clicks

Customer level profitability model

05 The Result

What the organisation could do next

The work moved in two tracks. Advisory built customer level profitability, which revealed one hero category subsidising three loss making ones, leading to a range reduction of roughly a third. Implementation installed automated monthly reporting from the commerce and accounting systems, a marketing analytics view tying spend to contribution rather than clicks, and a leadership structure that moved two functions fully out of the founder's span. Contribution margin improved by double digits on a sharper range, and the following funding round closed at a valuation the earlier process had declined, with investors citing management depth as the difference.