(1/12) DTC micro-brands functionally go through 4 key revenue milestones/stages.

1) $0-1m
2) $1-5m
3) $5-25m
4) $25m-x

High level notes 👇 2/ $0-1m stage

This stage is toughest. It’s riddled w/ product challenges, inventory constraints, creative, etc.

Founders work tirelessly to achieve product-market fit.

VC-backed cos are managing expectations consistently.

Bootstrapped owners are fighting their own battles.

(1/13) A strong marketing team is built to rotate the flywheel of growth. Great DTC marketing teams:

- Have 3 core focuses: demand gen - acquisition - retention
- Avoid “Head of” titles
- Outsource certain components & maintain control of core competencies

Thoughts below... 👇 (2/13) Three focuses.

Depending on stage of co, a strong team will have demand gen - acq - retention as 3 separate focuses but ensure there’s strong XFN and cross-pollination.

Building a clean org chart from the start will help drive efficient scale.

(1/14)After observing $250M+ in ad spend on @facebook, I’ve noticed that DTC brands that scale very quickly have a few things in common:
- High margins & high AOV
- Business model is focused on retention
- Cross-border activation is simple
- Product is a consumable & impulse buy (2/14) Metrics observed:
1) 70%+ GMs (varies across sectors. Beauty: 80% while food/bev: 30-40%)
2) $100+ AOV (non subscription)
3) Retention (subscription): 1M is 85%+, 6M is 50%+
4) LTV/CAC: 4X+ (plz identify your payback period (PB). Marketers love LTV but rarely discuss PB)