For DTC & consumer brand founders $5–75M
Bigger margins. Bigger exits. Your terms.
Hands-on advisory for consumer brand founders navigating profitability, capital decisions, and exits.
Limited engagements. By inquiry and fit.
Hands-on advisory for consumer brand founders navigating profitability, capital decisions, and exits.
Limited engagements. By inquiry and fit.
Before we talk about services, here's where I start.
Before you raise, sell, or walk away, you need to know exactly where you stand. Everything else follows from that.
The brands that get the best deals are the ones that don't need one. I help founders get there.
Most founders go into buyer conversations underprepared. I've had 200+ of them. I make sure you're ready.
Whether you're fixing the margins or preparing for an exit, this works best when there's a real decision ahead.
"You're doing $10M+ but can't tell me your contribution margin by channel."
"The playbook that got you here stopped working, and you're not sure what's next."
"Capital or an exit is on your mind, but you're not sure if you're ready."
"You need someone to run your books."
"There's no real decision ahead and no urgency."
"You're looking for a magic fix without doing the work."
I work with 3–5 brands at a time. Some need help getting profitable. Some are preparing for a raise or an exit. Others are ready to execute. The format fits the situation.
A focused, 60-minute session where we diagnose where your business stands and what's holding back value. You'll walk away knowing your biggest gaps (profitability, exit readiness, or both) and a clear next step. If there's a fit for deeper work, we'll talk about it.
Apply for a Strategy SessionA full diagnostic of where your business stands: unit economics, margins by channel, and what's actually driving (or destroying) value. Used by founders who want clarity before making their next move.
Your operational and financial right hand on the path to stronger margins or a successful exit. I work alongside you on margins, cash flow, cost structure, and the decisions that move your valuation. If you need someone to take the reins during a transition or sale process, I've spent a decade in the operator seat.
Understand your full range of options (raise, restructure, debt, exit, or stay the course) and what it takes to execute each one. I help you see your business the way buyers and investors will, before you're in the room with them.
Strategic guidance and full transaction execution for raising capital (equity or debt) or preparing for exit. I've done it: from first buyer outreach to managing diligence to negotiating terms and closing. You get someone who's lived the process end-to-end.
As a Partner at Thunder VC, I bring access to a 6,000+ investor network, dedicated deal teams, and the infrastructure to run full M&A processes and capital raises.
You get founder-to-founder guidance with institutional reach when you need it. Broader buyer outreach, transaction execution, and deal support, without losing the founder-led approach.
I started at J.P. Morgan covering consumer companies. Then I left to build my own.
I spent 10 years building Koio. My co-founder and I started with nothing: no industry connections, no experience making shoes. We knocked on 40+ factory doors in Italy before finding a family business willing to take a chance on us. In the early days, our Brooklyn apartment was the warehouse, the showroom, and the office.
Over the next several years, we built it into a real brand. Retail stores across the U.S., partnerships with Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, features in GQ and Vogue. We raised $20M and built a team of people we genuinely cared about.
Then the math stopped working. COVID hit, privacy laws changed, online marketing got more expensive, and consumer spending pulled back. The playbook that worked in 2019 didn't add up by 2023. We were losing money with limited runway. We spent the next 18 months in survival mode. Cut marketing, closed stores, shut down the office, let go of people we deeply cared about, and killed products we loved. We renegotiated every vendor contract we had. We came out profitable.
Then came the exit. Three years, 200+ buyer conversations, and a lot of near-misses before we finally closed.
Build, scale, break, fix, exit. The hardest stretch is the middle: when growth stalls, the numbers turn, and you have to figure it out before your options disappear. That's the work I do now.
I built these for founders at an inflection point. They're a starting point to figure out where you stand and what to do next.
14 questions to help you figure out if the right move is to restructure, raise, pivot, or sell. Takes 5 minutes.
Take the Diagnostic →23 questions that show you how buyers would evaluate your business today, and what gaps to close first.
Get the Scorecard →Plug in 6 numbers and know your CAC, LTV, and LTV:CAC in 2 minutes. If something's off, you'll see it.
Calculate Now →6 inputs, a realistic range. Based on real transaction multiples, not the numbers your investors want to hear.
Get Your Range →Excel template that scores your brand's financial health (0–100) across 4 categories and 16 metrics, benchmarked against your specific vertical. Tells you where your business is strong, where it's exposed, and what to fix first.
Get the Checkup →A few things founders usually ask before we start.
Very. I work directly with you on strategy, execution, and the hard calls. In the weeds, every week.
No. I focus on strategy: profitability, cash flow, unit economics, capital decisions, and exit preparation. I work with your existing accountant, or I can make introductions to the right people for your books.
I'm a Partner at Thunder VC, which gives me access to institutional deal infrastructure when a situation calls for it: buyer outreach, transaction execution, and capital raise support. Commerce Catalyst advisory work is independent; Thunder resources come in for deals.
Usually within days. Assessments take 1–2 weeks depending on data availability. Ongoing work can start right after an assessment if it makes sense.
Below $5M: I may point you to lighter-touch resources. Above $75M: selective, depending on the situation and whether you have existing finance leadership.
Yes. For the right situation, I'll step in as interim CEO, CFO, or COO and run things. Whether it's a founder transition, a sale process that needs leadership continuity, or a business that needs steady hands while you focus elsewhere. I ran Koio for a decade. I know what it takes.
If you're a consumer brand founder doing $5–75M and you're thinking about profitability, exit readiness, or what your business is actually worth, let's talk. If we're not a fit, I'll tell you quickly.