March 1, 2024

Cracking the formula

“Red Bull soon cracked the formula for the whole sport. It consisted of four essential elements:

By Ben Tregoe Margins Capital Efficiency

“Red Bull soon cracked the formula for the whole sport. It consisted of four essential elements:

aerodynamic efficiency
mechanical efficiency
the engine, and
the driver.

“If you have good aero and two of the other three, you’ll have a good package,” chief designer Rob Marshall said. “If you have all four, you’ll be unbeatable.” “ *

What is the formula for ecomm?

Is there a 4 component formula with one must have (aero) and three other components where 3 for 4 means you are good and 4 for 4 means you are unbeatable? I think so.

Here’s my list:

good unit economics = good aero. you must have this
customer acquisition efficiency = mechanical efficiency
cash flow generation = the engine
leadership = the driver

*The above is from the Wall Street Journal excerpt of the upcoming book “The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport” by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg

Keep reading

August 12, 2026 · Operations, Logistics

Fix how you code inventory

Accounting will code inventory invoices as expenses for several reasons. You may not be aware it’s happening. And you may not be aware of the implications and benefits of fixing it.

May 13, 2026 · Margins, Capital Efficiency

Inventory IRR

I would expect blank stares if I asked a brand finance person what their Inventory IRR is, but it’s my favorite pet metric because it distills into a single number the potential of the brand’s...