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Brand finance, capital, and growth.
Ben Tregoe on brand finance: capital strategy, inventory, margins, cash flow, and building consumer brands that generate cash.
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41 posts on Capital Efficiency
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.
June 21, 2026 · Capital Efficiency, Credit & Loans
Field Guide for How to Think About Capital for Brand Growth
A field guide for scaling consumer brands on how to think about inventory financing, and every other capital option, based on the growth it unlocks, not its sticker price.
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...
May 1, 2026 · Data, Margins
Latest Elephant Herd Index
Latest Elephant Herd Index
April 24, 2026 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
PMMF Not PMF (Product Market Fit)
We all use the term, but what do we actually mean? It’s a notoriously squishy term that was popularized in tech with VC’s, so it makes sense that people often cite Marc Andreesen’s definition:
March 6, 2026 · Capital Efficiency, Fundraising
Judge Capital By Growth Enabled
How much growth does this capital enable?
March 2, 2026 · Capital Efficiency, Strategy
How You Think of Capital is Wrong
“What’s the APR? What’s the rate?”
December 11, 2025 · Strategy, Capital Efficiency
Finding Your Flywheel
Amazon’s "secret sauce" was drawn on a napkin in 2001 when Jeff Bezos sketched a diagram of Amazon’s flywheel.
November 11, 2025 · Strategy, Capital Efficiency
Customers are the assets that count
The accounting is misleading. Accounting standards say that marketing is an expense and that your inventory is your biggest asset.
November 6, 2025 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
Golden Zone? Death Zone? Your zone determines your future
I can tell you what your future will look like by knowing which zone you are in.
November 4, 2025 · Strategy, Margins
The 5 Holy Laws of Models (part 2)
A financial model with a balance sheet and cash flow is the most critical tool for every brand leader.
October 27, 2025 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
AI’s impact on brand finance
How will AI impact brand finance?
June 12, 2025 · Strategy, Capital Efficiency
What is a Brand?
Brand is the most under defined word in ecomm. A working definition of brand, the thinking behind it, and how to make it actionable.
May 29, 2025 · Strategy, Operations
Product Focus Works
Rhode’s growth is phenomenal. From zero to $210 million in net sales in 3 years is a stunning success. And a billion dollar exit is a fantastic finish.
April 29, 2025 · Capital Efficiency, Strategy
Wharton Boy Learns About Inventory Turns and Cash
“You know what I care about Wharton Boy?”
April 22, 2025 · Capital Efficiency, Margins
Reducing Cash Flow Ups and Downs
In this video, I explore:
April 17, 2025 · Data, Capital Efficiency
Death by Inventory Part 2
“It’s always the same story. The company accumulates too much slow moving inventory, then suddenly goes bankrupt.”
April 14, 2025 · Capital Efficiency, Margins
Is it Margin or Cycling or Both?
Margins or capital cycles.
April 11, 2025 · Capital Efficiency, Margins
Spin Your Capital Cycles Faster
Imagine two companies with the exact same Income Statement.
April 7, 2025 · Data, Margins
13 Week Cash Flow Model Resource
@eric__andrews is a wealth of information. He has a ton of good and helpful videos and offers courses as well.
March 4, 2025 · Operations, Capital Efficiency
“Can’t shrink your way to success” and other lies we tell ourselves
“Can’t shrink your way to success”
January 30, 2025 · Operations, Capital Efficiency
Death by inventory Part 1
“It’s always the same story. The company accumulates too much slow moving inventory, then suddenly goes bankrupt.”
September 26, 2024 · Credit & Loans, Capital Efficiency
How to: MCA’s
You need money and you need it fast. But you are worried about making a mistake. This post will help you make a better decision and sleep at night.
June 20, 2024 · Strategy, Capital Efficiency
Ruthless Prioritization
Eventually there’s a laundry list.
May 8, 2024 · Capital Efficiency
Compounding drives success
“Compounding is the 8th wonder of the world.” Mitch Rales, co-founder of Danaher.
May 6, 2024 · Capital Efficiency, Margins
Capital, Cash and Growth. Tuning the Machine.
How well do I use my capital to generate sales?
April 16, 2024 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
Lessons from a Retail Legend
Has there been a more influential CFO in retail than Richard Galanti from Costco?
April 2, 2024 · Data, Margins
How close to insolvency are you? The Altman Z-Score
A quick scan of this list and the negative scores might give you a clue as to what the table means. Not good.
March 25, 2024 · Capital Efficiency, Margins
Manage to cash
Of the god metrics of ecomm, Zeus = Cash. Contribution Profit sits at Cash’s feet.
March 13, 2024 · Exits, Equity
Are you building a brand or an ad arb business?
Are you building a brand or an ad arbitrage business?
March 1, 2024 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
Cracking the formula
“Red Bull soon cracked the formula for the whole sport. It consisted of four essential elements:
February 27, 2024 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
3 lessons for brand leaders: ELF
e.l.f. has returned an incredible 651% in the past 2 years with its share price rising from $27 to $200.
February 21, 2024 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
Hermes v The World
The numbers are staggering. When you look at the financial performance of Hermes versus its luxury peers, the numbers are simply staggering.
February 8, 2024 · Data, Margins
The Unhappy 13: Lessons from poor performance
These are the 13 companies in the Elephant Herd Index that had both (a) negative 12 month returns and (b) 3 month returns below the S&P 500 which makes for unhappy investors.
February 7, 2024 · Equity, Margins
The Elite 5 and Return on Capital
5 ecommerce and retail brands have more than doubled the S&P 500 return over the past 12 months.
January 17, 2024 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
The question you must answer
Which quadrant are you?
January 15, 2024 · Capital Efficiency, Margins
Solving the Return on Capital Riddle
Of course that’s not how you view your brand. You have awesome products, a big market, great customers and a hard-working team. You are changing the world!
January 4, 2024 · Margins, Capital Efficiency
The Payoff Playbook
Will this be worth it?
December 22, 2023 · Capital Efficiency, Margins
Introducing the Elephant Herd Index
Link
December 21, 2023 · Capital Efficiency, Margins
Cautionary Tale: Don’t be Allbirds
There are 4 quadrants. Which are you?
December 14, 2023 · Capital Efficiency
Inventory Turnover Is Your Secret Weapon
Any of these sound familiar?
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