Financial Planning for eCommerce startup

Problem:

The client was concerned with the supply-order ticket size (import from China), inventory management to move the products, and the cash-outlay situation to sustain the business for the time-period to secure funds.

Action:

I planned a crowdfunding campaign to launch the first consignment and raise substantial capital to import the next 2 batches. I planned the amortization schedule for the 2 possible loan sources (BDC and Consignment), and tried to optimize the cash-flow situation based on that. Additionally, I fixed the pricing with realistic unit economics breakdown to have sufficient Gross Margin to become profitable on a cash-flow basis asap. I drafted the complete financial model with all these speculations in mind.

Result:

The crowdfunding campaign was a huge success, with significant capital to invest for the next batch to sell at Amazon. The post-marketing profit was substantial enough to sustain the order ticket-size for the subsequent 2 batches resulting in a good cash runway. The company just achieved a sustainable business model with significant growth.