Hey there,
The best D2C founders already know how to build operating plans that actually work. Not from blog posts or decks—but from late-night WhatsApp groups and closed founder circles. These discussions are never documented or made public.
Until now.
In our latest Field Notes, we’re bringing that private founder knowledge into the open. Romita Mazumdar (CEO and founder, Foxtale) and Abhishek Agarwal (CEO and founder, Farmley)—both running ₹400+ crore brands—walked us through their actual AOP playbooks: the frameworks, the trade-offs, and the control systems that let them scale without losing grip on daily operations.
Here are some earned secrets you won’t find in typical planning advice:
🎯 The 3-Year Framework: Abhishek plans three years ahead specifically to nail year one. “The objectives should be clear for three years—revenue, product range, profitability metrics.”
📊 RoAS as Quality Control: At Foxtale, marketing spend gets monitored daily with surgical precision. “Without proper RoAS, I don’t care about revenue. That’s not high-quality revenue. If RoAS falls, costs get cut immediately.”
🔬 Channel-Category Matrix Planning: Abhishek divides his portfolio into growth buckets. “This year I want to double category A, grow category B by 70%, category C by 30%. Then each channel head projects growth for each category in their channel.”
💰 Discount ≠ Marketing Budget: Romita negotiates channel economics as complete equations. “When you say we can only sell at 10% off, I might give you ₹1 extra in marketing instead. Or I’ll approve 15% discount but cut your marketing budget or increase your revenue target.”
🌾 The 35% Buffer Rule: After nearly missing quick commerce’s explosion, Farmley now buffers 35-40% above every projection. “The cost of missing ₹5 crore in sales is far greater than paying ₹1 crore in added working capital float.”
📱 From Monthly Instinct to Daily Controls: Romita evolved from planning month-to-month in year one to building systematic controls at scale. “I used to see even ₹10 invoices. Now I only see invoices above a certain amount. We generate 100-plus invoices daily—I can’t see them all. As a CEO, you need to know without seeing—that’s where controllership comes in.”
Curious how these frameworks translate from spreadsheets to daily operations? Read our full deep-dive with step-by-step AOP construction methods from both founders.
Read the Full Article → https://blume.vc/commentaries/building-aops-that-work-real-lessons-from-seasoned-d2c-founders
Until next time,
Blume Team
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