How I Evaluate an Ecommerce Business Before Investing

I invest in and build ecommerce businesses. Over the years I have developed a simple filter for deciding where to put capital and effort. If you are a founder preparing to pitch — to me or anyone — this is what will be examined.

1. Unit economics first

Revenue is vanity if every order loses money. I look at contribution margin after product cost, shipping, payment fees, and marketing. A business that makes money on the second order but not the first can still work — if retention is real.

2. Retention and repeat rate

A brand that only grows by buying new customers is renting growth. I want to see repeat purchase rate, time between orders, and what percentage of revenue comes from returning customers.

3. Operations and backend

Inventory accuracy, dispatch time, return rate, and supplier terms tell me more about a business than its Instagram page. Weak backend systems quietly kill strong brands.

4. The founder

• Do they know their numbers without opening a spreadsheet?

• Have they survived a hard period — cash crunch, failed launch, platform ban?

• Are they honest about what is not working?

What I offer beyond capital

When I partner with a business, I bring operational involvement: backend systems, marketing support, manufacturing and export networks. If you are building an ecommerce brand and want a partner with skin in the game, get in touch through the contact page.