Driving Brand Growth Through Ecommerce

We Help Investors and Consumer Brands Win Market Share

OUR CLIENTS

We are uniquely positioned to help both Investors and Consumer Brands, with decades of experience as Ecommerce operators, consultants and investors. We have designed a proprietary framework to support accelerated digital retail growth through Ecommerce.

Private Equity and Venture Funds

Beginning with the investment thesis, we offer our Ecommerce expertise through the full investment cycle. We focus on due diligence, go-to-market strategies, and scaling Direct to Consumer businesses with insights that help accelerate your return on investment.

Consumer Brands

To win Digital Retail market share, you need a growth strategy that considers external forces, customer requirements, and internal realities. We serve as growth architects, collaborating with Consumer Brands to develop proven growth strategies to scale brands through Ecommerce.

OUR SERVICES

Our collaborative approach is designed to define the best Ecommerce strategy through our proven framework at every stage of the process.

Strategic Due Diligence

Identifying a quality consumer brand for investment or acquisition is hyper competitive. It’s a seller’s market with more unallocated investment dollars than ever — especially in the Direct to Consumer space. We bring deep digital and Ecommerce expertise to properly evaluate brands for investment.

Go To Market Strategy

Launching an existing consumer brand online is complex and gets more nuanced by the day. With our deep expertise we reduce the risk of the unknown with proven go to market strategies that deliver results. Your brand intelligence + our domain expertise = Accelerated Digital Retail Growth.

Growth Strategy

Growth is not linear. Growth is a series of key milestones along the way. We serve as a compass navigating our clients through the dynamic digital landscape to achieve goals. We ensure new ideas are brought to the table to propel your growth and adapt to changing environments.

Let’s Advance Your Ecommerce Strategy to Win Digital Market Share

WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE

The balance of financial rigor, market intelligence, customer insights and operating experience enables us to uncover potential pitfalls and solve for them to reduce risk and increase return on your investment.

Market Analysis

The cornerstone of a strong investment and growth strategy is developed by insightful market analysis. We take a 360 degree deep dive into your company, product, customer, and competition.

Voice of the Customer

Growth is unlocked when brands listen to customers. We are experts at qualitative and quantitative insights to improve the customer experience across each touchpoint.

Operating Metrics

Higher returns come from unlocking the crucial and overwhelming challenges hidden behind financial analysis. We blend operating and customer behavior metrics to refine plans. We know the questions to ask.

COMPASS ROSE VENTURES

Navigation for Direct to Consumer Investment and Growth

Accelerating digital market share has never been more important for Investors and Consumer brands. Consumer behavior has shifted online and the competition for share of wallet is fierce.
 
Through first-hand executive operating experience in large and start-up consumer and retail businesses, I saw a significant opportunity for Investors and Consumer Brands to have the right depth of knowledge when evaluating, launching, building, and growing their digital retail revenue.

I created Compass Rose Ventures to help you navigate the challenges and complexity of Direct to Consumer investment and growth. With our proven framework and collaborative approach, the seasoned Compass Rose Ventures team works closely with Investors and Consumer Brands to drive results. We advise with a tailored Ecommerce strategy every step of the way, from strategic due diligence to launch plans and accelerated growth strategies.

OUR VALUES

We are a customer-obsessed team that takes pride in collaboration, transparency, respect and direct feedback. Communicating with our clients and within our team is our passion. We are growth-minded and believe in challenging ourselves every day by solving hard problems and translating data into actionable insights that accelerate growth. We find joy in lean, iterative improvements that unlock new and bold opportunities and results for our clients. Our success is measured by the value we create in Direct to Consumer brands.

WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT

We focus on designing actionable growth strategies informed by deep Ecommerce industry expertise across new customer acquisition, retention, customer engagement, and operations. We deliver results.

SCALABLE MODEL

Aligning to your vision and business goals, we combine our strategic Direct to Consumer growth expertise and network with your in-house team to collaborate on a revenue growth plan.

DECADES OF EXPERIENCE

With a combined 30 years of hands-on experience, we are strategic, pragmatic, and experienced digital innovators who know how to achieve efficient and effective results.

METHODOLOGY

We have created and refined a scalable strategic diligence and actionable go-to-market process. Increase your return on investment and energy with our proven methodology. 

Let’s Advance Your Ecommerce Strategy to Win Digital Market Share

FAQs

Does a Private Equity Firm Really Add Value Beyond the Investment?

Private Equity firms are more than just capital investors. In reality, they add value to the portfolio in four key ways. 

  1.    PE firms help build great brands...brands that customers are willing to pay more for. Brands thrive when commodities fail, and improving brand value is crucial to success. Improving value is not just about charging more, it involves a well rounded approach that includes people management and excelling in satisfying market needs.

    2.    PE firms help growth by helping management teams strategize and scale. PE firms will either make changes in the existing business model or create a new one. They know how to unlock true growth potential.

    3.    PE firms have the expert advisors a company needs to truly accomplish Digital transformation and sustainable growth.

    4.    PE firms know how to improve profit margins by reducing costs, reviewing and advising on cost savings and ensuring that the back end is operating efficiently to support scaling growth.

How do I Evaluate Growth Potential for a Direct to Consumer Business?

While every business is different, the underlying assumptions can make an impact on your investment thesis. Evaluating a business through a digital flywheel framework is crucial as you consider the interconnectedness of future Ecommerce growth.

Investors typically leverage key performance indicators from the marketing and sales funnel as a determinant for success. However, the funnel approach can miss the full picture. The flywheel approach places the customer at the center of all decisions and captures the digital spin-off effects of strategic levers to build momentum across brand awareness, customer acquisition, conversion and retention.

The digital sector has become increasingly sophisticated with the use of chatbots, personalization, augmented reality, user-generated content, and programmable advertising. Looking beyond past financial performance, strategic due diligence considers the three core levers of the flywheel - acquisition levers, nurture levers, and digital enablers. 

How does a Private Equity Firm Win More Bids?

While price may be all that matters for some sellers, there are other important factors that a savvy investor can offer to position themselves to be the winning bidder. Sometimes the highest bid is not necessarily the right bid.

It is critical to understand what it will take to achieve value-added growth and assemble the right expertise to support the brand. It’s also important to answer a few questions up front to help differentiate your offer. Do they want to keep their management team or will there be changes or major hiring needed? Are they interested in keeping a minority or even majority stake of the equity? Do they simply want investment to grow the company or sell long term? What are they seeking beyond capital that you could support in a unique way? These are just some of the key questions to understand.

Another way to separate your investment firm and stand out from the pack is to hire external advisors to demonstrate that your firm is serious. It will be critical to ensure the company feels comfortable with the due diligence process, experiences working with a team that is open and collaborative throughout the process, and understands what unique resources will be available to them. 

How are Private Equity Investors using Strategic Due Diligence to Gain an Advantage?

Timing can be tight when conducting a due diligence process and the need for speed and accuracy may cause a firm to narrow their focus. By looking only at the financials and hearing from the management team, they may be missing important pieces of the picture.

Analyzing market conditions, customer insights, and competitive intelligence are keys to success. Careful and insightful market research, along with go-to-market planning and understanding how customers perceive the brand should be completed prior to closing a deal.

Understanding a company culture and any sensitivities are also a crucial part of the process. Growth requires changes and the right mindset is equally as important as the core competencies within an organization. 

Will You Find an Investor for my Direct to Consumer Business?

Compass Rose Ventures does not give financing services to start-ups. We provide advisory services to growth Investors and Consumer Brands that have a proven product or customer base. Based on individual needs, we are happy to provide practical advice. 

Why Compass Rose Ventures?

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