Commercial finance that moves the numbers, not just reports them.
Pricing, unit economics and forecasting for D2C and subscription brands that have outgrown the founder's spreadsheet. I build the forecast your board trusts, work out what a price change is really worth, and flag problems before you find them.
Who I help
Founders and CEOs at brands that have grown past the early stage and need senior commercial finance without a full-time hire.
Before your first finance hire
Growth has outrun the founder's spreadsheet. You need a forecast, a plan and someone to own the numbers and flag problems before you find them, while you decide what the finance hire should be.
Facing a pricing decision
A price rise, a new tier or a promotion. I model the effect on churn, lifetime value and cash before you commit, then design the test, analyse the result and run the rollout.
Answering to a board or investors
Reporting that says what changed and why, what to do next, and a reforecast built on assumptions you can explain.
What I do
Pricing and unit economics
Price-rise strategy, retention modelling with churn built in, LTV, cohort economics and payback, and customer acquisition cost and return by channel.
Trading rhythm
You have the metrics but no regular cycle for understanding them. I'll turn that into a rhythm that keeps the team focused on the numbers that matter and drives the P&L to where you need it to be.
Forecasting
Monthly rolling forecasts and full-model reforecasts, with cashflow and working capital reconciled to the P&L.
Board and investor reporting
Packs with commentary, budget-versus-plan analysis and clear recommendations.
Strategic initiatives
The projects that need an owner and an estimated value, scoped, run, analysed, refined and handed over.
Systems and automation
I'll fix or automate processes that aren't delivering, so you can focus on the things that matter. I build what the business needs from a commercial mindset, not what's technically clever, so it works and gets used.
Ways to work together
Every engagement is scoped to your requirements, so get in touch to talk through what fits.
Scoped around your brief: a pricing review, a unit-economics check, a forecast rebuild or a board pack, with a clear outcome and a clear end.
A fixed number of days each month, so you have a senior owner for forecasting, reporting and the initiatives that matter most.
Head of commercial finance leadership and chief of staff in one role, for a defined period, with a clean handover to your next hire.
Case studies
Recent engagements, in brief.
Republic of Cats
The CEO was acting as commercial finance himself, and board reporting took most of his time, leaving little room to stay close to trading against plan or to work on strategy.
I took over reporting and commentary so we could work on strategy together, built a daily Slack update of key metrics against target, and put a regular trading rhythm in place. Existing customers sat on fragmented price plans, so I built a plan to move them onto a single one, simplifying the offer and raising average price. The plan was tested on a group of existing customers.
The CEO gained clearer oversight of the metrics that matter. The price test performed as modelled: average price rose, with additional churn in line with the forecast.
“Henry’s work was instrumental in helping us simplify our pricing and gain much better visibility over our trading metrics.”
Richard Darlington, CEO, Republic of Cats
Looped
Ahead of fundraising, the founders needed confidence in their investor model, and a dependable view of cash from then on.
I reviewed the financial model in full and built a cashflow forecast with a tracking model so actual cash can be monitored against plan.
The founders have a clear strategic direction and more confidence going into fundraising, and cash is now monitored against forecast on an ongoing basis.
Cotswold Raw
Cotswold Raw wanted to grow sales through D2C.
My diagnosis was that sales weren't the bottleneck. The back-end operating systems were, so each step up in growth would put more strain on fulfilment. The priority was to fix that foundation first.
A new back-end operating system is being integrated, putting the foundations in place for D2C growth.
About
I'm Henry, a fractional Head of Commercial Finance and Strategy based in south-west London. I spent ten years at tails.com, from first salaried employee to Europe's largest D2C pet food brand, acquired by Nestlé Purina in 2018.
At tails.com I worked with the commercial and leadership teams on the decisions that drive a subscription business: what to charge, who stays and why, how fast to grow, and what the forecast says comes next. I built much of the modelling, reporting and processes behind them. Now I do the same for other D2C and subscription brands.
I like working with smart people solving difficult problems, selling great products that make a difference to people's lives. I'm here to get things done that make an impact for you and your customers. If something isn't working, I'll tell you.
Away from work, I'm busy with my three daughters, my dog and trying to find time for video games.