Build it. Scale it. Make it Valuable!
The operating playbook for building an ecommerce brand.
No subscription · 100% free
Diagnose what's holding your brand back, see what good looks like, and get the tools and frameworks to close the gap. Built from the experience of taking Quad Lock from a Kickstarter project to a $500M exit.
Retention is your weakest link - start with Section 21, then run the payback maths in Section 26.
One system, three parts
Diagnose
The Health Check scores your brand across 8 categories, calibrated to your revenue stage, and finds your weakest link.
How the Health Check worksLearn
31 sections of what actually worked at each stage, from first sale to exit, earned building Quad Lock. All of it free to read.
Browse the full contentsAct
Free calculators, checklists and templates that turn the reading into decisions on your own numbers.
See the toolsThe diagnostic
Know exactly what to fix first.
112 questions, calibrated to your revenue stage. 30-60 minutes. You get a scored report across up to 8 categories, your weakest links ranked, and the exact sections to read next.
Take the Health CheckTakes a free account - about 30 seconds to create.
Repeat rate is doing the least work in your model. Start with Section 21: Customer Retention & Loyalty, then run the payback maths in Section 26 against your own cohort table.
1 of 8 category recommendationsThe playbook
There's a section for that.
Every section is a working chapter - straight answers, worked numbers, action checklists and the tools to apply it, written for ecommerce founders and operators at every stage from launch to exit.
The tools
Built to answer real questions.
Every tool answers one operating question with your own numbers - free in-browser calculators and downloadable templates.
13-Week Cash Flow Template
Will I run out of cash?
The rolling forecast every brand should keep - a free Excel template with landed costs, receipts and the crunch weeks.
Get the free templateBreak-Even ROAS Calculator
Is my marketing actually profitable?
One contribution-margin input, your break-even ROAS out - graded against the blended ROAS you're running today.
Open the calculatorValuation Calculator
What is my brand worth?
EBITDA multiples by category and scale, with the levers that actually move them when you sell an ecommerce business.
Open the calculatorFree resources
Everything is open. Start anywhere.
No paywall anywhere - the sections, benchmarks, calculators and glossary are free to read and use. An account only exists so your Health Check scores and checklist progress have somewhere to live.
Free with an account
Everything on one dashboard.
One command centre for your brand instead of a scatter of spreadsheets and half-finished notes. Your score, your numbers, your next move and your progress - in one place, shared with your team.
Your Health Check score
The overall number plus the category breakdown, so your weakest link is obvious at a glance.
A "Fix next" shortlist
Your weakest sections by Health Check score, in one prioritised list - so the next move is never a guess.
Progress over time
Every Health Check you take is charted, so you can watch the score climb as you fix things.
Checklist progress
Completion across all 31 sections and 472 action items, with a progress bar for each.
Your Metrics Profile
Enter your numbers once - AOV, margin, CAC, repeat rate - and every calculator on the site uses them.
Live decision calculators
The Three Gates calculator runs right in the dashboard - break-even, allowable CAC and more a click away, saved to your brand.
All 8 Excel tools
The P&L template, unit-economics calculator, 13-week cash flow, acquisition planner and more, in one place.
One-click exports
A dynamic Action Plan (Excel) and a Health Check PDF, both built from your live data.
Team access
Invite co-founders or operators so everyone works from the same numbers, on one shared brand.
How it works
Sign up free
Register in under a minute. Free access to the whole playbook - no subscription.
Take the Health Check
Your brand is scored across 8 categories and your dashboard builds itself.
Work the plan
Read the sections it points you to, tick off checklist items, use the tools.
Track your progress
Re-take the Health Check each quarter and watch the score climb over time.
What is The DTC Playbook?
The DTC Playbook is a free operating manual for building an ecommerce brand, written for direct-to-consumer founders and operators by a founder who has done the whole journey. 31 sections cover the full arc - product-market fit, supply chain, paid ads, email, retention, unit economics, cash flow and the exit - with 472 action-checklist items across the playbook.
It's built to be used, not just read. The Health Check scores your brand across 8 categories and tells you what to fix first. Free calculators run break-even ROAS, customer acquisition cost and pricing decisions on your own numbers, and ecommerce benchmarks show what good looks like at your stage.
Whether you're a founder at your first $10k month on Shopify or an operator inside an established brand past $10M, the playbook meets you at your stage - from ecommerce conversion rate optimisation, email marketing and scaling Facebook ads to supply chain, returns management, cash flow and valuation.
It was written by Rob Ward, Co-Founder of Quad Lock - bootstrapped to $50M+ in revenue, scaled to $200M, then a $500M exit.
Find the constraint holding your brand back.
30-60 minutes · Scored to your stage · Free account
Take the Health Check