Dissent Advisory course
Unit Economicsand Cohorts
Take revenue out of GMV, build contribution per order for each channel, measure acquisition cost the way the money was spent, and read retention from cohorts, for an Indian D2C brand that sells on its own website, on marketplaces and through quick commerce.
120 minutes core
You will be able to
- 01
Reconcile GMV to revenue under AS 9 for website, marketplace and quick commerce sales, and trace the commission, TCS and TDS that sit between revenue and cash.
- 02
Build CM1, CM2 and CM3 per kept order for each channel, with the cost of cancelled, undelivered and returned orders carried by the orders that stayed.
- 03
Measure paid CAC on a stated attribution window, keep it apart from blended CAC, and compute payback in months of contribution.
- 04
Read a cohort triangle, estimate lifetime value on contribution over the horizon the data supports, and say when LTV to CAC stops meaning anything.
- 05
Write a KPI dictionary entry that a founder, an investor and an auditor read the same way, and price a discount or a channel decision on contribution.
Five chapters.
One company throughout.
- I
Report revenue, not GMV
The waterfall from GMV to gross and net revenue, who the seller is under AS 9, and why commission, TCS and TDS sit between revenue and cash.
- II
Contribution is per order, not per month
CM1, CM2 and CM3 defined once, the costs a kept order carries for the orders that came back, and a ranking that reverses between CM1 and CM3.
- III
CAC is a channel number, not a company number
Paid against blended CAC, the attribution window, the organic halo, customers you do not own, and payback in months of contribution.
- IV
Retention lives in the cohort, not the average
Reading a cohort triangle, the decay an average hides, lifetime value on contribution over a stated horizon, and when LTV to CAC stops meaning anything.
- V
A KPI is a definition, not a number
The KPI dictionary entry, discount, price and channel decisions made on contribution, and the one page a founder reads.
Build alongside the course
The FY26 order data behind every example: orders by channel, prices and discounts, fulfilment costs, acquisition spend and the website cohorts. Rebuild each chapter’s numbers alongside it, or give it to an AI tool with the specification on sheet 06_Spec, then compare the results on 07_Answer_Check.
Download Excel workbook, 8 sheets, including a ReadMe →Straight answers.
- What is Unit Economics and Cohorts?
- A 120-minute applied course for finance hires in founder offices: take revenue out of GMV under AS 9, build contribution per order by channel, measure paid CAC and payback, and read retention and lifetime value from cohorts for an Indian D2C brand. Certificate issued by Dissent Advisory on pass.
- Who is this course for?
- Finance managers, analysts and founders who work with Indian D2C businesses and need to go from GMV on the dashboard to the contribution figures that drive decisions: revenue, CM2 per order, CAC and LTV.
- What is the Kalasu case?
- Kalasu Home Appliances Private Limited is a fictional Indian D2C company used across the Founders' Office, Finance Operator pathway. The FY26 data — orders, prices, fulfilment costs, cohorts — is constructed for teaching and available in the downloadable workbook.
- Is a certificate issued?
- Yes. Pass the final assessment and Dissent Advisory issues a certificate with a unique credential ID. Anyone can verify it at dissent.one/courses/verify.
Educational content only. Not a substitute for engagement-specific financial or legal advice.
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