Board update prep — marketing & revenue narrative

Created from investor WhatsApp drafting session. Key data points verified against Redshift: MRR flat $202-218K (Mar-Nov 2025), NZS share low-30s to high-30s, conversion mid-60s%, retention mid-70s→mid-80s (multi-year), feature shipping rate +35% QoQ. Jan-Feb 2026 billing unresolved — check back April. Queries and methodology captured in data-analyst agent outputs this session.

Started work

SESSION ses_4209f0 — Board prep intensive (2026-03-19, ~4 hours) ## What was built - Full board deck draft v5.2 at projects/board/2026-03-24-board-update-draft.md (14 slides) - Piyush query WhatsApp draft at projects/board/2026-03-18-piyush-query.md - Historical deck analysis at projects/board/ref/deck-history-summary.md - Full Redshift data pull at projects/board/ref/redshift-data-2026-03-19.md - Project overview at projects/board/overview.md ## Deck structure (v5.2) 1. Title 2. Recap + self-scorecard (0/4 on Oct 2025 commitments — honest) 3. Revenue flat ($200-220K, decline -12%→-19%→-7% VERIFIED) 4. Profitability (+$250K EBITDA, first time profitable) 5. Green shoots — leading indicators (NZS 25→40%, conversion mid-50s→high-60s, retention ~80%) 6. Green shoots — product results (onboarding 11pp activation lift, theme designs in demos) 7. Execution velocity (output doubled, AI as team multiplier, Rachel not being replaced) 8. What didn't work (4 consolidated gaps) 9. Marketing progress + product amplifying (addresses "what is Dinesh doing?") 10. Why continue (profitable, decline arrested, green shoots, AI leverage) 11. Milestones to Sep 2026 ($215K×3mo, merchants >2,250, conversion >65%, V3 launched) + June check-in 12. Three alternatives: sell ($800K/0.3x), dividend (4-6% return for investors), continue 13. Recommendation: continue 14. Discussion ## Key data verified - Revenue YoY: -11.9%, -19.5%, -7.2% (rounds to -12%, -19%, -7%) ✓ - Activation lift: 54%→65% post Jan 15 onboarding redesign, holds within size buckets ✓ - App Store: #1 referral likely (Jan 2026), #2 affiliate WRONG (dropped to ~#7 Mar 12) - Cap table: Dinesh 36.0%, Zach 14.9%, IDEAS 8.7%, Sanjeev 7.9%, TA 7.1%, Great Noble 6.2% - Dividend math: IDEAS gets $22-38K SGD/year (4-6% return on $588K invested) ## Key decisions - Lead with honesty, not spin. "Revenue flat. That's the honest picture." [[voice 2026-03-18 21:31]] - Three options (continue/sell/dividend), not binary. Piyush raised dividend option. - Don't mention Moments pilot (working but too early) or DIV/acquisition path - Frame as "green shoots" (Piyush's language for what he needs to see) - Marketing slide: product amplifies marketing, not marketing was blocked by product - AI story: "how a small team ships at 2x rate" not "we're becoming an AI company" - Rachel (senior designer) departing, not replacing = concrete AI proof point ## Investigations completed 1. Jan 2026 conversion dip (59%): cohort quality shift, smaller stores, not structural 2. Jan 2026 merchant count (~2,170-2,200 projected): real ~100 decline from Oct peak, fewer new entrants not elevated churn 3. Activation before/after: 11pp lift verified, holds within size buckets, 73% activate in 2hrs (up from 62%) ## What's left - Verify #1 referral ranking is still current (check Shopify App Store in browser) - Build actual Google Slides from the markdown draft - Prepare verbal answers for Piyush questions (all in parking lot section) - Meeting is Tuesday 25 March (moved from Monday 24)

Resuming board prep — user feedback on v5.2 direction changes

v6 complete: removed app store ranking, expanded AI story with commit stats (65% PR increase) and competitive research (RC ahead of all competitors), reframed 'what didn't work' to 'honest gaps' (3 bullets, no churn-as-lever), updated sale history to $3M+earnouts, added Shopify commission headwind ($150K USD compressing EBITDA), recalculated dividend math. Pending: EBITDA math clarification from user ($50K vs $100K SGD)

Google Slides deck created: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ErMhO5Mf-zLTsJ-jWd0VnoXeSUK_aL4bUsuHtzvy5k4/edit — 14 slides with v6 content, inherits Oct 2025 theme. User needs to: delete first 32 old slides, format text (bold/sizing), add MRR chart on slide 3.

v8 complete. Major additions: (1) audited pricing change data — ARPU +2% not +5%, corrected in deck, (2) merchant sales volume analysis — store GMV healthy but RC referral orders down 34%, enterprise tier collapsed 63% — added to verbal prep, (3) merchant sentiment from KB — competitive wins vs Mention Me, positive quotes from Grind and Homebody, (4) before/after comparison table on Slide 10. Remaining: verbal prep walkthrough, actual Google Slides design.