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The Loss Ledger PDF

A documented breakdown of $430,000+ in Amazon FBA losses. Four named failure modes. Every checklist item that was created as a result. The 47-point framework origin story.

Supplements brand$60,000 — LTV Dependency Failure
Inventory collapse$220,000 — Demand Signal Failure
Operator bottleneckOpportunity cost — Attention Split

The full documented losses.

$150,000+
Brand Building2018–2021
Learning the Ropes — Starting from Scratch

Starting brands from scratch before acquisitions. No single catastrophic event — just the cumulative cost of figuring out Amazon: bad product selection, wasted ad spend, inventory mistakes, supplier errors. Not itemized. Not forgotten. The reason the framework exists.

Framework Update

This is Phase 0. Every point in the 47-point framework has a root in either these early losses or the documented acquisition failures that followed.

$60,000
Revenue Quality2021
Supplements Brand — LTV Dependency Failure

Acquired a supplements brand without properly stress-testing LTV dependency. The business required repeat customers to be profitable. CAC exceeded Day-1 margin. The acquisition price assumed repeat customers would come. They did not. The due diligence was not wrong — it was incomplete.

Framework Update

Day-1 margin threshold check, compliance risk audit, payment structure review — all added to the 47-point framework as a direct result of this loss.

$220,000
Operational Risk2022
Inventory & Demand Collapse

Dead inventory in FBA warehouses triggering long-term storage fees. Search volume for core keywords collapsed simultaneously. No demand signal recovery path. The loss was not market failure — it was a failure to verify demand signals before acquisition. The largest single loss in the portfolio.

Framework Update

Inventory health score, 24-month search volume trend analysis, demand signal recovery analysis — all added to the 47-point framework as a direct result of this loss.

$0 Lost — $200K Avoided
Platform Risk2023
Suspension History Catch

The 47-point framework caught a suspension history the broker had not disclosed. Account had two prior violations, both resolved, but the pattern was there. Walked away from the deal. The brand was subsequently suspended 4 months after the deal fell through.

Framework Update

Point 24 (Account Health History): 24-month lookback is now standard. Current green status is not sufficient — the full 24-month history must be reviewed.

Key Terms

SDE

Seller's Discretionary Earnings. The total financial benefit a single owner-operator derives from a business. Calculated as net profit plus owner's salary, non-recurring expenses, and other discretionary add-backs.

TACoS

Total Advertising Cost of Sales. Total ad spend divided by total revenue (not just ad-attributed revenue). A more accurate measure of advertising dependency than ACoS.

LOI

Letter of Intent. A non-binding document that outlines the key terms of a proposed acquisition before the formal purchase agreement is drafted.

T12

Trailing 12 Months. Revenue or profit calculated over the most recent 12-month period. Used to normalize seasonal fluctuations.

BSR

Best Seller Rank. Amazon's ranking system for products within a category. A lower BSR indicates higher sales velocity. Tracked over time using tools like Keepa.

Working Capital

The capital required to fund ongoing operations — primarily inventory. For FBA businesses, this includes the inventory reorder cycle, Amazon's 14-day payout delay, and seasonal inventory build.