# Bonus: Revenue Is Lying to You: Planning, Execution and What Actually Drives Growth with Three Ships and Keen's Brand Study

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/dtc-podcast-715179/bonus-revenue-is-lying-to-you-planning-execution-and-what-actually-drives-growth-with-three-ships-and-keen-s-brand-study
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/dtc-podcast-715179/bonus-revenue-is-lying-to-you-planning-execution-and-what-actually-drives-growth-with-three-ships-and-keen-s-brand-study.md
Podcast: [DTC Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/dtc-podcast-715179)
Published: 2026-05-06T16:41:15+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dtcpodcast/episodes/Bonus-Revenue-Is-Lying-to-You-Planning--Execution-and-What-Actually-Drives-Growth-with-Three-Ships-and-Keens-Brand-Study-e3ivvcg
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/205a6c00/podcast/play/119585616/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-6%2F423608083-44100-2-4df6d61ca7ccb.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2800

## Resource

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup We surveyed 540+ DTC operators on how they plan and forecast. This episode, we break down the data and see why most brands are stuck reacting. We’re joined by Laura Thompson, co-founder of Three Ships Beauty, one of the few who's figured out how to run a tight, fast, 8-figure brand without drifting into chaos, and Mike Chiasson, Senior Solutions Engineer from Keen Decision Systems, to pressure-test the Three Ships Beauty playbook against the data. Grab your free copy of the report here: https://www.directtoconsumer.co/thereactiveloopreport In this episode: The biggest gaps in how DTC brands plan Why "revenue is a lagging indicator" The bottom-up forecasting Three Ships uses The KPI ownership system across the whole team When scenario planning is worth the time, and when it's just noise If you’re a DTC operator past $5M who wants to stop reacting and start running a solid plan, this episode is a must listen. Timestamps 0:00 Planning vs reacting in ecommerce 2:03 Why most brands only plan 1–6 months ahead 4:02 Bottom-up forecasting vs top-down forecasting 6:06 Scenario planning and external market risks 9:02 When media spend actually works harder 11:01 The reactive loop hurting DTC brands 14:03 Why brands over-invest in bottom funnel 15:06 Weekly KPI reviews and forecasting systems 18:02 The danger of reacting to noisy data 20:04 Leading vs lagging indicators in ecommerce 23:02 How talent impacts business performance 24:58 Product launch delays and forecasting pivots 26:53 Scenario planning for tariffs and supply chain risk 31:55 Should brands worry about oil shocks? 35:34 The biggest gap between planning and execution 38:02 KPI systems that drive accountability 42:16 The right way to plan for growth 44:…

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