Speed-to-Capital: Why It's the Most Important Metric for Today's Brands

For DTC and e-commerce brands, speed is more than just a convenience; it's a strategic necessity. Every hour you wait for cash costs you margin, rank, or sales. Speed-to-capital is the gap between identifying an opportunity and having cash in your account. Win on speed and you win the market.

The Problem with Slow Capital

Traditional financing was built for a different era, with slow, rigid processes that don't match the pace of today's e-commerce landscape. Imagine a scenario where you've identified a major opportunity, like a limited-time bulk discount on a key product from your supplier. This could significantly improve your unit economics and contribution margin, which are crucial metrics for profitability. However, securing a traditional bank loan could take weeks or even months. By the time the funds arrive, the opportunity is gone, and you've missed out on a chance to boost your margins and gain a competitive edge.

A similar issue arises with marketing. For a brand, being able to quickly launch a new product or a major ad campaign, particularly during a peak season like Black Friday, can be paramount to success. A slow funding process means you could miss a critical window to capture a surge in demand, or you might be unable to get the best ad placement that requires a large upfront investment. This is a common challenge for businesses that are focused on scaling, as they might temporarily sacrifice their unit economics by increasing ad spend to achieve growth targets. If the capital isn't there when you need it, your growth plans can be stalled.

Furthermore, an economic downturn is not the time for experimentation. Brands need to double down on what works, which often means ensuring best-selling products are always in stock and investing in proven marketing campaigns. Without fast access to capital, a brand might not be able to replenish inventory quickly enough to meet demand, leading to lost sales.

The Power of Speed-to-Capital

The ability to secure capital quickly, or "speed-to-capital," allows businesses to operate from a position of strength, not scarcity. It provides the financial agility to seize opportunities as they arise and to react to unexpected challenges. Here’s how fast funding can directly benefit your brand:

1. Inventory Management and Better Margins

Quick access to capital is essential for managing your inventory effectively. It allows you to:

• Prevent Stockouts: You cannot afford to lose a sale on your most popular products due to a lack of inventory. Fast funding enables you to replenish stock promptly to meet customer demand and maximize sales opportunities.
• Seize Bulk Discounts: Suppliers often offer significant discounts for bulk purchases. With fast access to capital, you can take advantage of these deals, reducing your per-unit costs and improving your gross margin. This can lead to better overall unit economics and higher profitability in the long run.

2. Optimize Ad Spend and Customer Acquisition

In the competitive e-commerce landscape, an effective ad strategy is a key driver of revenue. Fast capital lets you:

• Fuel Marketing Campaigns: The most successful brands use ad spend to quickly energize the market when they launch new products. With immediate funding, you can ramp up a new product's page rankings and then let the product page take over.
• Capture Seasonal Demand: Peak selling periods like Black Friday can be make-or-break for many brands. Speed-to-capital ensures you have the funds to invest in high-impact campaigns and seize these critical growth opportunities without delay.

A great example of this is Wayflyer customer Seed Golf. When an endorsement from an influential UK golf influencer caused a massive, unexpected spike in demand, the company’s cash flow was strained. Founder Dean Klatt noted that "if you get a situation where something happens and something kind of takes off, you don't have enough products or you can't afford to have enough product, then you kind of miss that opportunity." With Wayflyer's rapid funding, Seed Golf was able to quickly secure the capital they needed to manage inventory effectively and capture the new demand, solidifying their market position.

3. Build a More Resilient Business

Maintaining profitability during economic change requires proactive strategies. Businesses that are highly reliant on a single product, supplier, or retailer face a significant risk of failure. Diversifying your supply chain is a key way to future-proof your business. This process requires investment and can be considered a long-term benefit with a short-term outlay.

A US-based home and garden CEO expressed concern about relying on only a few suppliers, feeling it was "playing Russian roulette with our business". They sought a clear roadmap to make their supply chain more resilient against issues like US tariffs. Robert Griffith, Credit Lead at Wayflyer, explains that diversifying your supply chain provides long-term future-proofing by derisking your business, increasing sales capacity, and adding flexibility to your working capital. Speed-to-capital allows you to quickly explore new supplier relationships and test sourcing options in different regions without completely upending your current operations.

Real-Life Success with Wayflyer

Wayflyer was built specifically for e-commerce brands, offering a solution that is fast, non-dilutive, and performance-driven. Our funding can be deployed in as little as 24 hours, giving you the power to act on opportunities instantly. This has been a game-changer for many of our customers:

• Little Words Project: This explosive jewelry brand was able to grow from DTC to selling across 900 retailers by capitalizing on popularity with capital from Wayflyer.
• Happy Nuts: Wayflyer helped this company achieve 200% year-over-year growth and become a #1 Amazon Best Seller.
• Act+Acre: With Wayflyer's help, this brand was able to secure the inventory needed to launch in 235 Sephora stores.
• Spongellé: By leveraging Wayflyer's funding, Spongellé successfully soaked up omnichannel growth.

These brands, among thousands of others, have proven that matching the right type of capital to the nature of the investment is the key to sustainable growth. They used short-term, flexible capital for fast-turn needs like inventory and ad spend, preserving their ownership and allowing them to scale on their own terms.

The Wayflyer + Boundless Integration: Removing Friction for Faster Growth

The partnership between Wayflyer and Boundless is all about bringing speed-to-capital to a whole new level. Boundless gets offers to users quickly, and Wayflyer gets money into their bank account with industry-leading speed. Our new integration streamlines the application process. removing significant points of friction, allowing brands to move from identifying a need to securing capital in less time than ever before.

In a world where every second counts, this integration is designed to give you a definitive competitive advantage. It's about empowering you to make strategic decisions without being held back by a slow financing process.

Don't let rigid financing dictate your growth. Choose a partner that moves at the speed of your business. With the Wayflyer and Boundless integration, you can unlock the capital you need to seize every opportunity and build a more resilient, profitable brand. Ready to get started with Boundless and Wayflyer?