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FORECASTING for

WP BUSINESS GROWTH

Jason Knill

@jasonpknill

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Delivering on the WordPress Brand Promise: Democratizing Publishing

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Thanks Flavia Devetag

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We Must Deliver.

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Our Way. With every Teammate

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The Action items you’re going to take away

  • The Starting Line

  • The Foundation

  • Trigger points�
  • Versioning

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1

The starting line of

Forecasting

Action Items

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Forecasting is not luck

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Forecasting is building understanding

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2

Creating a Foundation:�Questions and Ratios

Action Items

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Start with questions and get curious

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Focus on Ratios�Work the ratios. The model will come.

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Daily data collection. Regular Review. �Change over time.

  • Free to Paid

  • Churn/Renewal Rate

  • Support tickets to Sales

  • Replies to Resolution

4 Ratios:

....and the Bundle

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It’s happening throughout our team

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Risk requires understanding. Understanding builds buy-in

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3

Trigger points

For making decisions & hiring

Action Items

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So, when to hire that first person?

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You need to build confidence in your forecasting models- then hire and hire more

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4

Versioning your Forecasts

Action Items

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Versioning your Forecasts

is all about working the Ratios

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Present challenge: Subscribers and Churn, not Free downloads

The Finance Sheets I most rely on day-day

  • 18 month rolling budget and actuals
  • FY2017 Forecast
  • FY2018 Forecast
  • Renewal/Churn
  • Financial Health Snapshot

.

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Crave Curiosity and be playful

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Participate, Work, Repeat

  • Learn from others
  • Meetups
  • WordCamps
  • Scrums
  • Tests

.

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Jason Knill

Thank You

Head of Finance

@jasonpknill