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CHAPTER 1
Where They Were
Cobalt, the open‑innovation arm of a top‑five consumer‑goods company, had identified a promising skincare active sourced from an external start‑up. Yet conversations with Brand, Finance and Purchasing stalled: Purchasing and Finance focused on the higher cost of goods, while the team struggled to quantify the value the ingredient could unlock for the brands.
Without a compelling P&L narrative, the project sat in limbo for months, inching toward its first stage‑gate deadline without momentum.
CHAPTER 2
What We Did
Building a clean story
Alehar began by building a structured financial model that traced the opportunity. Using our access to market data sources, we sized the addressable market, over‑laid brand‑specific awareness, trial and repeat rates, and simulated an uplift in purchase intent once the new active was introduced. The analysis revealed that the increase in unit COGS and a one‑time capex could unlock a multiple of over 10x in NPV.
With the numbers in place, we distilled the story into a tight executive deck that guides decision makers through the key points from regulatory pressure on legacy actives in the brand, to consumer perceptions and cash‑flow upside of the new ingredient.
CHAPTER 3
Where They Are Now
The clear, dollar‑based narrative shifts the internal conversation from “extra cost” to “net value,” re‑engaging Finance, winning Purchasing support, and reopening the stalled stage‑gate path. Armed with a data-backed story, the project is making progress through the stage gates.
Alehar remains on retainer, supporting additional startup partnership cases of Cobalt. We provide fast, finance-grade narratives that can turn external innovation into measurable corporate value before the opportunity window closes.
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