Smollan × RoughCut Labs — Digital Execution Arm
Anchor client: Smollan's Unilever India JV · All figures INR, per month · ₹1 Cr = ₹100 L
Headline economics
Service lines in scope
| Line | Billing | Pass-through | Net revenue | Split basis | Service cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Influencer campaigns | ₹60.0 L | ₹39.0 L (65%) | ₹21.0 L | net | ₹5.3 L (25%) |
| Performance media | ₹1.50 Cr | ₹1.43 Cr (95%) | ₹7.5 L | net | ₹2.3 L (30%) |
| Social & content retainers | ₹20.0 L | ₹0.0 L (0%) | ₹20.0 L | net | ₹9.0 L (45%) |
| Creative & production | ₹15.0 L | ₹3.0 L (20%) | ₹12.0 L | net | ₹4.8 L (40%) |
Fixed costs ₹24.0 L (salaries ₹18.0 L, tools ₹2.0 L, overheads ₹4.0 L) plus service-level costs ₹21.3 L.
Deal terms and outcome per structure
Revenue split
RCL 80% / Smollan 20% of split base
Smollan gets certainty with zero cost risk — a fixed share of the split base off the top. RCL collects all billings, funds every cost, keeps execution autonomy and all operating upside.
Profit split
RCL 50% / Smollan 50% of net profit
One joint P&L and joint governance — senior hires and investment decided together. Upside and downside are shared at the same ratio, so cost discipline is a mutual interest.
Revenue split + minimum guarantee
Smollan receives the greater of 20% of split base or ₹12.0 L/mo
Model A with a floor. Smollan is protected in ramp-up months when volumes are thin; RCL absorbs the gap and buys goodwill cheaply once billings scale past the guarantee.
The crossover
A vs B has a single, exact threshold: C* = GR − (1−s)·SB / (1−p) = ₹36.3 L of operating costs, with s = 80% and p = 50%. Current operating costs are ₹45.3 L, i.e. above the crossover — so the profit split (B) pays RCL more (by ₹4.5 L) and the revenue split (A) pays Smollan more (by ₹4.5 L). Both parties flip simultaneously at C*.
Definitions
Billings — total invoiced to client, including money that only passes through.
Pass-through — influencer payouts, platform ad spend and outsourced production remitted onward; never agency revenue, never shared.
Gross revenue — billings minus pass-through; the true top line.
Split base — the amount the revenue split applies to, set per line as net revenue or full billing.
Cost bearing — Models A, C1 and C2: RCL bears all operating costs. Model B: one joint P&L, costs and losses shared at the profit ratio. Model C3: management fee to RCL first, then residual profit shared.
Losses — where net profit is negative, figures are shown as negative and allocated by the same structure rules.