Uttam <> Shri
Date: February 11, 2026 Source: Granola Meeting ID: c2e1f470-abb0-4ebf-a930-65c4e0ec9acd URL: https://notes.granola.ai/t/c2e1f470-abb0-4ebf-a930-65c4e0ec9acd
Participants:
- Uttam Kumaran (Brainforge)
- Shriram Apte
Summary
Hedra Client Opportunity
- Sandra (growth person) handling all reporting for AI startup Hedra
- Series A/B company, ~5 people, raised significant funding
- Previously at Heygen, limited financial reporting background
- CEO too busy/doesn’t know business logic details himself
- Current challenges with Brainforge’s work:
- Data warehouse and dbt models built, bringing into Hex
- Sandra stuck on executive reporting strategy
- Needs guidance on Stripe invoice allocation, SaaS revenue buckets
- Questions about invoicing periods, free plan logic, ARR vs MMR calculations
- Example issue: $0 invoices for free plans affecting count-based metrics
- Company struggling with high churn, no product analytics
- Need clear view of revenue user buckets and churn prevention
- Currently on hourly engagement, want bigger retainer
Shriram’s Consulting Role
- Rate: $115/hour, 10 hours/week to start
- Scope: Business logic and reporting strategy consultation
- Define revenue buckets, refund handling, mid-month upgrade logic
- Create executive reporting framework Sandra can implement
- Pass technical data work to Brainforge team
- Shriram showed Excel-based customer cohort analysis template
- Customer ID-based table with waterfall churn calculations
- Conditional logic for new/reactivated/downgrade/churn flows
- Additional table indexed by join date for cohort analysis
- Next steps: Intro call tomorrow/Friday with Sandra and Uttam
Personal Updates
- Shriram finished previous job, working on agent-driven Notion alternative with friend Jake
- Concern about co-founder’s personal situation (broken engagement, still living together)
- Skiing trip planning discussion
- Uttam considering rental car vs. ride sharing with Raj/Steph
- Jess placed on team with Mary and Mugda