#177: Bill D'Alessandro - CEO of Elements Brands - Building an E Commerce Holdco Empire

Bill D'Alessandro is the Founder / CEO at Elements Brands, a parent brand that owns and acquires e-commerce companies. Bill founded Elements Brands in 2010 and has scaled to 8 figures of revenue, 50+ employees, and 51,000 square feet of office/warehouse. Elements Brands is vertically integrated and they own and operate all their brands. They have a team of in-house experts in digital marketing, branding, wholesale sales, customer retention, and financial analysis. Their supply chain and logistics teams manufacture and ship thousands of orders each day to customers around the world.

On this episode, Chris and Bill discuss Elements Brands and why Bill chose vertical integration, with a rabbit hole into how that has played out so well for them given the current supply chain challenges facing the globe. They have a great discussion on the 'Amazon Seller' model and where that plays a role in the companies Bill looks at purchasing. They break down Bill's strategy when acquiring brands and what that process is like for the seller. They also discuss how Bill landed on petcare and skincare for his core products, Culture Index, digital marketing and more. Enjoy!

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00:25 - Bill’s Background and Career

02:07 - How did reading 4 Hour Work Week impact you?

04:09 - Building KP Elements

06:12 - What is Elements Brands and how is it structured?

07:56 - Element’s Berkshire Hathaway Angle

08:30 - What’s your day-to-day focus as CEO?

09:18 - Why did you choose the vertical integration path?

10:55 - Why do more folks not vertically integrate?

13:17 - How did you land on skincare and petcare as your core products?

16:20 - Discussion On The ‘Amazon Seller’ Model

23:53 - Bill’s Process When Buying Businesses and His Ownership Strategy

25:15 - Valuing the Business

29:01 - Are you ever paying a premium for a great brand?

30:23 - How does your deal flow operate?

32:00 - What happens from the initial verbal agreement to the day you own the business?

34:03 - The Financials Side of Deals

36:29 - Organizational Structures

37:58 - Elements’ Employee Makeup

41:13 - Ingesting The Acquired Companies Teams

41:50 - Culture Index

44:38 - What’s going on with Facebook and Apple and online advertising?

55:51 - How many of your 60 people are marketing & SEO?

57:45 - How are you thinking about our current supply chain issues?

1:02:05 - Is there a solution on the horizon in terms of having the ports operate longer hours?

1:05:40 - What’s your end goal for Elements Brands?

1:07:55 - What do most people get wrong when starting their first product?

1:09:44 - Is there a way to start sales before putting a lot of advertising dollars at risk?

1:11:21 - Teaching Entrepreneurship Through Action

1:13:28 - What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

1:14:11 - Is there a book you would recommend?

Plain Talk - Ken Iverson

1:16:36 - How can people reach you or Elements Brands

Elements Brands: https://elementsbrands.com/

Bill on Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/BillDA

The FORT is produced by Johnny Peterson & Straight Up Podcasts