Greetings! If you’re here, you already know my name. Probably.
By the time you’re done scrolling, I hope you’ll know a bit more.
Or, skip the life story and get in touch.
Wearer of many hats.
Well, not literally. I’m not a hat guy. But I have a wide range of experience. From ceiling fans to surface cleaners, I’ve built dynamic brands and technologies in sleepy categories while navigating the worlds of B2B, B2C, private equity and venture capital. After helping lead my first company to a half-billion dollar exit in 2017, I co-founded a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business obsessed with taking the clutter out of cleaning. Following an exit and some me time, I helped build a high-growth SaaS company before joining the board of directors. Now, I’m building the brand, communications and media relations function at one of the country’s largest and most disruptive home improvement companies. There’s been one constant in my career: building fun shit.
Product Developer
Entrepreneur
Advisor
Marketer
Builder
Big Ass Fans
You probably remember your first time. Hot. Sweaty. A lot of twists and turns.
I’m talking about the first time you saw a Big Ass Fan, of course. The appropriately-named company first came onto the scene in 1999 serving dairy barns. Comfy cows eat more and produce more milk!
Fast forward 9 years, and in comes Alex Reed like a bat out of undergrad. I cut my teeth as an intern, launched and grew the company’s first consumer product, led global marketing and communications, then helped the company achieve a landmark sale to a private equity firm for $500 million. To be sure, a lot more happened between internship and exit, but that’s best told over coffee. OK, bourbon.
Truman’s
I must be a sucker for unloved product categories. Not sure how else to explain a move from fans to cleaners :)
In 2018, we first shared our vision for Truman’s and a system of refillable spray cleaners with a splash page and some renderings. The idea was simple: eliminate the unnecessary products, plastic waste and confusion of home cleaning products. And people liked it!
More than 10,000 people signed up before we ever shipped our first box. After a successful launch, we earned a venture investment from one of the largest CPG companies in the world.
And in March 2021, our technology—which Fast Company recognized as a World Changing Idea—was acquired by a global company which can advance this mission.
Vsimple
The past: workflow is managed with emails, calls, desk side chats, spreadsheets and shared drives.
The future: Vsimple, a Work OS made specifically for distributors and manufacturers.
Throwing people at inefficient processes is the old way of scaling businesses. Now, there’s asynchronous collaboration, centralized workspaces and even automation to reduce the mindless tasks and free up employees to focus on more value-add work.
We’re not just giving companies a workflow tool and wishing them luck: we study their processes, identify efficiencies, tailor our platform to their specific needs and then sit alongside their teams as they grow with Vsimple. See what we’re all about at www.vsimple.com.
Leaf Home
With millions of customers and hundreds of offices across North America, Leaf Home is the leading direct to consumer home products and services business. And we’re obsessed with making homeownership easy.
I’m focused on telling the brand story and reimagining what home improvement can be. Learn more at www.leafhome.com or connect with me at the button below.
Wait…you’re still here?!
Since you’re so engaged bored, I’ll share a little more.
Throughout my career, I’ve been featured in Inc, Forbes, Fortune, AdAge and Adweek, among others, and also helped my businesses receive coverage in Fast Company, Good Housekeeping, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Buzzfeed and on the cover of The New York Times.
Occasionally I appear on podcasts, panels and other media segments. The hosts only regret it about half the time.