INTELLIGEMS
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RICHPANEL
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Bill D'Alessandro, founder of Natural Dog Company, just sold his brand to a private equity firm backed by Morgan Stanley. In this episode, Andrew Faris dives deep with Bill to unpack the entire journey—from building the business, to working with an investment bank, to negotiating and closing a deal with a strategic buyer.
If you're running a 7–9 figure eCommerce brand, this episode is pure gold. You'll learn:
- What makes a DTC brand actually attractive to strategic buyers
- The #1 mistake founders make when approaching an exit- Why contribution margin is still king in 2025
- How Bill built operational talent that scaled with the business
- The difference between “just another Shopify brand” vs. a sellable brand
- Why omnichannel distribution is critical to valuation
- Why most subscription businesses are really financing problems in disguise
- The emotional aftermath of exiting your company
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CHAPTER TITLES:
00:01:18 - Who is Bill D'Allessandro?
00:03:00 - The Scope of Natural Dog Co Acquisition
00:09:01 - Investment Banking During A Buyout
00:22:55 - People Management Is The Hardest With Business
00:31:35 - Why Not All Subscription Models Are Great
00:42:46 - How Meta Dependency Could Harm Your Business
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Bill D'Alessandro is the former of CEO of Natural Dog Co and Elements Brand and current Head of M&A at Food Science, a portfolio company backed by Morgan Stanley. Follow Bill on X at https://x.com/billda and listen to Acquisitions Anonymous by visiting https://www.acquanon.com/.
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ADMISSION
Get the best media buying training on the Internet + a free coaching call with Common Thread Collective's media buyers when you sign up for ADmission here: https://www.youradmission.co/andrew-faris-podcast
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FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
X: https://x.com/andrewjfaris
Email: podcast@ajfgrowth.com
Work with Andrew: https://ajfgrowth.com