#235 - Alexandra Wilkis Wilson: Becoming a Business Titan (Gilt, GlamSquad, Allergan, Clerisy)

On this episode of DTC Pod, Alexandra joins Blaine and Ramon to talk about company building. They cover the creation of Gilt, building early demand, sourcing supply, creating a marketplace, the evolving commerce landscape, team building, the overlap between commerce and services marketplaces, understanding your ICP and working backward, how she invests, why she loves Miami, and much more.

49:00

We were not a big company. We were just kind getting going and pulled this off. So I think startups, sometimes I hear founders be like, well, I don't really have budgets to do creative things. And you can be guerilla marketing, tactical, boots on the streets doing clever things with fewer dollars than one thinks they might need.

55:00 

I smile because I'm like, yeah, I've been there. I I remember when I had migraines every day for six months in the early days of GILT because I was so stressed. Yes, I remember that. it's very, it's very real. And so I think founders appreciate that I've spent more time in my career on their side than the current side. But that also sometimes makes me tougher because I'm like, wait what do you mean you're going on vacation all the time? Or what do you mean you're turning your phone off or you're not hustling?

60:00 
So I don't know how to do something not as part of a team. I think it's super important where nobody's good at everything, and it's so important to know what are your superpowers? What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? And, and answer that question for every co-founder or your early team members. And one of the reasons Gilt worked really well, and all my partnerships, I think because there was clarity. It was just obvious who does what and, and who's in charge of what.

 

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Alexandra Wilkis Wilson -  Co-founder of the Gilt, GlamSquad, and Clerisy
Ramon Berrios - CEO of Trend.io
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Seated