*In-person events have been canceled until further notice.

May 5 Virtual Lunch: A Tale of Two Exits

From Selling Big Ass Fans to Truman’s Clean Getaway

 

Louisville startup Truman’s, a direct-to-consumer cleaning products company, was recently in the news with exciting announcement of its sale. Join Venture Connectors for our next virtual lunch on Wednesday, May 5, to hear from Alex Reed, co-founder of Truman’s and former executive of Lexington, Ky.-based Big Ass Fans. He will share a peek behind the scenes on both companies’ exits, and talk about what he learned from those experiences. Click here to register.

At Big Ass Fans, Reed led an expansive marketing division that helped grow the company’s sales from $30 million annually to more than $250 million. He also helped drive the company’s expansion beyond a business-to-business strategy to business-to-consumer with the 2012 debut of Haiku, the first Big Ass Fan for homes. Within a few years, the product represented nearly a third of total company revenue.

After helping to guide the company’s sale in 2017 for $500 million, Reed co-founded Truman’s, with a mission of moving the cleaning industry in a more sustainable direction. In March 2021, Truman's technology — which Fast Company magazine recognized as a “World Changing Idea” — was acquired by a global company.

Reed is a sought-after speaker on emerging marketing trends, having offered keynote addresses at national events, including Reuters Events Brand Marketing Summit. Following his exit from Truman's, he remains active in the startup community, advising and investing in a small number of brands.

The program is from noon to 1PM, but please join us early at 11:45 AM for networking! We'll be using the Zoom meeting format so that all attendees can interact with each other if they wish.

The event is free to Venture Connectors members and $10 for guests. All who have an interest in the startup community are welcome to join us! We hope to see you May 5!

Click here to register. For questions, email us at contact@ventureconnectors.org.