The Story
My Entrepreneurial origin story.
Third Grade
I saved my Halloween candy instead of eating it. Then I resold it at school for Christmas. My first company.
Sixth Grade
Duct tape wallets. One $7 roll made 5 or 6 wallets and they sold for $20 each. Friends had one. Even teachers.
$93net per roll
High School
Custom skate decks. Guitars shaped from wood. A few sold for more than $3,000.
$3,000+for a single guitar
11th and 12th
I started throwing parties. Homecoming. After-prom. Recurring nights at the Roxy and the Troubadour. Houses in the hills twice a month.
$20 to $40a ticket
Out of the Trunk
Then clothes. Shirts and denim made in Downtown LA, sold from the trunk of my car. The jeans caught on like wildfire and spread from school to school.
The Turn
Instagram was first emerging as a platform. Early days of social media. I gave the first creators building followings free product. They promoted the jeans. Instant sellout.
Open Influence
I knew this was the future of advertising. So I built a network of creators and one of the first influencer marketing agencies in the industry. Open Influence was born.
Same playbook every time: find the audience, hand them something they want, let them do the selling.
Influence is the most powerful currency in today's digital world.
2013
Instabrand is founded in Los Angeles. One of the first influencer marketing companies in the world.
2015
Early wins with Universal Pictures, Levi's, Hollister and Salvatore Ferragamo.
2016
Inc. 30 Under 30. Interactive Key Award, Campaign of the Year (Fiat).
2017
Forbes 30 Under 30, Marketing & Advertising.
2018
Named to the Inc. 5000. Offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Milan and London. Alex steps out of the day-to-day to found Original Content and the startup studio 0x Ventures.
2019
OMMA Award winner (Universal Pictures, “Ma”). LVIMA Best Influencer Campaign (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority). Inc. 5000, second year.
2020
Inc. 5000, third year running.
2022
Webby Awards Honoree. Two Cynopsis Best of the Best Awards. Named an official TikTok Marketing Partner.
2024
Open Influence Italy. Two entities, two continents.
2025
OpenSuite: Alex designs and ships the agency's in-house AI app stack.
2026
Cannes Lions stage. Ad Council Board of Directors. ADWEEK 50. Digiday Awards finalist for Founder of the Year and Best Use of Creator Marketing.
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