Nick Ajluni's first company was fueled by partying 20-somethings. As a college student, he launched a line of powdered beverages meant to be mixers and chasers for alcohol. The product never took off, but after graduating, Ajluni teamed up with a former classmate who was claiming Instagram handles that might come in handy for businesses. One of them, @sauce, amassed tens of thousands of followers, prompting the pair to start their own sauce company. They drew inspiration from Ciroq vodka, a wildly popular brand thanks in part to its promotion by hip-hop artists.
"We wanted to create the Cîroq of hot sauce," says Ajluni, 30. "To do that, we knew it needed to be luxurious, and not just because we said it was, but because it actually had an ingredient that made it luxurious."
That ingredient is truffles. In 2017, Ajluni and co-founder Nick Guillen launched Austin-based Truff, a hot-sauce brand that incorporates truffles in every product. The company's signature black truffle sauce, made with red chili peppers and agave nectar, quickly became Amazon's top-selling hot sauce. Last year, Kim Kardashian's private equity firm, Skky Partners, made its debut investment by acquiring a minority stake in the business, which also makes mayonnaise, olive oil, and pasta sauce. The deal valued Truff at $250 million, Axios reported. Ajluni's next goal? Turning Truff into a household name (as Kardashian has done for her own company, Skims-see page 164).
Daniel Lubetzky is helping guide that growth.
The founder of the multibillion-dollar healthy snack company Kind, Lubetzky has served as a mentor for Ajluni since Truff's early days.
"When I was getting started, a lot of people gave me advice and helped me enormously, so mentoring is a small way to give back," Lubetzky says. "But honestly, with innovative people like Nick, I learn as much as I give."
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