Alessandro Bordignon
Summary:
Alessandro is a young Italian man who went to Australia on a back packing trip. He stumbled upon a niche skillset he had and after 'accidentally' validating his idea, he realized he could make a business from this which, 3 years later, he would sell for $180 000 (AUD).
Tell us about yourself and what your business does?
Hey, my name is Alessandro and I was the founder of a gnocchi food truck business (I have recently sold it for $180 000 AUD, which I will unpack later in this case study).
To give a bit of background context, I originate from pretty humble beginnings in Italy. In 2013 & 2014, I wanted to do something exciting while I was still young, so I decided to go backpacking around Australia. I fell in love with the country, but I unfortunately had to return home once my visa expired.
Fast-forward 3 or 4 years, I find myself back in Australia running a pretty successful food truck business where I would rent (and eventually own) a couple food trucks for a weekend, park them outside markets or festivals and sell gnocchi to anyone who passed by.
What is the specific problem that your business solves?
I gave Australians a true Italian gnocchi experience.
Gnocchi wasn't well known in Sydney at the time. People knew about it as an Italian pasta, but not many people had tried it. By bringing authentic, high-quality gnocchi to markets and festivals, I introduced people to something new and exciting and I created a great Italian food experience for them.
Festivals were particularly lucrative – for anyone who’s been drunk at 01:00 a.m in the morning knows the cravings one can get after a full night of dancing and singing.
How did you find this business idea?
I didn’t. It kind of found me (as cliche as that sounds…)
At the time I was living in Aus and my English wasn't great. The only way of communicating with other people was to invite them over to my flat for dinner where I would cook for them. My favorite dish to make was gnocchi, purely because my “nonna” (grandmother) taught me how to make it and being an Italian, the paste gene holds strong.
It was during these dinner meetups where people complimented me on my gnocchi and said they had never had anything like it. I didn’t think much of it as I thought they were just being polite. It was only after multiple people told me that I should open up a gnocchi restaurant, that I thought I might actually be able to make a business out of this.
The problem was… I was a broke student and I didn’t have any money! Opening up a restaurant is SUPER expensive and so that wasn’t an option. This is where the food truck idea came from.
I didn’t invent something new, I didn’t change the game, I didn’t build an entire business plan. I just knew that people liked my gnocchi and so I had to get it into the hands of more people. The cheapest, easiest and most risk-free solution to do this was to hire a food truck and park it in areas that generate high foot traffic – like a festival. It’s as simple as that.
How did you find your first customer?
It was at my very first market. I still remember my first day—super excited, but also scared as hell! I stressed so much leading up to this day that I almost didn’t go. If it wasn’t for my friend (whom I had met at one of my original dinners) who pushed me and practically forced me to go, I genuinely don’t think I would have ended up going.
I sold 30 - 35 portions. It wasn’t a lot, but I was so happy because I was finally running my own business and people were actually buying my product. This gave me validation and the boost I needed to keep going. It showed me that it’s not as difficult nor as complicated as I originally thought.
How do you find customers on a regular basis nowadays?
Well, I’ve obviously sold my business nowadays. But when I was finding regular customers I was primarily focused on markets and festivals which ran mainly on weekends. As soon as word of mouth spread and I started to develop a name for myself, I started doing private events as well. Over time, I saved money and invested in my own food truck, which then allowed me to get bigger jobs and go to bigger more prestigious events. I eventually got to a point where I could be at multiple events at the same time and customers came relatively easily as I was the only gnocchi food truck around (in those days), so I naturally stood out from all the other “burger” and “pizza” trucks.
What are your current revenue streams and how much do you earn from each?
My revenue streams were simple - I only get revenue from the gnocchi plates I sold.
The profit margin on gnocchi is really good. I made a deal with an Italian company to import gnocchi at a good rate, costing me less than $2 per plate. I then needed to add sauce and other ingredients which would bump the total cost per plate up to around $2.60 - $2.80 (AUD). At markets and festivals, I sold a plate for $18, giving me a margin of just over $15 per plate. After paying staff and festival fees, the profits remained strong.
Last year, my revenue was around $150,000 from 35 festivals and markets. On big weekends (like when Coldplay played in Sydney) I could make up to $28,000 over just four days.
What are your future plans with the business?
Well, when I moved back to Italy, I had a choice of either closing down the company, or selling it. The business had a good reputation and a good name, thus, it had “street cred”. Through word of mouth and chatting to a bunch of people, I managed to find a buyer. He’s an Italian entrepreneur who really liked the business model and margins associated with it. The total acquisition was $180,000 (AUD). He paid half upfront, and the rest is vendor-financed over the next year and a half.
So in terms of future plans, I don’t have any for the gnocchi business per say, but I do want to get back into the entrepreneurship game. I am considering buying an existing business that has a lot of room for growth and improvement, rather than starting from scratch.
What type of life has running your own business allowed you to live?
It gave me flexibility, allowed me to make my own decisions and it gave me the joy of seeing my work pay off. It was unpredictable at times and there were challenges, but I learned a lot and grew personally and professionally from the experience. So sure, I was stressed at times, there were long hours involved and it wasn’t always easy, but with this experience under my belt and with the knowledge I now have, I see potential all over the place, whereas when I first started off, I struggled to think of even a single business idea.
In addition, selling the business has given me the freedom to choose my next move with more financial stability and less worry.
What piece of advice would you give to someone wanting to start a business?
Find people who are like-minded because your environment shapes you. If you want to start something new, surround yourself with people who have businesses, ask for help, and don’t be afraid to reach out. At first, I was scared to ask for help, thinking I had to do everything myself. But if I had been more open to seeking advice, my journey would have been easier.
So surround yourself with the right people and then just take action. Make it happen despite all the reasons your mind tells you “it won’t work”.
