Founders Billy Buckles and Tram Pham entered eCommerce in 2011 through a side venture while focused on other careers.
They went into business together shortly after beginning to date. Tram ran the day-to-day of their enterprise while Billy provided strategies. The couple's first brand was called Infinity Jars, an extensive line of airtight ultraviolet glass jars, bottles, and apothecary containers. The early success and the fulfillment from having full control over their time, ideas, and resources paved the way for the couple to invest more time into their venture.
Billy was the top executive under the CEOs for tech marketing giant Centerfield while Tram was attending acupuncture school full-time in 2011.
Infinity Jars - A line of airtight, ultraviolet glass jars to help preserve fresh goods for up to 6+ months.
Infinity Jars - A line of airtight, ultraviolet glass jars to help preserve fresh goods for up to 6+ months.
In late 2015, Tram transitioned out to focus on establishing herself as a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist in Los Angeles. Billy assumed the daily operations of the business after Centerfield, a marketing technology company that he helped scale, sold in a nine-figure private equity deal.
In 2016, they relocated to Santa Barbara. Billy helped Tram acquire a prominent Chinese Medicine practice called the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic. It relaunched on May 1, 2017, and Tram spent 2017-2021 solely focused on scaling her Clinic.
Tram Pham (L.Ac & owner) first day at the Santa Barbara Herb Clinic - May 1st, 2017
With Billy at the helm, Alpha Lion was ready to add fresh talent to join our ranks and create exciting new brands. Billy wanted to offer what he hoped would be life-changing career opportunities to hungry, junior people in Vietnam (Tram’s birth country) and other developing countries.
By the end of 2018, Alpha Lion had added a four-person, full-time remote global team from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Bangladesh. Together with Billy, they managed the online side of Alpha Lion brands including product, branding and creative, web development, digital advertising, and content.
Alpha Lion’s first full-time remote global team from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Bangladesh.
It didn’t take long for the team to log their first wins. The synergy led to the success of flagship brands Engineer Warehouse (late 2018) and Rainforest Bowls (April 2020). In 2020, Alpha Lion crossed the $10 million lifetime revenue threshold.
During that time building and optimizing eCommerce websites, Billy came up with many eCommerce strategies. In late 2020, Billy’s developer friend Yavor Milchev agreed to turn the ideas into Shopify Apps with Billy. They formed The Shop Doctors, a unit of Alpha Lion Holdings, in December.
2021 was a year of expansion for Alpha Lion and change for Billy and Tram. When it was time to build an even bigger team, Billy hired experienced talent from top companies throughout the Philippines and Vietnam into key senior roles.
The company also acquired a 26 year old Indian jewelry industry leader Gold Palace, and The Shop Doctors released its first three Shopify Apps. All three apps quickly ascended into the Top 10% of all Shopify Apps within a few months of their launch.
Gold Palace - A South Asian fine jewelry brand. Acquired in 2021 from the original proprietors.
Alpha Lion’s 2022 roadmap includes the launch of two more eCommerce brands, plus aggressive expansion plans in the company’s app development unit.
Tram, who sold her herb and acupuncture clinic in late 2021, has re-joined Alpha Lion as Chief Operating Officer, helping lead our now 20+ person team.
Tram Pham Buckles, Chief Operating Officer
While reflecting on our success in 2020, we resolved to expand our mission beyond creating compelling career opportunities in developing countries to giving back a portion of our proceeds to make positive impacts in those same regions.
Alpha Lion’s supply chain and operations integrate well-rounded strategies to provide products and services with the least harm to the environment and society at large. Rainforest Bowls' business model was holistically architected to have a net positive effect on the world throughout all layers of its supply chain.
Rainforest Bowls offers premium wood products handmade by master artisans from developing countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Tunisia.
There is a lot more to be said and done by Alpha Lion, and our next goal is to thread a mission into the fabric of legacy brands that haven’t been matched with one. And we are committed to matching a relevant mission with every new internal brand launch. We are looking forward to acting with urgency to uphold the identity of a socially conscious, responsible, and accountable organization as opportunities arise.
