Assembled Brands is a financing platform and asset-based lender that provides working capital to high-growth 📝Direct to Consumer (DTC) companies in food and beverage, apparel, beauty, home goods, and electronics. Founded in 2016 by 📝Adam Pritzker after the sale of 📝General Assembly — and joined shortly after by 📝John Zdanowski as Managing Director of permanent capital — the company was designed to fill the financing gap left by the decline of department-store credit systems.
Assembled Brands combines non-dilutive credit facilities with hybrid capital solutions, supported by a $100 million equity-backed lending fund from Oaktree Capital Management. By integrating with client systems via APIs, the firm analyzes real-time sales and profitability data to guide lending decisions, working with brands across e-commerce, omni-channel, and wholesale distribution on platforms including 📝Shopify and 📝Amazon. Portfolio partnerships include Ana Luisa, Campo Grande, Force USA, Une Femme Wines, Brami, and Baseball Lifestyle 101. Headquartered in New York, the company operates with a lean team emphasizing rapid experimentation in financial technology and analytics, positioning itself as both lender and strategic partner.
I was introduced to several portfolio brands through co-founder and friend 📝John Zdanowski, who would drive up to 📝Los Angeles, CA three days a week and often lent me his Tesla, 📝Xandra, while he was in town. I watched the company's growth through his regular updates as he transitioned from Managing Director into a part-time employee and observer of the credit committee — an experience that also set the stage for his launch of 📝Weekly Accounting.