Inspired by the podcast StartUp, where Gimlet CEO and podcaster Alex Blumberg spent the first season of chronicling starting the podcast and forming Gimlet.
As seen on The IMDb Show (2017), the pilot for Alex, Inc. (2018) was shot in the same warehouse where The Intern (2015), starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, was filmed.
While based on the life of podcaster and Gimlet CEO Alex Blumberg, the premise of a media-man starting a podcast business also bears a close resemblance to the life of Swedish media-personality Alex Schulman. Though not confirmed by the creators, this could have been why the lead character is similarly named Alex Schuman.
At one point in the series, Alex yells out in pride, "That's my son!" This is done in the exact same way Zach Braff's father yelled it out after Braff won an Independent Spirit Award for the film Garden State.