Synergist Senior Sound Bites - December 2019:

Alison Holmes

Alison Holmes is currently a Vice President at Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based growth equity fund, and focuses on investments in the consumer, software, and business services sectors. Her current portfolio experience includes TheRealReal, Custom Ink (Board Member), and YogaWorks. Prior to joining Great Hill, Alison worked at Rothschild & Co as an associate in the Consumer & Retail M&A Group. Prior to Rothschild, Alison was an associate at Financo. Alison began her career as an analyst at Raymond James working in the TMT sector. Alison earned a B.S. in Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.

Tell us about your background
I graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, CT in 2009 at the peak of the global recession. I went on to spend over seven years in investment banking as an Analyst and Associate on Technology and Consumer M&A teams, most recently at Rothschild & Co. This allowed me to develop a highly technical skill-set where I worked on projects relating to transactions for Pep Boys, e.l.f. Cosmetics, PetSmart, and Friendly’s Ice Cream, among others. Through these experiences, I realized I very much enjoyed working with growth companies and the best way to do this was as an investor.
 
What is something you wish you knew at the start of your career?
That it’s okay to ask a lot of questions and you should. Either someone else in the room has the same question or you’re thinking of a question someone else hasn’t and should be thinking of.
 
What’s your favorite thing about your role?
My favorite thing is that I’m constantly getting to meet new and interesting companies and constantly learning about new industries.
 
What’s your least favorite thing about your role?
My least favorite is when value expectations are mis-aligned.
 
What’s your biggest accomplishment / strength?
Building strong rapport with portfolio companies and management teams that I meet. Many people can run models, do market research, and identify trends; it’s how you communicate those trends and interact with those teams that you’re meeting that really help you differentiate yourself in the space. The soft skills become really important.
 
Where do you feel the industry is in terms of female support at the top?
I think we need more female support at the top. Diversity of opinion that comes from women coming up with ideas, making decisions, driving hiring decisions, and on investment committees is so important. Women introduce diversity of thought and also encourage the men in the room to be more open-minded and not have on their blinders. Whether it’s women as decision makers in companies or at funds, there are many stats that show they’re improving returns.
 
How does your organization approach gender & other diversity initiatives?
At Great Hill, there are three female associates in the same class of five that started in August. That’s not by accident – we actively tried to recruit strong women.
 
What advice do you have for young women in investing?
Stick with it. Some women self-select out of this job because 1) it’s self-fulfilling – women don’t see other women at the top and get intimidated and 2) there’s definitely a time commitment with this role that you have to accept.
Most importantly there’s a level of self-confidence required in this job and it can be really detrimental if women aren’t acutely focused on projecting this. You have to have the confidence to lean into ideas and ask questions. You have to have confidence that you’re smart and you can do this job. Don’t give in to imposter syndrome.
 
What’s your favorite recent read?
“Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe. I didn’t know very much about Northern Ireland’s history before and found it fascinating. It reads like a novel, but it’s a historical book.
 
What’s your favorite restaurant in Boston?
Kava. It’s a really good Greek restaurant in the South End that my husband and I go to all the time. I love Greek food.
 
Thank you so much for joining us, Alison! To learn more about Great Hill Partners, click here.