From the archives: this interview originally appeared on the site on November 8th, 2011.
What is your name, age, and location?
Holly Lynch, 35, New York, NY.
What is your profession?
Founder and CEO of The Good Girls – the first branding firm focused on women-led enterprise and social innovation.
What did you study in school and what degrees do you have?
BA in Social Anthropology at Harvard and I have a Masters in Fine and Decorative Arts form Sotheby’s.
What was your first job?
At 14 I worked in the mail room and with the Executive Assistants at Chase Manhattan Bank.
Who or what inspired you to break into your current line of work?
Meeting my business partner and the growing number of women hungry to start and build their own companies.
Name/describe what has been your most rewarding project so far?
We just opened in April so every project is our favorite project. But I have to say working with the ladies of 85 Broads and the Pipeline Fund has been pretty amazing.
85 Broads was a pioneer in the women’s leadership and social networking space when it got off the ground in the 1990s. Janet Hanson – its founder – was working at Goldman Sachs (at 85 Broads street) and decided it was high time to get an “old girls club” established to help women in finance find their way and feel supported. Soon after that is expended beyond finance and Wall Street to be global leader in women’s empowerment. Janet and I are currently working on a number of efforts to harness and empower women entrepreneurs to make their own future and for women to use their buying power to promote women in leadership.
The Pipeline Fund is the 1st fellowship program training women to become angel investors. Natalia Oberti Noguera – its founder — is a visionary in the field of training women to invest in women because one of the major stumbling blocks for women entrepreneurs is that they are more comfortable seeking investment from other women but with so few out there, the pickings are slim and the intimidation factor can be overwhelming. So we are working together to get a number of her programs promoted and her presence known.
Name/describe one incident when being a woman has helped your career?
Walking into the Women Inspiration and Enterprise conference last September. I was surrounded buy women who needed my help and asked for it. It was the deciding moment for starting my company.
Name/describe one incident when being a woman has hindered your career?
I can’t really think of one. I’ve been incredibly lucky.
Who is your role model or mentor (alive or dead)?
I have so many. But probably my grandmothers and great grandmothers who left everything behind to pursue a better life here. They all worked so hard and deprived themselves of so much in order to make my life possible that I feel it’s my duty to live it and do what only wished they could have done – really drive women’s leadership in the world and leave a great and positive leadership legacy for women and men in the future.
If you could give one piece of advice to a woman starting out in your field, what would it be?
Don’t do it alone. Find a real partner who believes in you and your dream and team up!
Links:
Follow The Good Girls on Facebook
Follow The Good Girls on Twitter
– Interview by Elena Rossini
