Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business Private Equity, Alignment, and Durable Value Creation
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Mar 25, 2026 Brett Holcomb, Partner at Prospect Partners, brings lower-middle-market PE experience and a foundation-first approach. He discusses crisis management during COVID, the “better, not just bigger” value-creation philosophy, alignment with management, pricing as an offensive tool, and using data plus focused specialists to build durable businesses.
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The 400 IM Shaped A Multidisciplinary Mindset
- Competitive swimming shaped Brett's approach: endurance, strategy, and incremental improvement matter more than flash.
- He compares the 400 IM's multi-stroke strategy to building repeatable execution across functions in PE-backed companies.
How Wedgwood Survived COVID By Prioritizing People
- Wedgwood Hospitality Group lost most revenue overnight when COVID shut events and had to pause ~6,000–7,000 weddings a year.
- Brett Holcomb prioritized local-regulation compliance, employee/guest safety, over-communicated decisions, furloughed ~800 staff, and accelerated CRM/ERP upgrades to give the team a win.
Create An Artificial Commute To Recover From Work
- Recreate an artificial commute if working from home to create decompression and mental transition between work and family.
- Brett used a shower or short ritual after long days to avoid immediate home confrontation and preserve focus.