Private Equity, Alignment, and Durable Value Creation
Private Equity, Alignment, and Durable Value Creation  
Podcast: Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business
Published On: Wed Mar 25 2026
Description: Brett Holcomb, Partner at Prospect Partners , shares the experiences that shaped his approach to lower middle-market private equity—from swimming-driven grit and early career missteps to navigating COVID with a portfolio company built on human trust. He explains Prospect's "better, not just bigger" philosophy, why foundation-building matters more than speed, and how servant leadership earns premium outcomes. Brett also reflects on pricing strategy, data-driven decision-making, and the leap-of-faith judgment calls every investor must make. This is a candid conversation on resilience, alignment, and long-term value creation—press play. Episode Highlights • 1:18 – Growing up around global business and finding a non-linear path into private equity • 6:29 – Why competitive swimming builds the grit and self-motivation PE demands • 10:43 – The COVID shock at Wedgewood and setting a clear North Star under pressure • 14:13 – Over-communicating with teams and customers when everything shuts down • 18:29 – Breaking massive problems into solvable components during crisis • 30:31 – "Better, not just bigger": Prospect's foundation-first value creation model • 37:46 – Pricing strategy as an offensive weapon in volatile markets • 46:49 – The leap-of-faith decisions that define private equity careers For more on Prospect Partners, visit: https://prospect-partners.com/ For more information on Brett Holcomb, go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-holcomb-885ba31/