Tracy Holland on Building, Selling, and Reinventing a $100M Business

“It's important to talk to everyone and really get all of those perspectives. Otherwise, we just get like laser focus on one thing and don't see what else is out there.”

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After helping build Hatch Beauty into a company generating nearly $100 million in annual revenue, Tracy Holland found herself facing a question many founders never anticipate: who are you when the business you've spent years building is no longer yours?

Her entrepreneurial journey has included rapid growth, acquisitions, difficult partnerships, and hard-earned lessons about leadership, trust, and resilience. Those experiences ultimately led her to launch Inner Fifth, where she helps founders accelerate growth through live selling, audience engagement, and strategic business guidance.

In this Entreprenista Podcast, Tracy shares what she learned from building and selling a company, why founders need the right people around them, and how authenticity is becoming one of the most valuable assets in modern business.

You can listen to the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Here Are A Few Moments From The Podcast

Tracy shares how she handles the “tsunami” moments that come with entrepreneurship:

“Even when I'm faced as I am this week with some of what I think of each time these big tsunamis head toward me. And I think, man, in business, I haven't actually dealt with something this difficult. If you've been in business for any period of time, I promise you will know what I'm talking about.

When I say the tsunami that's heading your way, the amount of skill that I now have, when I see that coming, to look ahead and resource all the tools that I've used in my past to best utilize these for the best possible outcome for all shareholders is how I functionally think, but it's not the fun part of what we do.

So it's the part that is part of the entire package of being an entrepreneur and thinking three steps ahead and always having to plan for the upside and for the downside and be extra ready for when those things hit.”

She explains why founders need to get out of fear when things feel uncertain:

“What I would say that I've shifted into in the coaching I would give someone who's listening, who may be feeling that same thing right in this moment, is that I have a real belief that if you can creatively step into the same energy flow that you held when you created the business in the beginning, where anything was possible, and you were willing to try anything and you were willing to resource anyone in your network or out of network that could help or support you, that when we move into fear and white knuckling, we cut off all of those creative juices and that flow to what's possible.

And we are myopic and we are operating from fear. And generally speaking, that low vibration ends up landing you in a place that is kind of the worst circumstance of all circumstances.”

Tracy talks about building Hatch Beauty around innovation and retailer needs:

“Each and every business that I have built is typically around some sort of an innovation or unique positioning. And it's given me and provided me incredible access to great retailers who are really deeply seeking uniqueness.

And really that's how my career began. And it gave me an opportunity to develop relationships with retailers. That was very, very different than a typical vendor retailer dynamic in which you kind of create a brand or a line. You roll it in and you say, may I have an appointment? I want to present you my brand.

In my case, I would sit with retailers and their biggest pain point and their biggest challenge or friction point was uniqueness and point of difference. And so I would hear it again and again and again, which is why the innovation I would bring them would be so exciting to them.”

Tracy opens up about what happened emotionally after selling the business:

“I had to mourn that for about two years. So I took some board roles. I started a healthcare business with a partner, which was a carve out from my non-compete. I still own that company with her. It's been five years this year.

And I had to mourn that because I confused my love for my business and my passion for building this baby that I had as my fourth child with a business.

And when it came to the cage match that comes with bringing in private equity, doing a restructure, getting your best and most incredible talent out and then putting in more low cost efficient talent in order to optimize profitability to get it ready for sale. None of this feels good.”

You May Also Like

• Elisa Marshall, Maman: How Small Details Built a 53-Location Brand
• Natalie Franke, Flodesk: Building a $30M Brand by Investing in People, Not Just Platforms
• Jasmine Moseley-Beal Prepares Executives to Lead Through Change

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Curious about joining the Entreprenista League? ⁠Sign up ⁠here⁠⁠ for a free info session.

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Resources mentioned: Join InnerFifth and use code ‘LIVESTREAM’ for a special discount

Connect with Tracy Holland:

• @tracy_m_holland on Instagram 
• Tracy Holland on LinkedIn
• Join the Inner Fifth Accelerator!

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Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Entreprenista Podcast - the most fun business meeting for women founders and leaders. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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Updated on: June 22, 2026

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