Rachel Hollis - Part III – Why Is She Still There?

If The Hollis Co (Rachel Hollis’ company) had a board of directors, would Ms. Hollis still be at the helm of her empire?

Late last year I wrote about a run of female founders that were ousted from their role as CEO because of their crappy cultures and even crappier behavior, see Female Founders that Eff-Up Company Culture.

There are a number of parallels between those downfalls (or teardowns) and the Ms. Hollis scandal, raising similar questions about the standard female founders are held to and what happens when there is a disconnect between brand values and leadership.  

The difference between Ms. Hollis staying right where she is and those female founders that were “kicked out” (aka resigned!) from the companies they built, highlights the power and role of VC-backed boards in enforcing positive cultures and addressing double standards.

Are You Who You Say You Are 

Much like Tyler Haney of Outdoor Voices, Audrey Gelman of The Wing, Steph Korey of Away, Jen Gotch of Ban.do, and many of the other female founders who found themselves out of a job, Ms. Hollis was the celebrity face of her brand. A brand built on women empowerment, and we are all in this together message. Yet, her now infamous TikTok video highlighted what many perceived as a disconnect between her brand and her leadership style and personal values.  

Maybe VCs push for this kind of marketing – it sells! At the same time, these women also play it up. Following her departure, Ms. Haney admitted, we “definitely pulled that female founder narrative out when it suited us… we really leaned into that story to grow this thing, and we became press darlings. But that’s all great until it’s not, because we also made ourselves targets.”

Amy Buechler, a founder coach, reflected “I am 100 percent confident that each of these female founders do have a component of their psychologies that are absolutely congruent with that aspirational vision they’re putting forward. And who do we know that is ‘all that’? People also have a shadow side, people struggle to have appropriate boundaries, or to manage their anger, or frustration, or stress. We expect people, especially women, to be these visionary leaders while forgetting their humanity.”

The World Is Watching

Well, if you have made yourself the face of your brand, then that scrutiny and judgement (let’s be real) is even more intense.

In her upcoming novel, “My Life With the Mogul”, Noelle Crooks, a former employee of Ms. Hollis, talks about the price of meeting your heroes. “Hero” is a pretty heavy crown to wear.

For venture-backed female founders, the stakes are even higher. Maybe because there are so few of them and because we hold women to a higher standard.

Pam Kostka, CEO of All Raise, a community focused, in part, on connecting female founders and funders, suggests that those female founders who get significant VC funding are put on the “perfection pedestal.” They are closely, and continuously, scrutinized by the media, their employees, and their investors.

Big Bad Boards?

So, what role do these venture-backed boards, or any board, play in these stories. What role should they play given their power? Are they villain, or defender?

100% boards should take action against toxic cultures when there is concrete evidence of abusive language and treatment, of bullying and belittling, of racial and gender discrimination, etc.

The problem seems to be that male founders are not held to account in the same way. The easy examples are Travis Kalanick, of Uber, or Adam Neumann, of WeWork. More recently, Ben Silbermann of Pinterest or Henry Ward of Carta. They seem to be given more runway to work on themselves or accusations are dismissed as “boys will be boys” (oversimplifying), or investors have less of a controlling stake (for another day!) so less power to wield. 

Aerica Shimizu Banks, a former public policy manager at Pinterest, who alleged racial discrimination, commented, “I would like to see some consequences for male founders, and a large part of it goes to investors.”

These boards and investors need to step up their game when it comes to male founders, and, to pause and consider whether female founders are being crucified in the media or by employees for behaviors that would otherwise be applauded if exhibited by a male founder. Are these women being labeled a “bitch” (loaded word) or, are they truly, a bad actor?

They have an opportunity to level the playing field. Not instill fear! Vanessa Larco, a partner at venture capital firm NEA, shared that each time there was one of these teardowns, she received text messages to the tune of, ‘what the hell?’, ‘when is it going to be me?’ That kind of fear impacts confidence and decision-making. It cripples, rather than encourages.

That should not be the message. Rather, boards and investors need to hold those accountable that need to be, male or female, and fight against double standards that put female founders in a bind.