Leading with Vision and Empowering Aesthetics
Alyssa Rapp discusses her leadership philosophy, challenges in the medical aesthetics industry, and offers advice for aspiring women leaders, highlighting her journey from Bottlenotes to Empower Aesthetics”
As of January 2018, Alyssa was named the CEO of Empower Aesthetics by private equity firm Sterling Partners. Within six months, she was named one of Crain’s Chicago’s “Notable Women in Health Care” (June 2018). Starting in 2014, Alyssa joined the ranks as a lecturer-in-management at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. As of June 2019, she was also named an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago’s Booth Business School.
From 2005-2015, Alyssa served as the founder & CEO of Bottlenotes, Inc., the leading interactive media company in the U.S. wine, craft beer, and artisanal spirit industries.
Starting in 2015, Alyssa has also served as the Managing Partner at AJR Ventures, a strategic advisory firm for Fortune 500, $500MM+ privately-held companies, and private equity firms on their new business unit/new market development, digital and e-commerce strategies.
Alyssa was named in Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30” coolest entrepreneurs in America (September 2008)” and one of the wine industry’s top 25 of 100 most influential people by Intowine.com, from 2012 to present. Bottlenotes also received the “Best Advertising and Marketing Company” and the “People’s Choice Award” at the Empact 100 in September 2013 at the United Nations, honoring the top 100 companies with founders under 35.
Alyssa earned a B.A. in Political Science and the History of Art from Yale University in 2000 and an M.B.A. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2005. At Yale, she earned the Frank M. Patterson prize for the best essay on the American political system for her senior thesis on public housing reform in Chicago. Alyssa is thus honored to have been appointed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to serve on the board of directors of the Illinois Housing Development Authority. She currently serves on the organization’s audit committee with $1B of assets and ~$80MM operating expenses.
When not immersed in business and civic life, Alyssa loves to run track, do yoga, ski fast, and try as hard as possible to decipher a slider from a curve ball from her husband, 1990 MLB World Series champion and partner at X10 Capital, Hal Morris. Alyssa and Hal are the proud parents of Audrey Margaret Morris and Henriette Daniella Morris.
Empower Aesthetics aims to inspire joy and confidence through aesthetics. Can you elaborate on what this means to you and how you implement this philosophy within the company?
There are two meanings implied by this tagline of sorts. For one, we hope and believe that preserving and enhancing one’s physical beauty can provide our clients with more joy and at times, even more self-confidence. This is part one of the meaning of this tagline.
In addition, we are partnering with primarily women-entrepreneurs when we acquire their clinics as part of the Empower Aesthetics platform. In so doing, it is both fun and gratifying to shepherd these women stakeholders through the mergers and acquisitions process, inspiring them to join a platform that espouses their shared vision for the category, which of course we hope brings them joy and confidence via the partnership.
As a successful entrepreneur and CEO, what are the key challenges you face in the medical aesthetics industry, and how do you overcome them?
One of the key attractions to me of the CEO role at Empower is the opportunity to acquire companies founded and led by women entrepreneurs. Our target seller is a 45 – 65-year-old woman, who deeply values clinical excellence, the training of excellence in her team, and delivery of it to her clinic’s patients. It is a key opportunity and challenge to successfully convince these terrific women entrepreneurs that now is the right time to sell (partner) versus to continue to “go it alone,” and why “us” versus a handful of other private-equity backed Medical Aesthetics platforms in the ecosystem. We have meaningfully differentiated reasons “why now” and “why us,” but great entrepreneurs and clinical leaders don’t “have” to do something today per se, so inspiring them to act and act now is a challenge we look forward to continuing to addressing.
Your book, “Leadership and Life Hacks,” became an Amazon bestseller for leadership. What are some key insights from the book that you apply in your role at Empower Aesthetics?
There are several leadership “hacks” from the book that are relevant to me as the CEO of Empower Aesthetics, as it would be in most CEO roles (if not all). In my chapter on managing boards and other key stakeholders, I share some truisms such as “breaking bread matters” and “all relationships are bespoke.” These insights and strategies for managing members of my executive team and members of my board of directors rings in each of my CEO roles to date. I am also continually reminded of the importance of mentorship and sponsorship as an organizational leader, which I discuss at length in the chapter of the book entitled “Be One, Get One: The Power of Mentorships.” Additionally, I learned from one of my most important career mentors and sponsors, Joel Peterson, that values-based leadership is the kind to which the most talented people and best teammates are attracted; I continue to strive to follow in Joel’s best in class example with this type of entrepreneurial leadership (to quote his book of the same name). In sum, alignment of mission, vision, and values is instrumental to any team’s success, and this approach remains crucial to our approach at Empower Aesthetics.
What role have your family’s values played in your professional journey?
My inspiration and the reason I serve on wonderful nonprofit or civic boards is due to the role modeling and values instilled by my mother and stepfather. They raised me and us to live a life of service. They both serve as role models to me in their lives of service (my mother having served as the former US Ambassador to the Netherlands, my stepfather as a real estate developer in Chicago for over a half-century, whose work, amongst many other things, not only shaped the city of Chicago, but brought best in class management to its public housing). Through their actions and examples, they role model that “giving back” is simply what we do, with time and with treasure. And this has influenced several of the choices I have made throughout my professional journey on which nonprofit or civic boards I serve. Since I have always deeply valued the early childhood education and public education that I received growing up, I currently serve as an elected member the District 36 school board, for example.
What advice would you give to women aspiring to become CEOs, entrepreneurs, or leaders in their fields?
As Geena Davis said, “If you can see it, you can be it.” As women are exposed to more and more great examples of women a CEOs, and leading entrepreneurs and executives, I am hopeful that the success of more and more women will continue to inspire women to keep striving, keep climbing, and keep leading at the highest of levels, in corporate America and on corporate boards. As for advice, there’s several “hacks” previously discussed that are directly relevant to your question:
• Find inspirational mentors to learn from
• Support flexible work environments.
• If you’re already in a leadership position, install qualified women in your organization and “Demand” (Strongly Recommend/Request) gender equity in the executive leadership teams and on the boards you serve E.g.: Walk the walk.
McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace study spotlighted how women fall behind early in their careers, and that they are at a disadvantage in their daily interactions because they see fewer women around them. So, we need to support women getting promoted earlier in their careers and provide structures and environments that overtly support mentorship. For any person in a leadership role, but especially for a woman in a male-dominated industry, a strong professional network of women can help buoy you through proverbial storms.
