Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Pezzano
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My guiding philosophy is “If I can’t find it, I’ll build it”. Throughout the last 20+ years I have started multiple companies and not for profit organizations. The first endeavor into working for myself came when I was just 19 years old. My dad passed and left me his life insurance agency. At the same time, my husband and I were running a car club, putting on a huge not for profit drag race and spending every spare moment in the garage trying to keep our Mitsubishi’s running. When the idea came up of running our own aftermarket and performance parts store, I jumped at the chance and our first venture together, Enthusiasts Auto, was born. Once the “Fast and the Furious” early 2000’s gave way to more sensible thoughts on how we play with our cars, that business was sold off and we moved on to other things. Husband got into IT and I floated around trying to find my place. I worked in body shops, lube shops, performance shops, dealerships.. you name it.
After taking a break to focus on my kids for a few years, I discovered how much I missed being around cars. However, when I tried to jump back in, I was stunned that the environment wasn’t much more friendly for women than it was in the 2000’s. I still felt like I had to prove myself and make a case for why I should be taken seriously. To remedy this, I started Shift Atlanta in 2019. This is a not for profit organization that intends to help enthusiasts engage, find their people and ultimately, empower them to do more with their cars. We support event organizers, share information, offer education and news articles and generally strive to be the anti-gatekeepers of the car scene.
Through the past few years of running Shift Atlanta, it became clear that one of the biggest struggles and barriers that car people face is dealing with insurance. Either they have modified their cars and worry the parts wont be covered or want to do non covered activities such as drive on a race track. For an enthusiast, all things are not equal. A Miata that used to commute in is not worth the same as one that is seldom driven and prepped for the race track. When we couldn’t find the resources to find proper help our community find solutions in the marketplace, we decided to get involved and Traction Insurance is the result. It’s been a long road for me to wind right back into insurance but here we are! This time however, I’m right where I should be. Everything I’ve done has led me right here.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s an interesting thing as an entrepreneur, I think you just get comfortable driving on rough roads. Smooth roads are suspicious and probably mean you’re not taking enough risks.
The insurance industry is a hot mess at the moment. Rates are higher, companies are pulling back so there are fewer options and many agencies are struggling. When we first got started, we tried to figure out how we were going to work through it, but we found our way. We have a very specific niche and are very happy in this space. What it boils down to is the understanding that you are not going to be able to help everyone and/or be the solution to every problem no matter how much you want to be. What we can do however, we do it better than anyone.
In our space, we’ve doubled in size 4x in the past 12 months. We’re now offering insurance products in 17 states and growing quickly. There are plenty of struggles and stress associated with rapid growth but we’re a strong team and the in house skills and team dedication are sufficient to get us through.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are an insurance agency dedicated to solving problems for car people. We handle everything from the cars that people only drive for fun on the weekend, rare vehicles, exotics, modified cars, JDM imports, lowriders, open cockpit cars like Arial atoms or Exocets, classics and collector cars all the way up to purpose built or non street legal race cars. On and off the track.
Being an entire team of serious car enthusiasts, our customers don’t have to explain to us what is unique or special about their cars. All insurance is not equal, not when it comes to these kinds of cars. Valuation can fluctuate wildly so getting our customers into agreed value policies so that the claim payout is guaranteed is key. Our customers know we get it and will do our best to ensure they have the kind of coverage that gives real peace of mind and not a false sense of security.
We consider ourselves a car brand first and insurance second. We are fully engaged in the car scene and most of us either track and race ourselves. Lots of agents say they know cars but shy away from modified cars, non street legal vehicles when the project is beyond the scope of their knowledge. Also, when customers would be even hesitant to tell their agent the truth about what all they’ve done to their car that can be problematic. We’re giving people the ability to be open about what they have and like to do with their cars and pairing them with the kinds of companies that not only allow, but support their hobbies.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I was the youngest kid so I spent a lot of times hanging out and trying to figure out what my siblings were up to. My oldest brother was all into pickup trucks. It’s probably the most 90’s story imaginable and will make some folks cringe but I can remember spending a day outside, helping him wash and dry his truck so that he could apply huge neon paint splatter stickers (or vinyl maybe) to his white truck to “customize it”. Man, now it all sounds as cheesy as it gets but it was the first time I realized that a vehicle wasn’t just a tool that got you back and forth to school, it was something you could make your own and have fun with. Now, I always keep one thing in each of my cars that is a goofy little reminder not to take things so seriously.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tractionins.com/
- Instagram: @tractioninsurance
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tractionins
Image Credits
Photo of the car on track used with permission from 5evenspeed Photography.
Holly Pezzano
Traction Insurance
