{"688745":{"#nid":"688745","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Mentor Spotlight: Alison Sizer \u2014 From Apple and Nike to Supporting Founders ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlison Sizer started as someone who loved innovation and problem-solving. For 14 years, she worked at Apple and Nike, where she learned how to blend innovation with customer insight: how to spot patterns, translate problems into opportunities, and turn ideas into strategies for growth.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EApplying what she\u2019d learned along the way, Sizer started Growth Impact to support startups and stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem. As a part of her business, she created partnerships and networks between the U.S. and South Africa, bridging the gap between startups and corporations to encourage co-creation and pilot projects. During this time, she saw how much early\u2011stage founders needed clear frameworks, honest guidance, and hands\u2011on support.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI started Growth Impact to support startups and stakeholders such as venture studios, investors, and accelerators. I support early-stage startups in finding product-market fit, customer understanding, go-to-market strategy, and business model development,\u201d she said. \u201cI also help startups with fundraising readiness and enterprise readiness. I support stakeholders by helping to assess viability, and de-risk new ventures, as well as connecting startups to enterprises.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEventually, her work brought her in contact with Georgia Tech. She was working with a South African innovation lab to enable pilot projects between startups and enterprises with the goal of facilitating the co-creation of digital solutions, which led her to Rahul Saxena, director of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECREATE-X\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESizer said she reached out to see if any potential CREATE-X startups or enterprises would want to connect to the companies she was working with in South Africa.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOver the last few years, there\u0027s been quite a lot of interest in Georgia Tech and Atlanta in terms of a tech and innovation hub in the U.S., and there\u0027s a lot of investment happening too, in both the city of Atlanta and in Georgia Tech, in entrepreneurship and innovation and technology,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u0027s an interesting market.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnce connected, she kept meeting Georgia Tech founders, many from CREATE\u2011X.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EQuietly, she began helping where she could, making introductions for CREATE-X founders outside of Atlanta. For Augment Health, she made investor and potential partner introductions. For the founder of Strapt, she made introductions to investors, shared market insight, and highlighted the company in her own newsletter, which has an audience of innovation ecosystem stakeholders, including more investors. And for ZenVR, she made a connection to WeFunder for funding, which resulted in $250,000 raised. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollaborating with CREATE-X on a webinar, Sizer also taught \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/create-x.gatech.edu\/launch\/startup-launch\u0022\u003EStartup Launch\u003C\/a\u003E alumni about customer understanding and segmentation, value proposition, and other topics for health and wellness founders. Beyond connecting, Sizer shaped mindsets.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn her business, one founder she worked with was building non\u2011toxic performance apparel for women \u2014 a product selling through Amazon, REI, and even the U.S. military. The founder had ambition but struggled to balance DTC (direct to consumer) sales, retail, and B2B opportunities. Sizer helped her analyze her data, identify her real early adopters, and rebuild her value proposition and messaging. With a clearer customer understanding and stronger brand direction, the founder revamped her website and refined her pitch.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI love that thrill of them being excited about implementing some of the ideas and things we talk about, seeing the growth in their business, and the positive change in their business. That really excites me,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta is an enterprise-heavy city with Fortune 500 companies, SaaS (Software as a Service) companies, and a growing biotech sector. The startup ecosystem is growing in Atlanta, and with that comes advantages.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have noticed that there\u0027s a lot of strong support for Atlanta and Georgia entrepreneurs from other Atlanta and Georgia entrepreneurs,\u201d she said. \u201cThey all support each other.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver the years, Sizer has advised or mentored over 100 startups and built investor connections. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy business is Growth Impact, because growth and impact are part of my core values. I\u0027m glad to give back and support early entrepreneurs, sharing knowledge, tools, and resources,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a founder, Sizer went through her own learning curve. When she first launched her company, she assumed her target customers would be venture capital firms and spent months talking to pre\u2011seed and seed investors, only to discover that VCs either didn\u2019t fund the kind of operational support she offered or they expected founders to pay for it themselves. Meanwhile, the founders she spoke with said they needed her help but didn\u2019t have the budget. She said it was a classic chicken\u2011and\u2011egg problem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI said, OK, this is not my target customer. The target customer is the startup,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u0027s where the pivot point was for me.\u201d\u003Cbr\u003EThat shift reshaped her entire business and reinforced the same advice she now gives students: Talk to customers, listen deeply, and don\u2019t be afraid to adjust when the data points you in a new direction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe officially joined the CREATE\u2011X mentor community last year to help more founders, guiding them in finding product-market fit, and understanding who needs this solution and why.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne thing Sizer emphasized, however, is the need for founders to continue to take initiative and be resilient in the face of challenges.\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cA mentor can guide you or ask the right questions, but the founder has to find the path,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EReady to build something real?\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeet mentors like Alison Sizer in Startup Launch, where you can develop a startup to solve real-world problems and build entrepreneurial skills. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/airtable.com\/appaTqlTL2zQkXBBR\/pagdkIvjQbvDbSD2F\/form\u0022\u003EApply to Startup Launch\u003C\/a\u003E today; applications close Tuesday, March 17.\u003Cbr\u003EInterested in mentoring?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EWant to mentor and support the next generation of Georgia Tech founders?\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFill out our \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/airtable.com\/app1gcnb0ECVgdEF4\/pag4g0e8mxV9qWn8k\/form\u0022\u003Eengagement form\u003C\/a\u003E to join CREATE\u2011X\u2019s mentor network.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003EAlison Sizer brings more than a decade of innovation experience from Apple and Nike to her work supporting early\u2011stage founders through her company, Growth Impact. After building cross\u2011continental partnerships between the U.S. and South Africa, she connected with CREATE-X and began advising founders on customer insight, product\u2011market fit, and go\u2011to\u2011market strategy. She has since made high\u2011impact investor and partner introductions, taught customer discovery frameworks, and helped entrepreneurs rethink their value propositions through data\u2011driven guidance. Now an official CREATE\u2011X mentor, Sizer continues to champion founders by sharing tools, networks, and honest insight to help them build resilient, customer\u2011focused ventures.\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Alison Sizer, a former Apple and Nike strategist turned founder of Growth Impact, now mentors CREATE\u2011X startups by helping them deepen customer understanding, refine value propositions, and build pathways to growth through her global innovation network."}],"uid":"36436","created_gmt":"2026-03-05 15:20:30","changed_gmt":"2026-03-19 19:25:50","author":"bdurham31","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-03-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2026-03-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"679530":{"id":"679530","type":"image","title":"Alison Sizer ","body":"\u003Cdiv\u003EThe image shows Alison Sizer \u0026nbsp;standing in a modern, well\u2011lit workspace with open shelving, plants, and a large \u201cLet\u2019s...\u201d wall sign visible in the background. She\u0027s wearing a light gray blazer over a teal top and is posed with one arm resting on a wooden table. The setting includes contemporary furniture, natural light from large windows, and a neutral, inviting color palette that conveys a professional yet relaxed environment.\u003C\/div\u003E","created":"1772722040","gmt_created":"2026-03-05 14:47:20","changed":"1772723141","gmt_changed":"2026-03-05 15:05:41","alt":"Alison Sizer in a blazer standing in a modern workspace with wooden tables, open shelving, and natural light.","file":{"fid":"263703","name":"Alison-TRT_3162.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/03\/05\/Alison-TRT_3162.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/03\/05\/Alison-TRT_3162.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":103307,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/03\/05\/Alison-TRT_3162.jpeg?itok=lco1cU-e"}}},"media_ids":["679530"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/airtable.com\/appaTqlTL2zQkXBBR\/pagdkIvjQbvDbSD2F\/form","title":"Apply to Startup Launch"},{"url":"https:\/\/airtable.com\/app1gcnb0ECVgdEF4\/pag4g0e8mxV9qWn8k\/form","title":"Mentor with CREATE-X"}],"groups":[{"id":"583966","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"655285","name":"GT Commercialization"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193658","name":"Commercialization"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:breanna.durham@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBreanna Durham\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarketing Strategist\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}