EO Charleston Member Spotlight: Dave Alison
In an age where the financial services industry is rapidly evolving, Dave Alison stands at the forefront as a leader of innovation and excellence. Alison has been instrumental in shaping the trajectory of holistic wealth management through his dual ventures: C2P Enterprises and Alison Wealth Management.
Crafting a Visionary Path in Wealth Management
Dave’s revolutionary approach to wealth management bridges cutting-edge financial strategies with personalized client service, setting a new standard for advisors and their clients alike.
C2P Enterprises
Recognizing a significant gap in the financial services industry 14 years ago, Dave Alison embarked on a mission to offer a more integrated, holistic approach to wealth management. C2P Enterprises was born from this vision to provide a scalable business model and platform for independent fiduciary financial advisors. This initiative delivers a “concierge” approach, ensuring advisors can offer comprehensive services to their clients.
With over 70 full-time employers supporting over 60 wealth management offices across the country, the company drives Alison’s vision forward, attracting like-minded advisors passionate about delivering holistic wealth management solutions and making a true difference in the lives of their clients.
Alison Wealth Management
Alison Wealth’s story began when Dave’s brother successfully built and sold a tech company to Facebook (now Meta) in 2010, allowing Dave to gain valuable insight into the complex financial landscape of M&A, business exit planning, pre and post-IPO equity compensation planning, and the overall wealth management needs of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and business owners in Silicon Valley.
Dave quickly recognized that greater wealth brings greater complexity, responsibility and opportunity, so he focused on scaling a “family office business model” to enable the consolidation of wealth management, tax management, investment management, estate planning and business advisory under one roof, ultimately simplifying the management of our client’s financial affairs.
Today, Alison Wealth Management has three offices in Palo Alto, California, Charleston, South Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia, and specializes in working with business owners, high-net-worth retirees and affluent professionals with equity or stock options.
The Road to EO Charleston
Dave’s involvement with the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Charleston chapter came through the initial recommendation of Jason Smith, a co-founder of C2P, who has been a part of both YPO and EO and then further discussion with Jayson Tompkins. Dave realized the value that EO could bring to his entrepreneurial ventures and joined EO Charleston without hesitation.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Dave Alison believes that the essence of entrepreneurial success lies in passion and strong conviction.
Dave advises that starting a business comes with many ups and downs. “If you don’t have the passion and conviction for what you’re doing, you may be phased out quickly because you’ll want to get off that emotional rollercoaster.” This lesson has been a guiding principle throughout his career.
A Vision for the Future
Alison’s immediate focus remains on continuously innovating the client experience, service standards and the internal culture within his organizations. He is dedicated to building a high-performance culture, especially at a time when his team is spread across 16 states.
In the long term, Alison envisions simplifying financial planning for 1 billion people worldwide, which is C2P’s massively transformative purpose. At C2P, they consider this their lifetime achievement goal and feel it is attainable through educating thousands of advisors and, subsequently, their clients.
Dave’s Reflection on His Journey to Success
Looking back, Alison credits much of his success to adopting the concept of the “who, not how,” an adage from Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach, who has been instrumental in their success and growth.
This philosophy focuses on leveraging others’ expertise rather than trying to figure out everything independently. This approach has transformed his businesses’ efficiency and quality of deliverables, allowing him to focus on areas where he excels.
“How Do You Want to be Remembered as an Entrepreneur?”
Dave sources much of his entrepreneurial “why” back to passion and value creation. He recalls the growth of his team, reflecting on the long-term impact on employees, their families and children. “Job creation was very satisfying, especially when we could take our internal talents and unique ability and turn it into a company that can produce revenue and that the company can afford to hire more people and put food on their tables and a good standard of living.”
Final Advice
Ultimately, Dave believes “we all get better through collaborating.” This belief reflects his excitement in initially joining the EO chapter, with the opportunity to collaborate every day with many other professionals and small businesses.
Alison is “a big believer in collaboration and being able to share with each other, and how much we can learn from each other.” His leadership exemplifies how strategic thinking, coupled with a desire to make a lasting difference, can create a legacy of success and innovation.