First Connect

First Connect is proud to be recognized as an Inc. Best Workplaces Honoree for 2026. 🎉

The strength of our platform starts with the strength of our people. Our team brings curiosity, collaboration, and genuine care to everything they do, and as our CEO Aviad Pinkovezky puts it, "our growth has been driven by the people building this company every day."

We are so grateful for each and every one of them.

Check out the full press release here 👇
https://www.firstconnectinsurance.com/blog/first-connect-inc-2026-best-workplaces/

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm Possible.'"

Shamrock Holak has been saying that to the agents she mentors for years, and she means it.

This month, we're proud to feature her as our May Agent Spotlight.

After more than two decades in the industry, Shamrock knew exactly what was missing on the captive side: the freedom to do what was best for the client. She founded Shamrock Insurance Agency in 2018 to fix that. "Going independent gave us the flexibility to work with multiple carriers and truly focus on what is best for the client instead of trying to fit everyone into one company's products. We focus on making sure clients understand their coverage, helping them avoid gaps, and being available long after the sale," she says.

That instinct traces back to how she was raised. As a preacher's kid, she learned early that honesty and community aren't extras; they're the foundation. Before insurance, she worked in retail, mortgage origination, and debt collection, becoming the top collector in the country not by being aggressive, but by listening and treating people going through hard times like human beings.

For Shamrock, insurance is a calling, not just a career. "We get to be part of so many important moments in their lives, whether it's buying a first home, adding a teenage driver, starting a business, or helping them through a difficult claim," she says. "Being able to continue helping people over the years is something I truly value."

That means paying attention long after the sale. Shamrock reviews every renewal without exception, because a policy that goes down in price can still hide a change the client never saw coming, like a roof shifting from replacement cost to actual cash value.

As the market has shifted, that vigilance has only mattered more. Carriers have pulled out of ZIP codes, exclusions have tightened, and underwriting restrictions have landed on clients who never had to think about them before. Her approach has stayed the same: educate first, then let the client decide.

First Connect gave the agency the carrier options to make that possible. "When we call, it never feels transactional," she says. "We feel supported, heard, and treated like a true partner." That alignment matters to her because it mirrors exactly how Shamrock Insurance treats its own clients.

Outside the agency, she's a transportation insurance expert who built a community for women in trucking with over 12,000 members, now the foundation for a book about the stories and strength of women in an industry that doesn't always see them clearly enough.

A great day ends knowing someone felt taken care of, then home to her husband of more than 25 years and an evening of BBC shows with the noise of business turned off.

This is exactly why First Connect exists: to give agents like Shamrock the markets and support to build something that truly reflects who they are.

Shamrock, thanks for sharing your story with the First Connect community.