Ally Disterhoft
PrincipalAlly was born and raised in Iowa City and attended the University of Iowa, where she studied accounting and finance while competing on the women’s basketball team. During her four-year career with the Hawkeyes, Ally finished as the program’s all-time leading scorer, developing the discipline, leadership, and competitive spirit that shape her today.
After graduating in 2017, Ally moved to New York City to begin her career in the consumer retail coverage group at Barclays, where she worked primarily with large, publicly-listed businesses across packaged food, wellness, and broader consumer categories. She then later moved to Colorado to join Ridgeline Ventures in the Fall of 2021, a family office based in Boulder, where she spent five years focused on investing in wellness-oriented consumer businesses.
Ally now serves as a Principal at Amberstone, where she focuses on partnering with founders building the next generation of consumer and wellness-oriented brands.
The University of Iowa, BBA
MUSH
Why entrepreneurship?
Growing up, I watched my dad and his team build a small local credit union into the largest financial institution in Iowa over a 20+ year period. What always stood out to me wasn’t just what he built, but how he went about doing it – combining strong business instincts with an ability to genuinely connect with people – which had a big impact on me. Watching him lead that business shaped the way I think about entrepreneurship today – building something meaningful, creating lasting relationships, and hopefully leaving things a little better than you found them.
Why consumer?
I’ve always loved consumer brands because they’re such a big part of culture and identity. Growing up playing sports, I was constantly paying attention to what brands people were excited about – the newest Nike shoes, what people were wearing, what products felt cool or aspirational. What I love about consumer is that it’s tangible. You can actually use the products, interact with them daily, and see how they become part of people’s routines and identities. That’s what continues to excite me about the work that we get to do at Amberstone.
