Growing up in Needham, Massachusetts, Ronnie Kassiff and Suzy Gal Gombos spent their teens at each other’s houses studying, having sleepovers, and just being kids.

Now, they are working together to ensure others can have the same memories in safe, comfortable home environments.

THE MOST PRODUCTIVE LUNCH BREAK

Up until a few years ago, Gal Gombos worked in the high-end residential market, putting her Master of Architecture to use before moving into affordable housing development, while Kassiff was using business scaling skills she learned from the Isenberg School of Management at UMASS to lead her company, RK Inbound Marketing.

Over lunch at Picco in the South End one day in 2023, Kassiff shared she was looking to move onto something new career-wise. As perfect as perfect timing can be, Gal Gombos shared that she was looking for a business partner to help solve a problem she saw in the affordable housing market.

A bite or two of pizza and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes later, their business was born.

LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD

The high school friends joined forces as they put their construction, architecture and entrepreneurial backgrounds together to create a company that brought women to the front of a typically male-dominated industry.

Boston BuildHERS is a fully women-owned and operated subcontracting company that mainly focuses on installing HVAC services in multi-family affordable housing to make them more habitable. They also work in the commercial and institutional spaces.

“We both have first hand experience with affordable housing in our personal lives and we have found it to be the single most important socioeconomic stepping stone in order to break generational poverty,” Kassiff said.

Although they themselves haven’t lived in affordable housing, they have both either done work in the space or have friends who currently utilize it.

Over the years, Gal Gombos saw an opportunity to get more females in the trades with the hope that it becomes another profession that young girls can see themselves in.

“I remember my very first project that I went on and we had these construction coordination meetings…I was the only woman on the construction site,” Gal Gombos said. “To paint a picture, it wasn’t that long ago, 15 years or so. Now, us running this company, it’s absolutely incredible.”

SOUTHIE STRONG

Kassiff used to live in Southie but has since moved to the South End.

Gal Gombos has lived in Southie for 10 years and has two children who are frequent flyers of the Boys and Girls Club, the Curley Community Center, Castle Island, the parks, museums, and more.

She loves the strong sense of community and doesn’t plan on leaving, well, ever. But most importantly, both of them love being able to help in any way they can.

“[As] a Southie-based company, giving back to the community is something that is extremely important to us,” they both said. “[But], we really care for the city, and that’s why we also called it Boston BuildHERS. We love Boston.”

THEY WERE BUILT FOR THIS

And clearly, Boston loves them right back.

This past year, the City of Boston awarded them the SCALE (Supplying Capital and Leveraging Education) Grant, along with 6 months of weekly training for business owners on things like insurance, bonds, cash flow statements, and more.

The day they received the grant, Gal Gombos texted Kassiff, “I’m outside.” Kassiff ran out the door to see Gal Gombos’s car stopped in the middle of the road.

Traffic could wait. They were hugging and crying, celebrating the company’s first major win after years of trying to get it off the ground.

With this grant, they are able to fund future projects such as…

The 42-unit South End affordable housing project, Casas Borinquen, that they won the bid for through General Contractor, Delphi Construction! Thanks to their hard-working trade partners, they were able to be the lowest bidder on the project.

The project has been grouped into phases, with the first set of apartments ready to roll in 2026.

“I’m still mesmerized and still in awe, it’s something we care about so much,” Kassiff said. “For this little Southie company to make this big a difference in 42 families’ lives…I’m bewildered by it and so honored that we are able to do this.”

Their advice at the end of the day? Take a chance. Always.

“Give someone else a chance, it will pay off in dividends. Giving a chance to women and minority-owned businesses is a great way to look at a problem with fresh eyes,” Kassiff said.

As the lowest bidder on the affordable housing project, they helped put more heads in beds and kept the project ahead of schedule.

TABLE FOR TWO PLEASE

Never in a million years did either of them think that their jobs would be intertwined in such an amazing way…or that they would still be eating lunch together after all this time.

They have since moved from the cafeteria to local spots near their projects. Their current go-to is South Boston’s Shy Bird, a restaurant that has their own WFH policy, meaning it is oftentimes Boston BuildHERS office!

To keep tabs on their current and upcoming projects, follow Boston BuildHERS on Instagram and learn more on their website.

Who knows what ideas their next lunch could bring…

In Photo, On the left is Ronnie, on the right is Suzy