Pencils Down

Investment bankers arrive at their eventual careers in a variety of ways, some more orthodox than others. Chad Harding’s was fairly unconventional, in that he started out in chemistry, mathematics, and engineering, from which he took an abrupt 180-degree turn to banking.

In his wide-ranging conversation with Pencils Down’s host, Finalis CEO Federico Baradello, Chad talks about that journey and the various paths and byways that led him to a career in investment banking and venturing on his own firm, after a couple of false—but nevertheless illuminating—starts. There is much hard-won wisdom to be gleaned in Chad’s story, for entrepreneurs and prospective founders.

Join him and Fed in this fascinating story that truly humanizes investment banking, from just a domain that centers on deals and dealmaking, to one that shows that it’s eminently possible to have banking “with a heart.”

Leaving Goldman Sachs—where Centerfin CEO Kyrill Asatur's career was ascendant—was definitely not a move for the faint-hearted.

In the years since founding his own boutique investment firm, Asatur's firm has been involved—much like Finalis is doing—in the democratization of the investment banking space, which is nothing less than a progressive transformation of the industry, with deep and abiding consequences for the future of finance.

Join Asatur as he shares this story, and much more, with Pencils Down's host, Finalis CEO Fed Baradello, in Episode 19 of the podcast. Among the topics:

• The advantages of a financial management solution that is digitally native

• How a combination of passive, active, and alternative invesments helps build long-term wealth

• Shifting the balance of power from Wall Street to Main Street

The past two and a half years have been an unparalleled time in world history for so many reasons, starting with the exogenous shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. A "black swan" event, as Finalis' Community Manager characterizes it in his wide-ranging interview of Finalis' CEO Federico Baradello, the global pandemic in early 2020 coincided with the launch of this regtech startup with an unapologetically audacious goal—nothing less than creating the world's largest securities brokerage platform.

Tune in to this special episode of Pencils Down, in which its usual host becomes its guest and interviewee instead—as Fed talks about Finalis' beginnings and its phenomenal growth trajectory in just a little over two years, sharing deep and actionable insights about what it takes to found and grow a startup in a space no one previously had thought to develop.

Are the two worlds of investment banking and impactful change on planet Earth mutually exclusive? 

We don’t think so. 

Even though the concept has been around for a long time, the term “impact investing” didn’t hit our nomenclature until 2007. Historically, that tells you all you need to know about the type of priority something like climate change has had on investing. That’s all changing Logan Yonavjak, Director Of Sustainability at International Farming & Venture Partner & Advisor at SeaAhead, and Founder at Fuego Capital, is upending everything the financial industry has to say about the legitimacy of ESG and cause-based investment. 

Join us as we discuss:

•  Regenerative quotient

A rare positive story from the pandemic is the journey investment banking has taken navigating the shock of COVID-19, moving from adjusting to virtual technologies to embracing the hybrid between in-person and remote work. 

Gaurav Bhasin, Managing Director at Allied Advisers, has engaged i n cross-border investment banking throughout his entrepreneurial career and sees the challenges of the last three years as an opportunity to push the industry forward, adapting to the needs of clients.  

Join us as we discuss:

•  Challenges pre- and post-COVID-19 in investment banking

Most people do not leave Stanford University before receiving their degree, but that is not the case for forward thinking problem solver Shubham Goel and his partner, as they took a leave from Stanford University to build Affinity. 

Shubham Goel is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Affinity. Affinity is an intelligence platform that allows dealmakers to find, manage, and close the best deals.

Affinity is focusing on building relationships. 

Join us as we discuss:

• Affinity creating a new business relationship paradigm with everyone from individual consumers and enterprises. 

Justin Hand has spent his entire career as an investment banker, in established firms. During the pandemic, he took the extraordinary step of starting his own investment banking firm.  

Many would think of this as hugely risky, starting a business at the onset of a pandemic—but this has proven to be a largely positive step for Justin and Westcove Partners.  

Join us as we discuss:

• The cliff’s-edge thrill and risk of launching a startup in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has changed much about how our world operates. It has fueled the Great Resignation, ignited conversations about the workplace, and inherently changed the business world.  

For some, this has presented an unexpected opportunity to leverage years of experience and relationships to embark on a new path of entrepreneurship. 

In this episode, Daniela Messina, Founder and Managing Member at Portside Capital Solutions, shares her story of founding her own company, building a future on your past experience, and challenging the status quo.  

Join us as we discuss:

• Where to find opportunities during periods of economic instability

More information about Daniela Messina and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielamessina1/ 

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Pencils Down on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.  

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Pencils Down in your favorite podcast player.

Historically, startups and small businesses haven’t had the time or resources to take full advantage of cutting-edge technological advances that will allow them to grow their business.  

With the emergence of FinTech and product-based, customer-focused financial services, new opportunities for startups and small businesses are being created. 

In this episode, Zach Emig, Capital Markets Leader at MainStreet , talks about his journey from MIT to Wall Street, and how FinTech is changing the capital markets landscape. 

Join us as we discuss: 

• Building FinTech products based on your customer’s needs 

More information about Zach Emig and today’s topics:

• LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachemig/ 

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Pencils Down on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.  

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Pencils Down in your favorite podcast player.

Within the military, you’re faced with an onslaught of unpredictable moments that need to be handled decisively and with great situational awareness.  

Armed with that experience, our guest brings these qualities to the world of investment banking.  

Hear our conversation with Billy Birdzell, Managing Director at Horatius Group:  

• The types of opportunities & relationships Horatius Group seeks

More information about Billy Birdzell and today’s topics:

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billy-birdzell-1b7aa480/#experience 

Company Website: https://www.horatiusgroup.com/ 

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Pencils Down on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.  

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Pencils Down in your favorite podcast player.