Andrew spent over 12 years at Goldman Sachs investing the firm's own balance sheet across public equities, high-yield credit, real estate, and venture capital before leaving to found 8FIGURES, an AI native investment advisor. In this episode, Max and Andrew dig into what a cross-asset mandate really looks like from the inside, how AI is transforming the tasks that used to define entry-level finance jobs, and why retail investors are getting a fundamentally different quality of advice than institutions.

They also get into Andrew's path from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow to Goldman, what it takes to climb to executive director, the discipline of tracking every personal expense for 20 years, and his take on how luck and hard work actually interact over a career. A must watch if you are breaking into finance or trying to understand where the industry is heading.

00:01:13 Intro

00:03:21 Goldman's Special Situations Group

00:06:31 Generalist vs Specialist Investors

00:09:44 Best AI Investment Plays in 2026

00:14:39 The Goldman Misconception

00:16:18 Climbing to Executive Director

00:17:40 Why He Left Goldman

00:22:26 What Is 8FIGURES

00:24:34 How 8FIGURES Stands Apart

00:32:23 AI and Entry Level Finance Jobs

00:34:31 What Students Need to Do Now

00:42:37 Breaking Into Goldman From Moscow

✉️ Connect with me

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Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

Frank Van Buren flew Black Hawk helicopters on combat missions in Beirut and Central America before walking into an investment banking associate role at Wells Fargo. What happened in between? A chance conversation on a beach in Cyprus that changed everything.

In this episode of Wall Street Diaries, Frank breaks down his full journey from the Army to 26 years on Wall Street, including 5 years in IB, 16 years in high-yield sales and trading, and a final chapter leading talent development for 1,000 emerging bankers.

He gets into what the military actually prepares you for, how to know which Wall Street role fits you, and the one trait that separates great salespeople from good ones.

00:00 Trailer

03:30 From Black Hawks to Wall Street

10:08 What the Army Teaches You

13:38 Real Advice for Vets Breaking Into IB

21:40 Why He Stayed in High Yield 16 Years

26:01 A Day on a High Yield Desk

31:54 The Trade That Dropped 100% in a Day

38:08 Good vs Great in Sales

42:44 Why He Left Revenue After 21 Years

50:23 Rapid Fire: Habits, Values and Luck

✉️ Connect with me

Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu

Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn

Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

AI isn’t replacing analysts. But it is separating the ones who adapt from the ones who don’t.

Brandon Hightower is the co-founder of Axom Partners, the boutique M&A firm Forbes called Big Tech’s go-to dealmaker for AI acquisitions. In 2.5 years they’ve closed 15+ deals representing $5B in transaction value advising names like OpenAI, Salesforce, and Meta.

In this episode, we get into what Big Tech is actually buying in the AI arms race, what it takes to build an investment bank from scratch, and the traits that separate the top analysts from the other 598.

0:00 Intro

01:20 What Big Tech is really buying

40:26 From banking to founding his own firm

57:40 What it takes to stand out in banking

✉️ Connect with me

Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu

Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn

Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

Scott McDermott went from PwC in Ireland to CFO of a global AI company, with stops at Netgear for 14 years, the Arlo Technologies IPO at $1B+ on the NYSE, Fitbit’s European finance build, and interim CFO at Cornerstone OnDemand overseeing 170 people.

In this episode, he breaks down what AI is actually doing to finance jobs right now, why taking risks in your 20s is the move most people regret skipping, and how pattern recognition from 2008 helped him pull every dollar out of Silicon Valley Bank the morning it collapsed.

0:00 Intro

1:16 Is AI Ruining Finance?

21:25 Scott's Finance Journey

36:44 Choosing Your Next Career Move

✉️ Connect with me

Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu

Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn

Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

Nick started at Goldman Sachs TMT in San Francisco, spent 6 years at Francisco Partners rising from associate to VP, and now co-manages S20 Capital, a late stage tech secondaries fund.

In this episode, we get into what it actually takes to break into and climb in private equity, why he skipped business school, the mindset shift from associate to VP, and what running your own fund really looks like day to day.

We also dig into his take on AI and what it means for software investing, PE hiring, and whether the junior analyst role is already under threat.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:02:26 Francisco Partners

00:24:40 Entrepreneurship at S20

00:48:57 State of tech investing in the age of AI

01:07:55 Breaking into Goldman Sachs

✉️ Connect with me

Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu

Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn

Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

AI isn't new. The concepts behind it go back to the 1960s. So why is everything changing right now?

Asif Moosani has been inside this world longer than most. From coding at IBM to banking at Lazard to investing in AI startups at Google's Gradient Ventures, and now running strategy at Sona, an AI native workforce management startup.

In this episode, we get into what actually triggered the boom, what it means for finance careers specifically, and why the workers most affected aren't the ones everyone is talking about.

00:00 Intro

02:29 The $1B Market Nobody Wanted

11:02 Is AI Actually Different This Time?

20:06 The History of AI Nobody Teaches You

33:15 What AI Actually Does to Finance Careers

✉️ Connect with me

Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu

Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn

Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

🔔 Subscribe for weekly videos about investment banking recruiting @WallStreetMastermind

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below ⬇️

Eric majored in exercise science and planned to go into medicine. When that didn't work out, he applied to every rotational business program he could find and got screened out of all of them because of his major. A friend's tip about consulting changed everything.

In this episode, Erick breaks down how VCs evaluate founders before writing a check, why AI is already handling junior analyst work at his firm, and what the SaaS collapse means for anyone trying to break into finance right now.

If you're a student trying to break into venture, an aspiring founder looking for funding, or just trying to figure out where finance careers are headed, this one is for you.

00:00 Intro

02:33 Why VC the Most Interesting Path

31:30 AI & SaaS Prediction

52:09 Why Consulting and not Finance?

01:22:09 Going Back to School, Is It Worth It?

✉️ Connect with me

Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu

Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn

Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

🔔 Subscribe for weekly videos about investment banking recruiting @WallStreetMastermind

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below ⬇️

Most investment bankers follow the same script: 2 years of banking → PE → MBA → repeat. Emma Jacobsen didn't.

After landing a spot in Bank of America's elite tech IB group, she walked away from PE to join Nuro, one of the most ambitious autonomous vehicle companies in the world. Now in Strategic Finance, she's sitting in on CEO meetings, building investor narratives, and watching a $126B industry reshape itself in real time

Whether you're recruiting for IB, eyeing a non-traditional exit, or just want to understand where AI and finance intersect, this one is for you.

✉️ Connect with me

Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu

Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn

Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

🔔 Subscribe for weekly videos about investment banking recruiting @WallStreetMastermind

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below ⬇️

Nick spent over a decade in the 75th Ranger Regiment before walking into Meta with zero coding experience. Now he's at Harvard Business School and building in defense tech.

In this episode, he breaks down exactly how he made the transition, why veterans have an unfair advantage in the private sector, and why the smartest investors are quietly moving into defense.

If you're a veteran, a student breaking into finance, or an investor looking for the next big opportunity, this one is for you.

In this episode of Wall Street Diaries, Max sits down with Taylor, a real estate investor who has helped deploy over $1.7B into multifamily acquisitions.

Taylor breaks down how real estate investing actually works, from sourcing deals and underwriting properties to raising capital and exiting investments. If you’ve ever wondered how billion-dollar real estate deals come together behind the scenes, this conversation walks through the full process.

If you’re interested in finance, investing, or real estate careers, this episode gives you a look at what the industry really looks like.

0:00 Intro

01:11 What is Real Estate Investment?

31:07 Work - Life Balance in Real Estate

46:27 Why "Acting" is so Important

1:04:00 Where is Real Estate Investing headed?

#realestateinvesting #realestate #investmentbanking #financecareers #finance