Wall Street Oasis

In this episode, Sam explains his path from the Ivey School of Business to an investment banking analyst position at Credit Suisse in London, right during the financial crisis in 2008. We learn why he turned down a return full-time offer from Scotiabank and rolled the dice his senior year, what it was like when half his analyst class got laid off within 9 months at Credit Suisse and why he jumped to a hedge fund after two years in IB. We then delve into what it was really like trying to gain responsibility at a large hedge fund to start running his own P&L, how much his first trade was, the stresses of the job, and some important life lessons he learned along the way. Don't miss this one, I think a lot of you will really appreciate Sam's perspective and why he made such a dramatic change after so many years... Also, if you want to hear more about what Sam's up to, visit Samuel's blog at https://www.samuelandrew.com/ Enjoy!

In this episode, member @EdmundBerke shares his path from a non-target school in the southeast US to breaking into an investment analyst role at a $3bn family office straight out of undergrad through a church program. Learn why he transitioned out of that role, how he helped add value to a legal firm for their ultra-high net worth clients and then was able to successfully pivot to a venture capital role. 

In this episode, member MBBtoPE shares his path out of a target university to a top role at a management consulting firm. We also get an inside look into what it was like recruiting for private equity during the crazy 2019 on-cycle recruiting process. From interviewing on a Thursday night from 8pm until 1am to starting again the next day at 7am, listen to game theory applied in a real-life context and learn how he dealt with the split-second decisions that had significant career implications. 

In this episode, Brian shares his path from undergrad in the US to working straight for a new venture capital fund in Tokyo. Learn why he turned down his return offer in investment banking after his junior year summer at Jefferies and what the biggest challenges were as a junior employee in a sink-or-swim role.  

In this episode, MidwestMonkey2 shares his story coming out of a large non-target state school. Learn how he still managed to land incredible internships at front office investment banking roles in both his sophomore and junior year as well as why he turned down his full-time offer from one of them to jump straight to the buyside. I think this episode really highlights the power of saying no and waiting for the right opportunity.

In part 2 of this 2 part chat with Paul, we cover his days working at McKinsey and how he managed to make the difficult transition into private equity as a consultant. We talk all about the private equity recruiting process, imposter syndrome, meditation and how he was able to find balance. In this part 2, Paul has some really great foundational advice for young motivated go-getters, so make sure you stay until the end.

In part 1 of this 2 part chat with Paul, we cover his days as an undergraduate at a non-target school in the midwest. We find out how he managed to break into an investment banking internship at Morgan Stanley and why he pivoted to consulting after a health scare. We learn how he was able to successfully recruit at both a top investment bank AND a top consulting firms in back to back years. In this part 1, we step back to really evaluate his internships and recruiting out of undergrad to find out what really opened the most doors for him. 

In this episode, Jeffrey shares his eclectic path from two non-target schools, shifting to night classes so he could earn money in real estate his junior year and how he ended up at several Boiler Rooms. He also covers his eventual pivot to break into Morgan Stanley and why that didn't end up being a long term stay, how he added value at HSBC and his rough transition out of a family office that was dabbling in venture capital. Learn how he made each transition and advice he would give to his younger self. 

In this episode, Julie shares her winding path from studying Biomedical Ethics at Cornell to getting her MBA at Columbia, to joining McKinsey as a health specialist to her stint in investment banking at Lazard as an associate. Listen to hear about her triumphs and struggles as she navigated a move to London to join the venture arm of a large biopharma company to her move back to the states five years later, all while starting a family.  

In this episode, Brian shares his winding path from a non-target school into an accounting role right after the financial crisis. First, he explains how he was able to pivot into RBC for a middle office accounting position. From there, we learn how he was aggressive in trying to get to the front office, the challenges he faced once he got there and the subsequent jump to private equity at HIG Capital. Listen to hear why after years of struggling to get to the top of the mountain in finance he left to go start his company called LCS, a high-end maker of cool custom laces with NBA and MLB licenses.   Check them out at YourLCS.com.