Investment Bankers. Gritty, smart, the creme de la creme of finance. This was my impression of these mostly male, now also female (about time), professionals. It is a career highlighted by elevated status over just about everyone, endless amounts of money, but long grueling hours.
As a college student, this is what you look for in a career, right? Big money regardless of the hours it takes. As a now 25-year-old M&A Consultant, I explored many areas of work during my undergrad years at university. There were thoughts of law school, thoughts of becoming a physical therapist, but ultimately the goal was to become an Investment Banker. A flashy title with a high-paying salary. I really knew nothing about it when I made the decision to pursue this career. I didn’t know what a “target” school was. I didn’t know what a Discounted Cash Flow was. I didn’t know the difference between sell-side and buy-side firms, how they made money, etc. I didn’t know the grueling networking process it was going to take to even sniff an interview. The list goes on and on.
But one thing was for certain — iBankers made a lot of money and were highly regarded in the finance community. Placed on top of the financial totem pole. Answering the “what do you do for work?” question would never be dreaded. It would be invited.
This was all that mattered to me during my career search. It wasn’t exit opportunities, or what I could accomplish down the line with the experience of producing endless financial models, it was money and status. The rat race of competition. I was caught up. I guess that’s what you get when you compete against the most dominant, skilled hockey players for 18 years of your life — a never-ending quest to become and compete with the best at _____ (insert whatever the hell it is you’re currently doing).
Reflecting on my desire to work in iBanking leaves me content. I found not what I want to pursue, but what I don’t want to pursue. My ego almost prevented me from learning this.
With that said, I did accomplish the goal of working in investment banking, although it wasn’t a full-time position. It was merely a few internship positions. Technically speaking, I learned a lot. Far more than I anticipated. After both of my iBanking experiences, I accumulated a full understanding of the mergers & acquisitions process, what ECM and DCM meant, the private equity lingo, the cyclicality of the Oil & Gas industry, the importance of MBOE, the difference between an upstream, midstream, and downstream company. The list goes on. I learned so much. Most importantly during the summer of 2018, I unearthed a passion I did not know I had. A passion for equity research and personal finance.
Believe it or not, I had some downtime throughout these internships. To show my hard work in hopes of securing a full-time job, I started looking into 10-Ks of related industry companies. This led to adjacencies. I found companies I was actually interested in. Companies that operated in industries that were driving the future of our lives. Making a meaningful, tangible difference. I found tech companies, fertility benefit management companies, and pet insurance companies. It was an entirely new world that I was never exposed to before — the stock market.
From there my curiosity exploded. I researched like mad. Found myself so deep in rabbit holes that I forgot where I entered. I was stuck in the depths of equity research and I couldn’t get out. Nor did I want to. I unlocked a passion I didn’t know I had. A passion to find the best companies in the world, and make money while doing so.
That passion spilled over to a Twitter account I now hold more dearly to me than most hold their reputation. This led to an explosion of content. Content like this. And like this. This time around I was making money a different way. It wasn’t an investment banking salary, it was compound interest, quoted as “the eighth wonder of the world” (Albert Einstein). It was fantastic!
The notion that all social media is bad is simply naive and inaccurate. Twitter changed my life. It brought me, friends, introduced me to new industries, allowed me to work with a startup, and connected me with the smartest folks I have come across. A pseudo-anonymous account with <500 followers can publish the most stimulating content. It’s a gem of a platform, but a gem with blemishes. I was again (and to an extent, still am) caught up in the race while letting my ego win — how can I enhance my reputation within my Twitter community and grow my following? How can I get the most likes? Why do they have more followers than I? I post better content.
I was posting for the wrong reasons.
As I learned with investment banking, this type of mindset was not healthy. This mindset showed me I did not like the banking industry. I didn’t like the constant rat race. The endless competition and lack of empathy were uninviting. The demoralizing networking phone calls of being looked down upon because you did not know a technical finance answer. I learned to not let this happen again. This competition mindset is not going to roll over to my social media. I’m not going to let it happen. Twitter is far too powerful to sacrifice.
For all the good it has brought to me, Twitter has shown me that my ego is alive and well. It just evolves as we humans evolve. Following us around. Competitive by nature with hopes of outperforming others, our desire to boost our egos may never disappear. What matters is admitting to myself that I need to explore opportunities, share content, and for lack of better terms, “do things”, not to beat someone, but just to learn, enjoy, and have fun. Put the content first. Followers will in fact, “follow”. Be humble. Focus on yourself and learn what you want to learn. Don’t compete for followers or likes. Don’t venture solely to make money. Become uncomfortable and you may find something worth holding onto. Switch your paradigm. This is a continuous journey.
iBanking and Twitter both led me to explore other opportunities and curiosities. Curiosities that are now boundless. Not only equity research, but ones that have now branched into Web3, Crypto, heck, writing!
I realize the egotistical battle is not easy. It’s most likely infinite. Progression is marked by the quickness at which I notice myself falling into the trap. It’s marked by the remedies I deploy to prevent myself from thinking this way. Who knows maybe one day it won’t appear.
I have a Twitter account that I can be proud of, curiosities that I never would have thought about in university, and a whole wealth of knowledge on modeling discounted cash flows and how depreciation affects all 3 of the financial statements.
My story goes on. This is just a clip of my past.
“‘There are no adults’. Everyone’s making it up as they go along. Figure it out yourself, and do it.”