Chronicles of life....
Chapter 1: Should've been a cowboy
Born in Fort Ann, NY. A small farming community in the Adirondack foothills; along the Burgoyne trail. A beautiful part of the country, surrounded by pristine nature and good people. The type that turn up for a chicken BBQ when someone in the community is down on their luck. Sports and friends dominated the focus in these formitive years. After HS, my dad said "go to college, it will be the best four years of your life." So, I continued the scholastic path at Siena College, obtaining a BS in finance. My head was filled with dreams of striking it rich on Wall Street. Btw, my dad wasn't kidding about college.
Chapter 2: Roam if you want to
After college, the financial crisis was still fresh on the mind and life as a broker had lost some of its allure. So, I sold my motorcycle and naively bought a one way ticket to Greece, to go backpacking, solo....leaving my cell phone at home. Contrary to mother's advice, spending all of your money on a brand new motorcycle in high school can be a pretty wise investment in life. After eating and drinking my way across Europe for 2+ months I had the travel bug, but was out of money, so needed to come home.
Chapter 3: New York, New York
I've had a job since I learned to ride a bike and used to do construction during the summers in college. The old timers would say "use your degree, kid" and talk about how hard this work is on the body. It only took a few months of working in freezing temperatures to understand what they were talking about. I needed to get to the city, and fast. So, I applied for a sales role at a "tile" company. Studios in NY & London with lots of travel. Sign me up! I had even done work on kitchens and showers with the construction gig, so I included some pictures with my resume. Long story short, it was a "textile" company, but I guess the owner appreciated my mosaics and so began my career in the fashion industry. I was moving to the Big Apple!
Chapter 4: Money on my mind
Working in fashion for two years was an incredible opportunity. I adopted an edgy new haircut, my clothes started fitting better, and I traveled all over the world meeting fascinating and creative people. However, living in New York is really expensive and finance has better margins. Who knew? It was time to use that diploma. With the help of a friend, I got my resume into a well regarded boutique brokerage firm. The manager called that friend (whom he also knew) and said he had three impressive resumes on his desk....and another one that had my name on it. I ended up winning that position.
Chapter 5: It's a long way to the top
Macroeconomics, technical analysis, fiscal AND monetary policy, portfolio strategy, global energy markets, and derivatives can be rather complex and intimidating material. But, there is no substitute for hard work and I kept plugging along and learning. This learning curve was "helped" along by two highly talentened women on the sales desk. It's rumored they once intimidated David Goggins out of line at a Midtown Chop't. While tough, their tactics proved effective and after a couple of years I was tapped to partner with one of the intellectually leaning senior managers. He has been an invaluable mentor in career and in life. It wasn't just them, the whole office was filled with superstars and unique personalities. I learned something from everyone's style and their words of wisdom to create a brand of my own. To quote the stoic philosopher Reith Keilly (not his real name) "Don't praise me, pay's me."
Chapter 6: Ramblin' man
I was tryin' to make a livin', and doing the best I can before covid really shook up society and our norms. I for one grew a handlebar mustache. For context, Cornerstone Macro (the aforementionted boutique brokerage) was like the Yankees under Steinbrenner. I say that with the utmost respect for both organizations. Excellence was expected on and off the field. Which included a clean shaven face in the office...but offices all but ceased to exist for 2 years. I was also going crazy in the concrete jungle, so in July of 2020 I started travelling again. Staying one step ahead of lockdowns. First Mexico, then around the US, but also South America and Europe. The signature mustache (I got a lot of "Rollie Fingers") and travel allowed me to connect with clients on a new level. My committment to the work never wavered, the proof was in the pudding, but there were surely doubts internally, and understandably so given the lifestyle. But, I think on some level that lack of trust really bothered me. FWIW, in person connection can't be replicated.
Chapter 7: Turn the page
When it was time to move back to New York the company had been bought by a bigger bank, rents were squeezing like GameStop, and things had changed for me in terms of career goals. They say our greatest regrets in life are most often acts of omission. The path not taken. I believe climate change is the greatest existential threat to humanity. As a capitalist, I also believe it could be the greatest economic growth opportunity of our lives. A win-win. Doing good and continuing to play the game. Climate tech is where I want to leave my mark in business. So, I submitted my letter of resignation and hopped on Amazon to order a chemistry textbook.
.jpg)
Chapter 8: Green grass and high tides
It was tougher to break into climate tech than expected. Looking back, I would have majored in electrochemical engineering. But, you don't know what you don't know and the experience has been wonderful for pointing out my deficiencies in relation to my goals. For that, I've been filling these voids by taking classes, consulting, sitting on advisory boards, reading, podcasts, networking extensively, etc. There is some truth in Will Hunting's comment "you wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library". Today's resources allow you to learn almost anything if you have the desire and determination. But, our society uses recognition on paper to efficiently identify capability and that must be respected. I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said "the best way to predict the future is to create it."