John (FIN) here. This is my first post. The picture is midtown Manhattan, circa December 2004. I spent the first few years of my career as an investment banking analyst in the office building behind the the trees.
My team provided financing for large investment firms to buy companies. I happened to be working during some of the boom years for merger and acquisition activity, so we all kept really busy. Everyone was using Blackberries and wearing pink dress shirts. I spent my time building financial models and drafting Powerpoint presentations. I really enjoyed the camaraderie, and I learned a ton. But it wasn’t all roses, not all the time. 100-hour work weeks were the norm. I rarely saw daylight. And I never went to the Met. Though I did buy a pair of rollerblades that I got to use once.
The experience opened a lot of doors for me, including an opportunity to help out on the finance side here at Clover. I’d do it all over again if I had to. Since then, I’ve been learning to live a little more. I’m still figuring out what having a little balance in my life looks like.
