The story so far
My journey to technology and investing was accidental – I went to college in Nashville thinking I would get into the music business, but it didn’t take long for me to realize music would be more of a passion vs. a career.
Turning my eye to business, I landed at a consulting firm in New York and a partner there placed me in financial services. Financial services? Consulting for a bank? It seemed like the worst job imaginable… until it led me to fintech. This was 2017 in NYC, when the tech ecosystem was coming back with a vengeance and fintech was at the forefront. Fintech served as the gateway to the broader tech scene and it wasn’t long until I was hooked.
Indulging my entrepreneurial itch, I cofounded a small record label in NYC called SunPop Music, bringing analytics and a digital-first approach to the music business. Running SunPop during late nights and weekends was some of the most fun I’ve ever had and taught me the art of being scrappy. If we meet in person, ask me to share some of the stories from that era especially on doing things that don’t scale!
After spending time in consulting and startups, I ended up at Wharton to double down on finance and technology – only to have my grand plans bowled over by the COVID wave just nine months in. Though painful for all the expected reasons, it opened an opportunity to host the Wharton Fintech Podcast, which we scaled from a nascent student podcast to four episodes a week and 100k+ monthly listeners. This podcast coincided with the fintech fervor of 2020 – 2021 and opened my eyes to Silicon Valley, venture capital, and the global startup ecosystem. I got to sit down with incredible founders + operators, changing what I thought was possible for my career.
I moved west to the Bay Area, where I worked at Morgan Stanley in their Tech Investment Banking team. The role allowed me to lead IPOs, M&A, and capital raises for the top 1% of tech companies in the world, like leading the Nubank IPO and advising companies including Adobe, Anthropic, Affirm, deel, Intel, Stripe, and more. Despite the intensity of banking, I did everything I could to stay close to the venture ecosystem and merge it with my job. In my limited free time, I helped lead earlier-stage business development for the group and hosted meetups for This Week In Fintech; it gave me so much energy each week. Feeling the pull of the venture side of things, I eventually found my new home at OMERS Ventures.
If you’re building in fintech, software, or AI, please reach out. I’m excited to meet you.
What should founders know about you?
I love nothing more than rolling up my sleeves and committing myself fully to the teams I partner with. I’ve played shadow BDR, PR agent, partnerships lead, content creator, beta tester, proofreader, and so many other roles. I will go ‘all in’ with you because I love nothing more than the alchemy of a project and scrappily pursuing a common goal.
What do you do when you’re not working?
You can usually find me playing my guitar or heading to a concert in town (or abroad!). Always up for a workout at Barry’s as well. On Sundays, my greatest passion + pain in life is rooting for the New York Jets.