From finance to fashion: the NY banker that left to build a startup
This month, thousands of laid-off bankers are on the Street in search of new opportunities. Some will take whatever they can get. But it's worth remembering, too, that plenty of people leave of their own volition and that some go on to do things that are entirely different.
Brandon Snower, formerly of JPMorgan and Santander, quit Wall Street last January and founded fashion startup Le Alfré. Having built a sizable following of just under 20k followers on Tiktok, and had his products feature in the likes of GQ, Snower is starting to see the fruits of his labor.
Fittingly for a former Wall Street banker, the clothes he first designed were contrast collar shirts reminiscent of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman. Since then he's also expanded into loafers, another banking fashion staple, and gone beyond clothing by designing martini glasses and cocktail shakers.
Like many others who started in banking, Snower says he has "absolutely no regrets" and loved the "tough environment full of smart people." For a bit, he believed that "finance was going to be my be-all and end-all, a very long term career."
So what changed? The biggest lesson he learned in banking was that "whatever you think you’re capable of, there’s always more in the tank," but the lack of autonomy was stifling him. As an entrepreneur, he says you "put the pressure on yourself, demanding more than others would have expected of you." It helps that he has a "passion" for networking.
Snower doesn't rule a return to finance, although he declares that entrepeneurship is his "realm of path." He adds: "You see a lot of successful entrepreneurs become private and angel investors or advisors, but at the moment I'm focused on growing the company."
@bsnower [2022 RECAP] Launching a $100,000+ startup clothing brand after quitting my job on Wall St. at 26 yrs old. #followyourdreams #entrepreneurtok #startup #smallbusinessowner #entrepreneurlife #2022year #menswearfashion #wallstreet #financetiktok #startupjourney ♬ Doge - Chris Alan Lee
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