In 2006, I graduated from college aimless and without a job and found myself sleeping on the floor of the dorm room of my friend who was a "Year 5" RA.
For 3 months straight, I ate a $2.00 slice of Sbarro pepperoni pizza for dinner and snuck into on-campus recruiting events for a portion of the then senior class that was seeking a career in investment banking.
In 2006, I had no lick of finance and an unimpressive resume that included an underwhelming GPA.
So I cold-called a renowned professor who taught M&A at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (GSB) and gave him my best :30 pitch to let me take his class for MBAs—for free.
I then pitched the same to a professor who taught corporate finance at The Kellog School of Management at Northwestern.
They said yes.
In 2006, I emailed hundreds of alumni.
But only a handful replied.
One person was a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns, and every month he would take my calls to give me advice.
The other person was an associate from Jefferies, who not only took my calls but eventually got me into a rare, off-cycle interview at the firm.
In 2006, Jefferies flew me out to NYC to spend 6 hours with them in final round interviews.
They extended me an offer—they said yes.
When I shared the news with the senior MD at Bear, he congratulated me.
Later on I would find out that he had reached out to senior leaders at "Jefco" to give me a good word.
Flip the page to 2007, and the trajectory of my life, my work, would change forever.
From Internet & Media M&A on Wall Street => to bootstrapping a tech startup => to now solo advising/operating alongside founders all from the land of TN.
What's the point in retelling this chapter?
Hustle?
Resilience?
No way.
That stuff matters for sure.
But that's not what makes this story, a story.
This is a story full of supporting characters.
And without them, this wouldn't be a story worth telling.
Look at all the "random" cameos.
Friends who were RAs. Pedigreed professors. Wall street bankers who were once strangers.
People who were doing just fine, people in great positions in life—and for whatever reason unbeknownst to me...
They snuck me in.
They took my calls.
They replied to my emails.
They were willing to be interrupted.
Just to give me a shot.
Just to say yes.
To this day I look back at that time fondly, knowing full well that A) I didn't deserve an inch of such favor, and B) God is a ridiculous storyteller.
And I think this is what being an entrepreneur is all about.
I think this is what being a parent is all about.
I think this is what being a human is all about.
We get this insane privilege to enter another plot, for a moment in time.
Maybe a paragraph's worth, maybe a chapter or two.
And we get to make that storyline richer, fuller, satisfying.
You're not the hero. But neither is the other person.
We're all secondary characters in this grand theatre called life.
May we play that role well.
Exciting to see new talent embracing high-stakes exams! How is training evolving to meet future market demands?