For financial analysts slogging away for long hours, an escape plan becomes enticing; entrepreneurship looks like a seductive dive into uncertainty after endless scrolls of spreadsheets.
Often, these unfulfilled financiers find their ways to careers in fashion.
“If you spend a lot of time in finance, you eventually want something radically different,” said Diana Melencio, co-founder of the personal shopping service Quinn, who had worked for nine years on Wall Street at a handful of investment banking firms before starting her company. “My days had consisted of 12 to 18 hours of spreadsheets, and I wanted something … not like that. It comes from a desire to innovate, to be a part of the fashion industry, which couldn’t be more different than this sterile environment.”
Wall Street, from heavyweights like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan down to boutique firms, is a vessel for fashion startups. These former analysts-turned-founders can build financial models for new companies in their sleep and talk the same language as potential VC investors. And, after years of analytics and data sheets, left-brained people in the field are looking for creative outlets. The frustration and lack of stimulation, combined with a close proximity to the industry, leads to idea light bulbs.
More in Marketing
How gaming firm Overwolf quietly became one of the major players in gaming advertising
In August, Comscore released data indicating that Overwolf had become the fourth-most-visited gaming property in the United States, surpassing the platforms of competitors such as Activision Blizzard and Epic Games.
Programmatic marketers sound off on impact of AI-driven ad buys
Agency execs are dealing with AI-based ad buying tools limiting their abilities to optimize campaigns and redefining their value to clients.
A sign of things to come: Experian’s acquisition of Audigent highlights curation’s rising influence
The data broker announced the deal Dec. 4, but stayed tight-lipped on the price.