A Wall Street Banker Turned to Comedy for Happiness and a Career Change
On a recent Monday in late winter, at a comedy club in Atlanta, I met the woman who is changing the way that the financial industry sees the world. She’s in her early 40s, works in the securities industry, and is the founder and CEO of the company that makes it possible for individuals to invest their nest egg. While we spoke, she wore a dark blue pinstripe suit and white blouse. She’s about 5’6” with shoulder-length light brown hair, and she looks to be in great physical form.
“I’m a big believer in optimism,” she told me.
And I, too, was full of optimism.
I had recently launched a podcast called Money and Markets that was supposed to be a platform for people to talk about finance. But I was not expecting it to be the launch pad for a woman who would change the perception of banking with her story about overcoming depression and finding humor in the worst of human behavior.
“Life is very short, and you have to make the most of it,” she said. “I used to look at people around me who struggled with what I call ‘financial depression,’ and think, ‘I don’t want to be like that.’ And then I looked at my friends who got a mortgage and thought, ‘I don’t want to be like that.’ We have to work harder, take steps. I’m in the industry. I’m making a lot more money. I’m doing everything correctly.”
But in recent months, in the wake of the 2016 election, she has become the woman the financial industry has been waiting for.
“My view is, let’s get some really strong women in the world to do something that gets them out of the box and out of our way,” she said. “And the world doesn’t understand that, but I don’t think it’s ever going to change.”
In May, the SEC approved her company, Investing Success,