Lesson 32: Influence

“How did you get into finance after being a teacher?” is the most common question I receive from classmates when I explain my career path. The answer is influence. In the summer of 2020, I had no influence, and the job market came screeching to a halt as I looked for opportunities outside of education. Then, I reached out to Gregory Hagood.

Gregory Hagood is president of SOLIC Capital, a financial advisory firm focused on providing industry-specialized restructuring, investment banking and distressed asset support services. When we met, I was 14 years old, and he was volunteering at my Boy Scout Troop 197. In retrospect, I probably should have kept in touch with him during college when I started taking finance classes and I needed advice on how to start my career in finance, but I did not know any better. 

When I reached out to him in August 2020, he was gracious enough to take my call and introduce me to his friend at Fifth Third Securities, who got me an interview as an investment banking analyst. Overnight, I went from unemployed to finance. Gregory utilized his influence to support my career transition.

This experience reminds me of an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when Will gets a job to prove he can make it on his own. However Uncle Phil tells him, “People opened doors for me, and I’ve worked hard to open doors for you.” It can be humbling asking for help, but when I set my pride aside, people show up in ways I never anticipated.

This past weekend, the Robert Toigo Foundation hosted their Fall Apex with dozens of speakers from the world of finance. The first panel included Jarrid Tingle, co-founder of Harlem Capital, who told us, “There is a responsibility to hire and wire.” Their mandate as venture capital investors is to hire diverse and high quality talent, as well as wire funding to diverse management teams with disruptive business models. So they built an internship program that has helped 39% of alumni of the program secure full-time positions in venture capital. Moreover in 2022 and 2023, of all checks written to Black and Latino founders, ~3% were direct checks written by Harlem Capital.

My mission is to increase representation for Black leaders at the executive, investor, and board level. Harlem Capital is an example of what this mission might look like in my future. Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition balances my passion for both operating and investing. There will come a day when my influence as a business owner, investor, and board member can offer access to people who would not have otherwise had the opportunity. Like me.

Influence is Lesson 32. Next week, I will share Lesson 33: Nurturing.