From Wall Street To CEO: My Transition From Finance To Running A Business

If you’re inexplicably lucky, then you might plant yourself in a job that fits you like a glove right away. But if you’re like most people, then you ultimately won’t end up where you started working. Sometimes that change can be significant. In my case, I wanted to get some hands-on operational experience. I didn’t just change job titles but also ended up with my own company. It all began when I decided to transition from Wall Street to becoming a CEO.

Setting Up The Pieces

Just before 2008, the financial industry was a bit like the cool kid at the party. They had very little regulation, and they took their risks accordingly — including hedge fund trading with derivatives. At the same time, a housing bubble had been building, due to cheap credit and loose lending standards. And the rest is history. Soon, that bubble burst, and lenders connected to mortgage-related securities started going bankrupt. 

This crisis was the Great Recession, and the repercussions reached around the entire globe. At the time, I was at the International Monetary Fund. Along with other economists, I did macroeconomic research to help countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and many others in the European Union find solutions to come out of the financial crisis.

With all of this first-hand work, I could easily see how important finance is to the economy — and the general wellbeing of marketplaces. I wanted to dive even deeper into that and open up opportunities for myself. 

I’d made up my mind. I would go to business school to learn more about investment banking. I’d study finance with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and venture capital. So in 2012, I headed off to Yale. While I was there, I got my feet wet as an entrepreneur by starting a luxury shaving company. That business wasn’t exactly scalable without investing a lot of money, but it gave me a small taste of what being in the driver’s seat would be like.

I worked with the top investment banks like Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Houlihan Lokey. While at those businesses, I mostly covered the tech-enabled services and software sectors. 

Over time, I gained a solid understanding of how businesses grow, both inorganically and organically. Throughout this process, I was able to focus on technology at a high level. Previously, I’d also had some previous experience in electrical engineering, and I’d worked in software consulting right after finishing my undergraduate studies. With all this in mind, my path toward technology was set.

The Real Push — Family

Even with all of the knowledge and skills I honed at Yale and previous jobs, what finally catapulted me toward running a technology business was family. My grandfather had been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, honing in on the agriculture sector. Additionally, my uncle started a construction company after he retired from his government job in civil engineering. 

I saw the threats they faced, and I knew that leading a company wasn’t easy or without risk. But I also fell in love with the experience of starting and scaling a business. I wanted that same thing: to feel what it was like to take a company from Point A to Point B — to know the experience of building something. After all, it’s one thing to sit in the background, plug some numbers into a model, and make a few predictions. It’s an entirely different game to see growth as a direct result of the work you’re doing each day — and to show that potential to shareholders, of course.

A Foundation Not Forgotten

Having become Voxco’s CEO, I am on the other side of the table: running a business rather than being on the transaction side. And even with the effects of COVID-19, Voxco has shown growth — with our global Voxco family ramping up by 30 percent since I started. We’re heavily investing in nearly every department and growing our subscription revenue YoY at about 25 percent. It’s been a great journey already, and it feels evident that we’ll continue to have the opportunity to do more amazing things. 

But looking back, I fondly remember my days working in finance and research. This background laid the groundwork for me to traverse to the operating side. Between the research and interaction I had with high-level executives, I saw how and why a leader needs to think about the future and invest in it. This gave me a sense of how to lay out plans, how to convey my vision to a board and shareholders — before investment happens — and then how to deliver. When I do any kind of acquisition, I can bring the finance and entrepreneurial sides together in a way that allows me to truly enjoy the deal. 

So, use me as proof that change can be a great thing. The right combination of experiences can propel you into a future that feels both natural and fulfilling.

Sumit Aneja is Chief Executive Officer of Voxco

Benzinga's Related Links:

• Best Books for Entrepreneurs 2021 • With Reviews • Benzinga
• Four Things Every Entrepreneur Should Do