Inspiration can come in many forms and from many individuals, ideas, and life experiences. Along with many others, I have spent the last few years of my professional career as a startup founder trying to solve the systemic issue of the wealth gap and make financial services work for everyone. To begin and sustain daunting this task, I have drawn inspiration from others in my own life. Two of these individuals are NYU Professor Glenn Okun and Former Senior Bank Executive at JPMorgan Chase & Co, Tracy Williams. There have been countless community members who have all inspired, counseled, and provided feedback; I have been and continue to be grateful for their assistance.
I first took Professor Okun's course not really thinking entrepreneurship was a path I would someday take, but after the first class, I started to wonder why not me. The principles discussed intrigued me about not only how to start a business, but also how to adjust businesses as required by the market. This was my first real dive into the Silicon Valley world of pivoting and being nimble to find the right solution to fill a market need. Professor Okun was open to sharing his time and expertise with me and other students, and was direct about the challenges of entrepreneurship. The directness of their advice about the ups and downs, as well as the long-term rewards, was something I kept in mind post-MBA over the years while working in banking. This desire to solve hard problems eventually led me to create Trifigo, my first startup.
Tracy Williams has been another impactful mentor of mine since my MBA internship at JP Morgan. We met in the summer of 2007, right before the Financial Crisis of 2008. Tracy offered his expertise in banking and encouraged me to look beyond the present situation and envision ways it could be better. The underpinnings of US finance are a mystery at best to most consumers, and the current structure and behavior of many market participants have led to continued disparate outcomes with very little incentive to change. Over the past 15 years, Tracy and I have had several coffees, lunches, phone calls, and working sessions, all of which have helped provide answers to my many questions regarding the inner workings of the industry today.
Unwavering support is needed to be successful. It typically comes from the people that rarely get the recognition they deserve such as family, friends, former colleagues, accelerator programs, advisors, consultants, partners, and investors. For myself, Tracy and Prof. Okun are the two people who have helped make this entrepreneurial journey possible and continue to inspire me today.
To all those supporting the founder ecosystem, especially for underrepresented groups, please continue to do so. The success of individual founders and the overall competitiveness of the country needs you. One often has to go against the tide to create anything that produces a unique outcome, experience, or product. The journey is hard, yet fulfilling, and takes a number of key ingredients to build a successful venture.
Written By: Castleigh Johnson (MBA ‘08)