Managing Partner @ https://teapawt.org/t.co/1ZKsdJSpYs | Harvard '19, left my finance job for sales at a startup. Now placing talent at the best series A-C startups in NYC |
Manhattan, NY
Joined October 2021
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Three years ago last month, I quit my job to build TopSDRs full-time.
It's a day I will never forget.
At the time, TopSDRs was not the placement firm we are today. Rather, we were an outbound consultancy for seed-stage startups.
I'd grown the business to about $15k/month in revenue, which was enough to replace my W2 income, but the month-to-month contracts combined with the nascent stage of our customer base made success anything but certain.
Nonetheless, in early August 2023, I decided that it was now or never.
As I thought about quitting, I imagined triumphantly walking out of the office, never looking back, confident and ready to tackle whatever lay ahead.
In reality, though, it was anything BUT that. As soon as the adrenaline settled, only one emotion lingered: doubt.
"What if it doesn't work?"
"I'm already behind my peers who stayed in banking/consulting, what if this just sets me further back?"
"What if all my customers leave?"
"How will I structure my days with nobody telling me what to do?"
It was incredibly scary. In fact, a few days post-resignation, I remember drafting an email to my old boss asking for my job back.
But something stopped me from pressing send.
In that moment, I recognized that I had felt the emotions I was experiencing several times before.
First, when I started swimming at 12, then again when I took up rowing at 18, and again when I started work at 21, and finally when I left my job at a bank to become an SDR at 26.
In short, these were the emotions of someone at the beginning.
As I realized this, I was met with a sudden burst of confidence. I knew how to be a beginner. These feelings were not a sign that I was destined to fail, but rather a sign that I was embarking on something big. Something that, if I put the work in, could change the trajectory of my life.
So I deleted the draft.
3 years later, that little consulting firm has evolved into something I never could have imagined.
But that's the point.
The biggest things in life often feel uncomfortable at the start. It's always easier to avoid them and to stay put, but typically that's the more dangerous path...we just don't realize it until it's too late.
Walked through the west village today and the new “rig” appears to be an ice cold beer + MacBook.
2026 rocks
I think one of the biggest risks facing ex-athletes coming out of college is that they don't pause to think about what they actually want.
They're so good at going heads down and enduring pain, that they never ask "is this for me?"
I experienced this myself.
I graduated from Harvard in 2019.
I rowed there for 4 years and prior to that I was a high school swimmer for 8 years.
As a result, when I entered the working world at a big bank I was REALLY good at putting my head down and driving towards a goal without questioning it.
And whenever I felt discomfort, I reassured myself that it was "just part of the process" because that's what sports had taught me.
However, what I realize now is that I completely missed a step.
When I was getting into athletics I tried a bunch of different things.
I played baseball, soccer, swimming, rowing, track etc.
I did a bunch of different things and gradually figured out what I was good at and what I genuinely enjoyed.
And only AFTER that, did I commit to something.
In retrospect, I probably should have done something similar in my firsts 1-2 years on the job.
To be clear, I'm not saying ex-athletes should ditch their banking jobs and do a bunch of different things in their first 12 months post-grad.
BUT I do wish I had at least had the awareness back then to say "hey while I'm hear, I should question if this thing I'm working so hard for is actually worth it for me?"
I've asked 5 founding hires at the best startups in NYC what made them pick their current company.
Independently each one of them said the same thing, which was TEAM.
update I found the author's X! Shoutout @lilablila!!
This is another epic article from a woman who went to Columbia, landed "her dream job" and then left it all behind to get into sales.
It's insane how consistent the themes are across high performers who go into these "prestigious" jobs.
1. Status had been a HUGE part of what drove her her entire life (she talks about the "glow in people's eyes" when she told them she went to Columbia.
2. She had a bunch of scattered interests so a job in consulting that would allow her to do a bunch of things was appealing and it also kept the veneer intact of being super impressive (which was a massive part of her identity).
3. At first the job was great, and she loved telling people what she did (she'd send pics to groupchats of insane lunches, trips etc.)
4. Inside she started to question whether she was actually adding value and whether she even liked what she was doing. She felt like she was barely using her brain/pushing herself, BUT the external image she could project to ppl kept her there.
5. After a lot of thought, she made an insanely scary decision and quit to get into sales (I wanted to hear more about the process of making this decision...she didn't really get into it).
6. Sales SUCKED at first. It was hard, she was bad at it, and was even embarrassed to tell her peers she was in "sales" bc it has a stigma attached to it.
7. HOWEVER things changed when she started closing business. As dollars began coming in that were directly attributed to her actions, she felt a sense of pride the "prestigious path NEVER gave her. In her words -->
"It wasn’t until I closed my first deal that my mental framework began to shift. I remember strutting over to my manager’s desk and banging on the gong. I DID THAT! Wow, it feels great to own your outcomes. And then, HOLY SH*T, I got it wrong this whole time. Prestige means work you’re proud of, not work others are impressed by."
SO awesome.
We need more stories like this.
I respect the X algo for taking an absolute shot in the dark and getting these bad boys on my feed just now.
Unfortunately going to be a pass from me right now, but circle back in a few months to see where things stand.
The best test of whether or not you like your work is how you feel when you tell someone about it.
I remember when I used to tell people I worked at a big investment bank, their eyes would light up, but inside I would feel like I was lying.
In my mind, I was giving people an image of myself that didn't feel true.
"THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY WHO I AM" I wanted to say, but of course I didn't.
That all changed when I quit and joined a tiny startup as their most junior sales hire.
The role itself had WAY less cache than my finance job, but when I told ppl about it I was the one lighting up.
Because it was actually a genuine representation of who I was at that moment.
It embodied the things I was interested in, the beliefs I had about careers etc.
It felt authentic. And that's how I knew I was on the right path.
This is another epic article from a woman who went to Columbia, landed "her dream job" and then left it all behind to get into sales.
It's insane how consistent the themes are across high performers who go into these "prestigious" jobs.
1. Status had been a HUGE part of what drove her her entire life (she talks about the "glow in people's eyes" when she told them she went to Columbia.
2. She had a bunch of scattered interests so a job in consulting that would allow her to do a bunch of things was appealing and it also kept the veneer intact of being super impressive (which was a massive part of her identity).
3. At first the job was great, and she loved telling people what she did (she'd send pics to groupchats of insane lunches, trips etc.)
4. Inside she started to question whether she was actually adding value and whether she even liked what she was doing. She felt like she was barely using her brain/pushing herself, BUT the external image she could project to ppl kept her there.
5. After a lot of thought, she made an insanely scary decision and quit to get into sales (I wanted to hear more about the process of making this decision...she didn't really get into it).
6. Sales SUCKED at first. It was hard, she was bad at it, and was even embarrassed to tell her peers she was in "sales" bc it has a stigma attached to it.
7. HOWEVER things changed when she started closing business. As dollars began coming in that were directly attributed to her actions, she felt a sense of pride the "prestigious path NEVER gave her. In her words -->
"It wasn’t until I closed my first deal that my mental framework began to shift. I remember strutting over to my manager’s desk and banging on the gong. I DID THAT! Wow, it feels great to own your outcomes. And then, HOLY SH*T, I got it wrong this whole time. Prestige means work you’re proud of, not work others are impressed by."
SO awesome.
We need more stories like this.
An interview question I'm loving right now:
what's something you've read or listened to recently that's had you fired up, nodding along, saying "fuck yeah"?
I’m on day 71/90 of no drinking. I’ve had pretty much every non-alcoholic beer out there.
The ONLY one I have gotten another round of is @SierraNevada
I genuinely enjoyed it.
I’m excited to get back to the regular brews in 19 days, but this is a great alternative!
Waymo ad spotted in NYC. I've seen the cars everywhere but this was the first ad I've seen.
Couldn't be more psyched.
My regular commute via the 4/5 hates to see it coming.
For the past 6 months we have sent this video to SDR candidates to help them prep for mock cold calls.
It's definitely not perfect, but it's proven to be pretty effective for getting folks from 0-1.
Anyone in banking/consulting/PE or considering those paths should read this article from @Jack_Raines.
Beyond the in depth analysis of the forces shaping the PE market right now, his take on the prestige vs risk trade is worth reading.
The most salient point to me --> "prestige is a indicator of where the world went, not a forecast for where the world is going."
The banking --> PE path isn't what it used to be.
The opps to make insane money are more limited because, among other things, everybody and their brother has identified this path as lucrative.
The key to succeeding in the future is not to copy the exact path of the people before you, but rather the mentality.
What were the people who got into PE early thinking at the time? How can you apply that mindset today?
saw Derek Jeter, A-Rod, and Big Papi on TV at the gym just now.
My first thought: what are they doing on the MNF broadcast?
Is it just me or is the World Series/Baseball in serious trouble?
I grew up loving baseball, but it feels like it's totally lost it's luster.
Firmly firmly firmly disagree with this take.
If you actually ripped in high school (ie crushed it in a sport or did something else at a very high level) you made life long friends in the trenches.
My swimming and rowing friends almost all went on to Ivy League colleges and are killing it in life today.
painfully accurate
from what I’ve observed, if you’re still friends with your high school friends, you either:
1) didn’t grow yourself / moved back home and not to a city / kind of peaked
or
2) you went to an amazing high school and still friends with them because you’re all ambitious together
no middle ground from what I’ve seen
Some people have an energy and innate curiosity about them where you just know they’re going to succeed.
@MaxHirsch13 is one of those people.
The guy EXUDES positivity and hunger.
Honestly I wish I had more of his mindset when I was in my early twenties.
I of course made sure to give him an open invitation to work out of our office any time he wants.
