Started a hedge fund
Age: 32
Previous position: Associate Director in Barclays Investment Banking division
Current status: Managing Partner of Spruce Point Capital Management
I was in finance for about 9 years as an investment banker. I worked at Credit Suisse and in 2006 moved to Barclays. Barclays acquired Lehman Brothers, but because Lehman had a larger presence, many of the people in my group were let go due to redundancies. You can't control things like that unfortunately.
I took some time off to travel, and thought about what I wanted to do. I thought now was a great time to use my background as an adviser. I wanted to turn around and advise investors, so I started a hedge fund. The meltdown of the financial markets presented a lot of opportunity. Business in general was slow in March. It was a great time for us to go out and sign deals.
I teamed up with my partner, David Katona, and we raced very fast to get the fund in motion and ended up launching the Spruce Point Value Fund in early August. We also had to raise money from friends and family because the institutional market was effectively closed.
Getting laid off was kind of a catalyst. We are free of the restrictions of working at a larger company and like the aspect of working at a lean structure where decisions are made quickly. Our success or failure is directly tied to our decisions. On the other hand there is less support, but we have been able to take advantage of the talented labor pool available. I love what I do and wouldn't trade it for anything.
NEXT: Switched gears
