This month, thousands of laid-off bankers are on the road looking for new opportunities. Some will take whatever they can get. But it’s also worth remembering that many people leave of their own volition, and that some go on to do things that are completely different.
Brandon Snower, formerly of JPMorgan and Santander, left Wall Street last January and founded fashion startup Le Alfré. After building a substantial following of just under 20k followers on Tiktok and having his products featured in GQ, Snower is starting to see the fruits of his labor.
Fittingly for a former Wall Street banker, the clothes he initially designed were contrast-collared shirts reminiscent of American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman. He has since expanded into loafers, another mainstay of banking fashion, and has gone beyond apparel to design martini glasses and cocktail shakers.
Like many others who started in banking, Snower says he has “absolutely no regrets’ and enjoyed the ‘tough environment full of smart people’. For a while, he believed that “finance would be all and all, a very long career.”
So what changed? The biggest lesson he learned at the bank was that “whatever you think you’re capable of, there’s always more in the tank,” but the lack of autonomy was stifling her. As an entrepreneur, he tells you “put pressure on yourself, asking more than others would expect of you.” It helps that he has a “passion” for networking.
Snower does not put a return to finance, although he declares that entrepreneurship is his “street sphere”. He adds: “You see a lot of success entrepreneurs go private and angel investors or advisors, but for now I’m focused on growing the company.”
@bsnower [2022 RECAP] Launching a $100,000+ startup clothing brand after quitting my job on Wall St. at the age of 26. #followyourdreams #entrepreneurs #startup #smallbusinessowner #entrepreneurlife #2022year #menswearfashion #wallstreet #financetiktok #startupjourney ♬ Doge – Chris Alan Lee
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