Pencils Down

The episode of Pencil’s Down features Kirk Michie, founder of Candor Advisors, a boutique investment bank and transaction advisory firm. Host Fed Baradello’s conversation with Michie uncovered Kirk’s unique approach at Candor, focusing on founder-centric advisory and transaction services, all undergirded by uncompromising values.  Their broad-ranging and engaging conversation touched on many topic...

As fellow “recovering lawyers,” Pencils Down host Fed Baradello and True North’s Ed Gehres engage in a fascinating conversation about how their deep experiences in the field of law prepared them for great productivity and success in investment banking. Sound legal training leads to clarity in execution of business strategy. Join Fed and Ed in this episode as they delve into a wide array of issues,...

Investment banker and The Silicon Valley Podcast host Shawn Flynn’s turn as a podcast guest with Pencils Down host Fed Baradello is a beautifully rendered story of how human life is relationship-based, in all its fantastic and motley diversity. We all go through the twists and turns of fate and circumstance, and Shawn’s is a story of finding opportunities in the most unlikely of places. Join him a...

Having spent several decades at the world’s largest bulge bracket banks, including UBS, the ING consortium in Europe, Goldman Sachs, Martin Teevan provides an incredible, behind-the-scenes story in his transition to becoming an independent boutique investment banker with Sheehan Finance, in this latest episode of Pencils Down. Join host Federico Baradello as Marty details what it’s been like, leve...

It’s almost a cliché that dealmaking in the investment-banking space is a relationship-driven dynamic. Independent investment bankers like to claim this as a fundamental aspect of their work in the business. But it’s the stories behind this dynamic that make it truly come alive as something real and practical—where genuine practitioners of it become worthy of being emulated, and which indeed are i...

It’s almost a cliché in the cultural narrative of the U.S.—attaining the so-called “American Dream” and how people here live that out. Sam Kelly’s story reflects a singular aspect of that: how Americans outside of the mainstream—specifically those from migrant or immigrant backgrounds, communities of color, those from the socioeconomic margins, etc.—reach for that dream, and define it for themselv...

As befits a modern, 21st century industry, investment banking is comprised of people with all sorts of backgrounds and from all walks of life. There are outliers, of course, and this episode of Pencils Down has one such individual as its guest. Before founding Ithron Advisors, Michael Grotell was involved in high net worth marketing in jewelry and fine art, was an award-winning writer, a change ma...

In this episode of Pencils Down, Matt Epstein , founder and Managing Partner at Newbold Partners LLC , joins host Federico Baradello in a wide-ranging and often deep discussion about his journey into independent investment banking. There was an element of sheer luck, particularly in the way the Covid-19 pandemic intersected with the founding of Epstein’s firm; but also elements of sharp and very p...

Nick McShane, founder of Progress Partners, shares his experience of working with pioneering internet companies and his journey to founding a boutique investment bank that now helps startups with M&A, go-to-market strategy, and accessing new markets.  Nick McShane makes for a fascinating guest on this latest episode of Finalis’ Pencils Down podcast, having experienced first-hand the meteoric r...

Earlier this year, Finalis took a major step forward, expanding overseas with the launch of its 15a-6 chaperoning line of business, introducing the UK investment banking sector to Finalis’ tech-enabled regulatory compliance solution. Join Finalis CEO Fed Baradello and his Pencils Down guest, Mathew McConnell, the company’s new International Business Manager, as they discuss how non-U.S. boutique i...

Investment bankers arrive at their eventual careers in a variety of ways, some more orthodox than others. Chad Harding’s was fairly unconventional, in that he started out in chemistry, mathematics, and engineering, from which he took an abrupt 180-degree turn to banking. In his wide-ranging conversation with Pencils Down’s host, Finalis CEO Federico Baradello, Chad talks about that journey and the...

Leaving Goldman Sachs—where Centerfin CEO Kyrill Asatur's career was ascendant—was definitely not a move for the faint-hearted. In the years since founding his own boutique investment firm, Asatur's firm has been involved—much like Finalis is doing—in the democratization of the investment banking space, which is nothing less than a progressive transformation of the industry, with deep and abiding...

The past two and a half years have been an unparalleled time in world history for so many reasons, starting with the exogenous shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. A "black swan" event, as Finalis' Community Manager characterizes it in his wide-ranging interview of Finalis' CEO Federico Baradello, the global pandemic in early 2020 coincided with the launch of this regtech startup with an unapologetical...

Are the two worlds of investment banking and impactful change on planet Earth mutually exclusive?  We don’t think so.  Even though the concept has been around for a long time, the term “impact investing” didn’t hit our nomenclature until 2007. Historically, that tells you all you need to know about the type of priority something like climate change has had on investing. That’s all changing Logan Y...

A rare positive story from the pandemic is the journey investment banking has taken navigating the shock of COVID-19, moving from adjusting to virtual technologies to embracing the hybrid between in-person and remote work.  Gaurav Bhasin , Managing Director at Allied Advisers , has engaged i n cross-border investment banking throughout his entrepreneurial career and sees the challenges of the last...

Most people do not leave Stanford University before receiving their degree, but that is not the case for forward thinking problem solver Shubham Goel and his partner, as they took a leave from Stanford University to build Affinity.   Shubham Goel is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Affinity. Affinity is an intelligence platform that allows dealmakers to find, manage, and close the best deals. Affinity...

Justin Hand has spent his entire career as an investment banker, in established firms. During the pandemic, he took the extraordinary step of starting his own investment banking firm.   Many would think of this as hugely risky, starting a business at the onset of a pandemic—but this has proven to be a largely positive step for Justin and Westcove Partners .   Join us as we discuss: The cliff’s-edg...

The pandemic has changed much about how our world operates. It has fueled the Great Resignation, ignited conversations about the workplace, and inherently changed the business world.   For some, this has presented an unexpected opportunity to leverage years of experience and relationships to embark on a new path of entrepreneurship.  In this episode, Daniela Messina , Founder and Managing Member a...

Historically, startups and small businesses haven’t had the time or resources to take full advantage of cutting-edge technological advances that will allow them to grow their business.   With the emergence of FinTech and product-based, customer-focused financial services, new opportunities for startups and small businesses are being created.  In this episode, Zach Emig , Capital Markets Leader at...

Within the military, you’re faced with an onslaught of unpredictable moments that need to be handled decisively and with great situational awareness.   Armed with that experience, our guest brings these qualities to the world of investment banking.   Hear our conversation with Billy Birdzell , Managing Director at Horatius Group :   The types of opportunities & relationships Horatius Group see...

In this special episode, our guest host and Finalis’ CTO, Guido Barosio turns the table and interviews me, Federico Baradello, founder and CEO of Finalis. We discuss my journey into entrepreneurship, a personal look into my background, and lessons I have learned along the way.  Website: https://finalis.com/ (https://finalis.com/)

Emanuel Pleitez is co-founder of East Los capital, a Los Angeles based tech enabled lower middle-market private equity fund. Emanuel started his career in finance as a banker at Goldman Sachs. He parlayed that into a career in politics, in public policy at the highest levels before diving back into investing. We discuss his journey to private equity, how he differentiates East Los Capital from the...

Silvio Pupo is managing director and CEO at Logos Capital, a global investment bank based in Miami. Silvio started his career in banking at Citigroup and spent the better part of the last decade working on project finance and economic development initiatives in the US and across the world. We sat down to discuss his journey into banking, how he differentiates Logos Capital from the competition, an...

Vitaly Golomb is Managing Partner at GS Capital, a global investment bank based in Silicon Valley.  Prior to launching the firm in 2018, Vitaly was Founding Partner & Global Evangelist at HP Tech Ventures and served as a C-Suite executive and Founder for multiple Bay Area technology businesses.  We sat down to discuss his journey into M&A, how he differentiates GS Capital from the competit...

Michael Lamm is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Corporate Advisory Solutions, a merchant bank with offices in Philadelphia and Chevy Chase, Maryland.  Prior to launching the firm seven years ago, Michael was a Director at the Kaulkin Ginsberg Company and also co-Founded the U.S.-Israel Business Exchange.  We sat down to discuss his journey into M&A, important lessons he’s learned along the...