Building a House of Bricks: Peter Formanek on Investment Banking, Entrepreneurship, and Life Balance

BOLD CONSCIOUS CONNECTIONS

What does it take to build a business -- in this case an investment bank -- from nothing?

Peter Formanek shares his remarkable journey from corporate CFO to founding Young America Capital. In this candid conversation, he reveals the uphill battle to establish credibility, the personal health transformations that fueled his success, and why he continues to chase deals after 300+ transactions. Discover how Peter built an investment bank focused on the deals nobody else wants, and the surprising lessons he's learned along the way.

Key Highlights:

• The pivotal career moment that pushed Peter to take an entrepreneurial leap
• His strategy for building credibility in a reputation-driven industry
• The surprising impact of swimming and sobriety on his professional performance
• Why he focuses on raising capital for early-stage companies when others won't
• His advice for finding "self-actualization" beyond financial success
• Why he believes accounting knowledge separates real investment bankers from pretenders

Notable Quotes:

• "I love the chase. I love trying to recruit a new client, helping to position the client to be successful. And I find that exhilarating."
• "Money doesn't come when you expect it to come. It's the byproduct of hard work most of the time, or luck, or both."
• You have to remain humble because if you think you're the greatest thing, that is not going to resonate well with people.
• "Layering in the proper amount of support at the appropriate times is really crucial to building a house of bricks, not a house of straw."
• "When you're working really hard and you don't focus on your mental and physical wellbeing, you can suffer."
• "Fifty years from now, we're not all going to be eating cows and chickens and pigs. We're going to be eating synthetically engineered food products."

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