My Eureka Moment

If you’ve read my bio or inaugural post, you might be wondering how I came upon my “eureka” moment and the genesis of this blog’s namesake. What was the catalyst that led me to walk away from trading stocks and enter the world of technology as a complete novice?

Let’s start with a quick definition of the word eureka. According to the Google machine, eureka is defined as “a cry of joy or satisfaction when one finds or discovers something.”

Eurekas are defining moments. They are the metaphorical, emotional punctuation at the end of a phase of deep discovery, often scarred by periods of self-doubt or angst that are inevitably overcome. Picture Murphy Cooper solving the gravity equation in Interstellar as the gold standard.

After having a eureka of my own, I’ve become fascinated how others arrive at theirs, no matter how big or small the revelation. The moment tends to be a flash in the pan. Beneath the surface, there is always a story to be told.

The main question to which I seek answers is how eurekas happen. From my experience, big and meaningful realizations are rarely unearthed by perfect chance. The table must be set before the main course is revealed…

So I’m writing here today to tell you how I got there, hung over on a beach in Barcelona.

At 27 years old, I was the youngest guy on the equities trading desk of my brokerage firm. For four years, I had worked my way up from the back office doing the grueling, mind-numbing labor that makes a brokerage desk run. If it wasn’t for a few stellar colleagues and bosses, I might not have stuck with it.

The work was mostly awful and often highly stressful, but you can put up with a lot when you feel like you’re working towards your dream job. I had wanted to work as a trader for years, believing I could become an overnight sensation and fulfill my wildest financial visions.

Sure enough, shortly after passing my Series 7 & 63 Exams, I got called up onto the equities trading desk.

Needless to say, I was elated. My mountain summited, I’d finally made it to the big leagues, where I’d start making real money. But something wasn’t quite right. The view at the top wasn’t as spectacular as it was in my vision. And there were red flags everywhere…

Lack of domain expertise

Having a 7 & 63 doesn’t differentiate you in a world where that’s the entry fee. Market information is asymmetric for the most part – what could I offer? There was nothing special or unique about my ability to read the market or draw upon willing customers to trade – it’s all about relationships and hustle.

Lack of a thriving network

I had a few friends working at buy-side shops, but they were already spoken for — that is, another broker owned the trading relationship. Territory and volume were limited, which meant no scraps for yours truly. My firm didn’t hand me any accounts — it was cold prospecting all the way through and the sledding was tough.

Lack of technology

A subscription to a Bloomberg terminal costs $30k annually per user. My firm didn’t want to cover that cost right away, making it harder for me to get started. If you’ve ever worked as a trader, you’ll know that a vast majority of institutional communication occurs on Bloomberg’s messaging app.

Their technology enables fast & easy access to the entire trading world, paired with an ability to take and execute compliant orders. Just what you need to do your job effectively with your customer base.

Lack of motivation

Frankly, I was having serious issues getting new accounts to do business with me. I had managed to bring on a few customers, but not enough to sustain me long term. My half-assed cold calling tactics were not working well. I wasn’t getting creative or hustling the way I should have to book meetings or get out to meet prospects.

Despite how hard I’d worked to peak my summit, the fire in my belly was missing. My pending financial doom was looming as my firm began to wean my salary down, making me more dependent on trading commission for income.

Capitulation of veterans

During my last few months at my firm, I observed what my more experienced peers were going through in addition to what was happening to the ecosystem.

It had become clear the need for human brokers was slowly, but surely dying. The technology powering high volume algorithmic trading firms was expanding its dominion, drying up the commission coffers that might have lined my pockets had I started a decade or so earlier.

Many 20+ year veterans were barely doing any business at all. No one was signing new customers. I saw the shame as they quietly downgraded their cars or canceled club memberships, struggling to grind it out. A few were lucky enough to call it quits and retire with their winnings from a golden era.

“These guys had mouths to feed, college tuitions, mortgages to pay,” I thought to myself.

The gravity of this gradual capitulation was not lost on me, forcing me to question my future and face reality.

Looking back now, this sea of red flags looked more like a perfect shit storm.

Meanwhile, I was living in Stamford, CT with one of my best friends that I had grown up with, Zac. Zac had gone through General Assembly’s 3-month Web Development Immersive program (now called Software Engineering Immersive) a few years prior, and had been promoted from contractor to full time software developer at Gartner.

Years earlier, after we’d graduated from college, we kicked around an idea for an app to make it easier to find others to play pick-up basketball in local communities. After learning more about app development, Zac realized he enjoyed the building process. He recognized he could build his ideas into reality with some dedicated formal training.

Another close friend, Collin, had followed his footsteps and went through GA’s program too. He was working as a Software Engineer at Mack Weldon, and also seemed to be loving his newfound life in tech.

I found myself looking to my two close friends, who seemed to have the future at their fingertips in a world rotating towards those who possessed technical skill. I couldn’t help but feel like the train was leaving the station without me on board.

Like Rose swimming through the ice-cold water to pry the whistle from the dead Titanic officer’s lips, I needed to start participating in my own rescue.

So how does a millennial go about finding clarity and perspective? Traveling abroad of course!

As chance would have it, I was set to leave for my very first trip abroad the night of my 27th birthday.

Earlier that afternoon, I had scheduled a meeting with two Portfolio Managers at a hedge fund I had been prospecting for months. My firm had some compelling research on a stock they owned, which got their attention. They agreed to host a meeting with me and my Analyst in their beautiful office on the 80-something-th floor of One World Trade Center.

I’ll never forget sitting in that conference room. As my Analyst launched into his assessment of the company’s latest strategy, I could barely pay attention. Why was I so disengaged? Isn’t this what I always wanted?

Occupied by the brilliant view of helicopters flying beneath me over the Hudson River, I daydreamed of frolicking around Europe with my friends rather than focusing on the present moment.

I couldn’t have been happier to get the hell out of that office. Those fund managers likely took that meeting knowing they would never do a single trade with me or my firm. They just wanted some free research, which is what they got.

But what did I care? That evening, we fled off to Europe and had a fantastic trip. I’m not here to sell you on the wonders of world-travel; you can figure that for yourself. However, our pivotal eureka moment was fast-approaching…

During our final stop in Barcelona, we laid lifelessly on the beach after a late night out. One friend was nearly dead from food poisoning, the other friend crashing from a hair-of-the-dog mojito. A stoic non-napper, I sat quietly amidst the chaos after a swim. Staring into the sea, I reflected on my predicament across the pond.

Then it hit me – sales trading wasn’t going to work out for me. Not in this lifetime at least. The headwinds were too heavy to stay on my current course. I needed to jump ship, and find a new one fast, or I’d be shipwrecked or drowned. A nautical way of admitting I was scared shitless about moving back in with my parents nearing my 30’s.

I was just as smart and dedicated as my friends who had gone to GA’s coding bootcamp, wasn’t I? Why not trade in my dream of being a master of the financial universe to be the master of my own universe?

If I wanted to grow, I needed to change, I surmised. I had a proven formula my own friends had laid out before me. Could this be my ticket too?

Right then and there, I knew I had to take the leap. My mind was made up, I was gonna go for it, no matter the cost.

Eureka, indeed…

As my travel companions slowly came back to life, I felt awakened. Something had changed in me – there was no turning back. I had to overcome the resistance of giving up on one dream to make room for a new one. It was a scary thought, knowing I’d be starting all over. But I was steadfast and precise with my objective.

After returning home, I immediately signed up for an info session at GA’s New York City campus. I went to fireside chats with tech entrepreneurs from budding companies like Fundera, Betterment, and Venmo. I began taking basic courses on HTML and CSS, and learning some rudimentary JavaScript syntax. I enlisted Zac and Collin’s help when I got stumped and began asking questions incessantly. Shedding my old skin for a new one, I began to soak in all of the knowledge and advice that I could find.

I filled out my application, aced the coding challenge, and got accepted into the October cohort of 2017. I’ll never forget the joy I felt taking the acceptance call from the GA admissions team in a closet off the trading floor. My time had come.

I hope you see that eurekas aren’t accidents. The path to discovery can’t be skipped over – it’s essential to the process. Experience precedes understanding.

What else did I learn? Being a dreamer is great, but dreams aren’t static. They change and mold over time. One thing’s for certain; you won’t find your eureka as a daydreamer. Read the tea leaves and observe patterns before orienting yourself to a new direction. Then, throw all your might behind making your vision a reality.

As Paulo Coelho taught us in the Alchemist, “in order to find the treasure, you will have to follow the omens.” The signs won’t be the same for everyone, just like coding bootcamps aren’t a fit for everyone either. For me, the omens were a sea of red flags starkly contrasted against green lights for my friends. That insight lit a fire inside me and jolted me forward.

Without over-simplifying, or acknowledging that no job is perfect, my current career path doesn’t resemble the same minefield as before. Nowadays, I’m in the driver’s seat of my professional destiny. No one is bulletproof, but I have the domain expertise, tools, and agency to control my future. I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing – a feeling of belonging that I did not have before.

Whatever signals you’re seeing, career-related or otherwise, my hope is that we all arrive at our eureka moment, where it all clicks into place. Satisfaction on this level demands suffering, which makes it all taste sweeter in the end.