How is my Investment Banking Website going? May 2015 Update

Just over a year ago I launched Banker's Pitch, a website dedicated helping aspiring investment bankers get in, make the most of their time in Investment Banking and then get out to other careers. As an ex-banker myself I definitely thought I had knowledge that would be valuable to others out there.

However it wasn't purely altruistic.  I also wanted to generate an income from this site.  I had a plan - both in terms of content (the topics I would write on), marketing (how I would get the word about my site out there) and monetisation.  At a very basic level my plan looked something like the following:

1. Create awesome content
2. Let people know that the content exists
3. Reap the rewards for my hard work

Things didn't quite go to plan...

Ahh I'm such a planner but with my business ideas and projects things never really seem to go to plan.  I got my website up and running and created some kick-ass content but I choked on the marketing aspect of the project (and as a consequence the rewards definitely didn't flow my way).

Marketing does not come naturally to me.  Whilst I'm more than happy to let my network of friends and colleagues know what I am up to and promote my material that way, commenting on related blogs and building an online network is not something I'm really good at.  This is something I definitely I need to work on.

Because I wasn't out there promoting my material I was barely getting any visits at all to the site which in turn makes it pretty challenging to keep generating awesome content.

I was depressed at the lack of progress I was making...and then one day I just stopped writing...

 It wasn't a conscious decision I made to stop writing...it just kind of happened.  The last scheduled post I had went out and I couldn't get up the will to write any more.

But then recently I noticed something about Banker's Pitch

Banker's Pitch was honestly the last thing on

Where have all the Investment Banking posts gone?

It is with great sadness (and some excitement) that I am announcing the removal of my Investment Banking posts from this blog.  Over the last 3 years I have written 50 posts on Investment Banking and these have been some of the most read posts on the blog and have driven a significant amount of traffic to the blog.

Why did I remove the Investment Banking posts?

As I mentioned in my post reflecting on the 3rd anniversary of this blog, this blog had gotten incredibly large and unfocused.  It was part personal finance, part career advice, part politics and a bit of economics thrown in there for good measure.

In an attempt to streamline and refocus the blog I have removed the Investment Banking posts (although the other non core posts will remain on this site).

Where can I find the posts on Investment Banking?

I recently mentioned that I

Coming soon: Application and Interview Guides for Investment Banking

One of the best things about writing a blog is that I get to share some of the information that I have gathered over the years which may be of use to other people.  One of the very few problems that I've come across as my blog has gotten on is how to organise and order the information on this blog - as of April 2014 this blog had more than 450 posts.

One of the most popular areas of this blog, as evidenced by the page views as well as the number of emails I receive on the topic, is the section on Investment Banking.  My stint (for 3 years) as an analyst in an investment bank was incredibly revealing and I have a lot to share on the topic.  

As such I have decided to, and am currently in the process of writing a series of e-books on the various investment banking topics that seem to interest people.  The first few e-books will cover the application process for investment banking - that is how do you actually write a decent application for an investment bank.  I have written blog posts on this in

Book Review: Damn it feels good to be a banker by Leveraged Sell Out

Damn It Feels Good to Be a Banker is a satirical look at the Wall Street lifestyle.  It is written by “Leveraged Sell Out”, who in the book poses as a Princeton undergraduate student who went into banking and then onto the buyside in a private equity roll.   On his blog, leveraged sell-out confessed that he actually never worked as a banker, but actually roomed with a couple of bankers and drew his observations from his time.

This is the type of book that you will either love or hate.  You will HATE it if you have no idea about the Wall Street culture that the book is satirising. However if you have ever worked in an investment bank (of any sort) or been involved in finance or even have friends who are involved in finance in any way you will get some of the references.  On the other hand if you have worked or work as an analyst at an investment bank this book is a hilarious take on the industry (and the ‘posers’ within it).

The book is broken into 5 rough sections:

·         Business: deals with what investment bankers do (along with all the misconceptions and elitism that goes with it)

·         People: deals with the schools investment bankers recruit at, recruiting, women in banking, diversity and front office versus back office roles

·         Culture:  deals with fashion, reimbursement policies, culture in central offices versus regional offices

·         Entertainment: what bankers listen to / read / enjoy doing in their spare time

My summary above somehow makes Damn It Feels Good to be a Banker seem like the perfect book to get an idea of what investment banking is.  It most definitely is not.  Actually the only people who think being an analyst at an investment bank is anything like this book are college students who are desperate to live the ‘models and bottles’ lifestyle (see link to the Wall Street Oasis and pick any thread where it is mainly college kids talking about why they want to get into Investment Banking to get an idea). 

If you read this book (and do not work in the industry) please keep in mind that it is a satire!  If you do work in the industry Damn It Feels Good to be a Banker is funny, arrogant and cocky look at the industry which will keep you laughing right through the book.

Pros

·         Hilariously funny

·         Damn It Feels Good to be a Banker actually verbalises (in a satirical fashion) some of the underlying prejudices