Finding and Retaining Top Talent in a Startup World
A trend seems to be appearing in the crypto/blockchain/technology startup world of onboarding talented financial advisors, managers, board members, etc. from the top financial service companies on Wall Street like Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Chase, and so many others to startup companies that focus primarily on blockchain.
But why when we have the following media views from top Wall Street executives?
Jamie Dimon runs JPMorgan and has repeatedly spoken out about how “Bitcoin is a scam” and we should all be cautious of Bitcoin or not waste our time with it.
While Merrill Lynch went from banning advisors from trading bitcoin-related products in January 2018 to launching a Bitcoin-related product in September 2018.
Will Wall Street accept cryptocurrencies into mainstream adoption?
Does it matter in the grand scheme of things, honestly? Crypto has done well for not being “widely accepted” by big financial institutions.
Why Pull from Wall Street?
Is pulling from Wall Street for your talent pool a good idea?
It seems to be working for many crypto companies!
They have experience with financial markets already and many are looking for a new challenge to use their talents on. Many have spent a decade watching crypto and adding to their own portfolios, waiting for a good time to jump in. With crypto regulation being considered now by many world economies and other world economies in full on tail spin to the bottom, the time likely couldn’t be better than right now!
David Hannigan is Trade.io’s Chief Dealer for the OTC Crypto Desk that has extensive history in the New York Financial Market, coming most recently from Merrill Lynch. He has over 25 years experience as a Senior FX professional in progressive international markets. Isn’t that someone that you would want on your team?
Is it Worth Leaving?
Is it a risky move to leave a cushy Wall Street job like many critics are saying? Yea, more than likely. But, many have been smart with their money, invested wisely, diversified, and saved while keeping their living expenses relatively low so they have time to get a new gig going.
Fundraising efforts from crypto and blockchain/tech startups have raised millions of dollars in many cases, which is more than enough to fund day-to-day operations as the company works to get onto its feet if they are careful and don’t build up a huge team until they have the money to support it. Many startups make the mistake of having huge expenditures straight out of the gate and their finances falter.
Changing the Crypto Space
Trade.io is a new crypto exchange that has been working to onboard top talent to help bolster their new operation. At first glance, Trade.io may seem like just another crypto exchange (of which there are many!) but they are incredibly open with their audience about their business operations and maintain constant communication via many social media channels.
Their management team listens to their customers feedback and have designed an exchange that is much more interactive than the standard exchange.
The CEO, William B. Heyn, has been a great asset to the team as Chief Compliance Officer but took the reigns as CEO the beginning of December 2018. There have been many positive changes for Trade.io in recent months and there looks to be more coming soon! One such change is a monthly update from the CEO that will be posted on Medium and the company website.
Helen Astaniou, Chief Marketing Officer for Trade.io, was recently named “Top 20 Women in Blockchain” by ContentWorks after returning from a maternity leave. This is huge! Because there are not a lot of women working in the tech sector. Looking forward to seeing her work in the future!
Trade.io is pulling talent from Wall Street and building a powerhouse organization! What will the future hold for this incredible organization? Stay tuned for updates!
Thanks for reading,