At 9 p.m., the end of a hectic day, Robert, a successful 45-year-old million-dollar producer at a major wirehouse in downtown Manhattan, closed the door to his office, locked it, and took the elevator to the 36th floor of his office building. Despondent over recent losses his best clients suffered in a certain hedge fund over the past year, Robert had been short-tempered and adversarial with colleagues as well as with his branch manager, and threatened to leave the industry on more than one occasion. This business was crushing him. He could see no future. Not only had he let his clients and his family down, but just as important… he knew he had let himself down. When the elevator door closed behind him, he took the stairs to the roof where he breathed in the cool night air. With an empty glare in his eyes, he slowly made his way across the roof with a purposeful pace. Robert walked to the roof’s ledge, looked out across the dark city... more +

We were told we were too young to start a brokerage firm, recounts Ian Scott, co-founder of Cedar Creek Securities.  Started in Wisconsin in 2001 by Shawn Preisler and Ian Scott, who were 23 and 29 at the time, Cedar Creek had a lot to prove. But they set the bar even higher. Even with accelerating triple digit growth over the last two years, Ian and Shawn were driving towards another goal. They wanted to create a fun place to work. Fun, a word often associated with Silicon Valley ventures or edgy advertising agencies, usually respects the restraining order the financial services industry placed on it since its inception. However, the enormous success of “fun” companies like Apple or Google does not escape Ian and Shawn. “We are the place to be if you love the financial services industry and want to feel like you are part of something new,” Shawn states. “The philosophy of Cedar Creek Securities is a collaboration of... more +

Picture a crisp, clear spring day. You’re flying 633 mph at 22,000 feet, with your wingman two miles off and exactly ninety degrees to your right on a combat mission in southern Iraq’s no-fly zone. You’re both scanning for enemy aircraft, surface-to-air missiles (SAMS), and radar activity. Over half of your time is spent “checking six”—looking behind you and your wingman for unseen threats or movement.

Suddenly, you hear your wingman’s voice blare over the radio, “Break right, break right! Missile, launch your five o’clock!” Your heartbeat ramps up and you feel the surge of adrenaline as your fight-or-flight reflex kicks in. This all happens in an eye blink, and in that same instant, it’s time to act. Instinctively you “break right” - crank the stick to the right, bank the aircraft ninety degrees, and pull back as hard as you can, feeling the G-forces flatten you... more +

Richard Bryant, founder of Capital Investment Companies, offered us his experienced and candid insight into the riggors of building his successful firm with his partner Bobby Edgerton.

How did you get into the business? My grandfather and father built Bryant Electric Supply from the ground up starting in 1922. When I graduated from North Carolina State University in Raleigh I went straight to Bryant Supply Company. I was ecstatic that I was finally there. However, when I got there something wasn’t quite right. I realized that playing it safe by simply fitting into the family business wasn’t for me. I had witnessed my father’s success in investing first-hand and, after much research and soul-searching, I decided to get my brokerage license. So, I returned to Raleigh, got registered and worked with Prudential-Bache Securities. It quickly became clear that this option was still not enough. After only a year I felt the... more +