I had a privileged upbringing in Hong Kong.

Growing up, my parents showered my siblings and me with love.

They ensured that I was always well looked after and that we had the opportunity to go to some of the best schools in the world.

An opportunity that I will forever be grateful for.

Retrospectively, I believe that that upbringing also led me down the path of thinking that I had to have a “traditional” career. It was the only way to secure a stable future myself the way that my parents had for us!

And so I went into finance (despite my love of art).

Not once did I consider an alternative path until I started work at BlackRock and realised, to my shock, that this just wasn’t the place for me!

It felt like I was living two lives.

Externally, everyone was thrilled and in awe of my ability to work at such a prestigious place.

They saw the glamour, the 6-figure salary and the opportunities to build my career in New York, Hong Kong and London.

Internally, I was dying.

My initial role in risk analytics was a terrible fit for me.

I did better when I moved to a more sales-related role, but not by much.

And eventually, I decided that this couldn’t go on.

I didn’t want to be miserable for the rest of my career!

While the initial decision to quit and join a startup was terrifying, I soon realised that my world didn’t end.

There was so much that I still didn’t know.

And the world of startups is very different to life in an American multinational investment company that manages USD 9 trillion in assets.

I was effectively learning what a $200k MBA would’ve taught me (while getting paid!)

And over the course of my startup journey, I started attracting inquiries from people who wanted to know how I had made my own successful career pivot: Was there a secret to my method?

From one client, it became two.

Then third.

And today I’m lucky to have more clients than I can take on, which is why I’ve built the Ctrl Alt Career Accelerator Program that you can find here: https://lnkd.in/gXNaGSHp

Where I consolidate everything I’ve learned along the way in making big career pivots in my life while helping others do the same.