New York doesn’t sleep. Neither do we.
I’m an investment banker in Manhattan, and my mornings start when most of the city is still dark. By 4:30 a.m., my phone is glowing with emails from London wrapping up their day and Asia already deep into theirs. Global markets don’t pause, so neither can we.
From the outside, people see sharp suits, glass towers, and seven-figure bonuses. Inside, it’s spreadsheets at midnight, pitch decks revised for the tenth time, and conference calls where one word can move millions.
My desk overlooks the Hudson, but most days I barely notice the view. I’m buried in financial models — revenue projections, EBITDA adjustments, sensitivity analyses that stretch across endless tabs. We don’t just crunch numbers; we build narratives around them. A merger isn’t just a transaction. It’s a story about growth, synergy, and future dominance. And it’s my job to make that story airtight.
Deals have their own rhythm. The early courtship: exploratory calls, NDA drafts, valuation debates. Then the intensity spikes — due diligence requests flying, lawyers dissecting every clause, clients demanding updates every hour. Sleep becomes optional. Coffee becomes strategic.
There’s pressure, no question. When a CEO is betting their company’s future on a deal you structured, the weight sits differently on your shoulders. One decimal point error isn’t just a typo; it’s credibility. Precision is survival here.
But there’s also adrenaline. The moment a transaction closes. The wire hits. The press release goes live. Months of controlled chaos crystallize into a headline. For a brief second, the exhaustion fades and you feel it — impact at scale.
People ask if it’s worth it — the long hours, the missed birthdays, the constant urgency. I don’t always have a clean answer. This city rewards ambition but demands everything in return.
Still, when I step out onto the street after a late night, the skyline glowing above me, I feel part of something bigger — capital flowing, companies expanding, industries reshaping.
In New York finance, you don’t just follow the market.