This week I am talking with Marlon Weems, a former Wall Street trader who started his career in finance in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he founded the first Black-owned asset management firm and the first Black-owned venture capital firm in the state.

Since leaving the industry in 2012, Marlon has transitioned to writing. His essay, "How Starting an Investment Firm Almost Landed Me in Federal Prison, was named one of the best stories of 2023 on Medium.

Marlon now writes about American culture, anti Black racism, and growing up Black in the Deep South in The Journeyman, his Substack newsletter, which is where I discovered him. He is currently writing a memoir about his experiences in finance and, fun fact, Marlon recently made his theatrical debut in the role of Uncle Ben in a local production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

We covered:

- How he made the transition from Wall Street trader to full-time writer

- The freedom in being close enough to retirement that you're not worried that something you write might prevent you from getting another job

- Being friends with people whose political views differ from your own

- How most of his articles he writes on his phone at 3 am--the others he writes either in his car or at a bar

Visit Marlon at thejourneyman.substack.com.

Thanks to this week's sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save up to 30% off an amazing indoor air filter and get a free 3-year warranty ($84 value).

For full show notes, visit katehanley.substack.com.

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