Josh Owen, Chief Technology Officer at Flourish: From Wall Street Developer to Serial Startup CTO, Here's How He Did It
Sep 20, 2023
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Josh Owen, a former developer in the finance industry, shares his journey from working at banks to becoming a two-time CTO in tech. He discusses the day-to-day work of developers on Wall Street and reveals a software he built to save traders 45 minutes daily. The podcast also explores his transition from finance to tech and the changes in being an executive before and after a startup acquisition.
Working on building a new technology platform in the financial industry can provide valuable and impactful experience.
Working under pressure, having a sense of urgency, and good risk management skills are crucial in high-pressure trading desk environments.
Deep dives
Navigating the Financial Markets During the 2008 Crisis
Josh Owen shares his experience starting his career at City during the 2008 financial crisis. Despite the uncertainty, he chose to stick with City and joined a back office engineering organization. Despite his initial reservations, he found the opportunity to learn about the financial markets and work on building a new technology platform, which ultimately proved to be a valuable and impactful experience.
Working on a Trading Desk at Goldman Sachs
After City, Josh moved to Goldman Sachs where he worked on the rates trading desk as an engineer. He highlights the fast-paced and high-pressure environment of trading desks, where quick decision-making and a deep understanding of the business are crucial. Josh emphasizes the importance of working under pressure and the need to have a sense of urgency and good risk management skills in order to succeed in such a challenging role.
Taking the Leap to Join a Start-up
After leaving Goldman Sachs, Josh took a bold step and joined a start-up called OpenFolio as their CTO. Despite initial reservations and recommendations of other candidates, he ultimately bet on himself and made the leap. Joining a start-up provided him with the opportunity to have a greater impact, learn and grow in a dynamic environment, and build software that truly mattered to the business. This experience set him up well for future roles in the start-up world.
Building and Growing a Business at Flourish
Currently at Flourish, Josh embraces the company's culture that prioritizes commercial thinking and building businesses. He highlights the importance of understanding the business side of technology and the ability to impact the bottom line. With Flourish's focus on rapidly launching businesses and moving fast, Josh emphasizes the value of being able to learn, innovate, make an impact, and play a key role in driving the growth of the company.
Before he became a two-time CTO in the tech industry, Josh worked at some of the largest banks. He explains what he learned from his time on the business side of software engineering at Citi and Goldman Sachs, including the day-to-day work of developers and technologists on Wall Street. We also explore how the smallest seeming things can be one of the most impactful things you can do for a business and your career. (You won't guess what the software he built does to save traders worldwide 45 minutes every day!) Finally, we explore Josh's transition from finance to the tech industry and how being an executive changes before and after a startup gets acquired by a larger company.