Compounding Snowballs

I am pleased to announce that my second book, Lighthouse: Women Leading the Way in Finance , is published! It is currently available on Amazon as a paperback and eBook. See below for book reviews: "Lighthouse is a must-read for anyone looking for inspirational female role models in finance. Through a series of in-depth personal interviews, Maya reveals the real-life struggles and strategies of women who overcame obstacles to succeed in a male-dominated industry, on their own terms." — Rupal Bhansali, CIO of International and Global Equities, Ariel Investments, Author of Non-Consensus Investing "Lighthouse is filled with women who bet on themselves and beat the odds to make successful careers. This book is a great way to learn from leaders in their field." — Annie Duke, Author of Bestselling Book, Thinking in Bets , and Former Professional Poker Player "Lighthouse: Women Leading the Way in Finance is not just about the success of women lea...

Lighthouses in Alyce’s Words “I would say a lot of my current and former Motley Fool colleagues are lighthouses, but if I have to pick one person, it would be my mom. She has always believed in me and has been so proud of my accomplishments but also at times has steered me in ways that I might not have gone on my own. Granted, I don't always do what she thinks I should—me interviewing at start-ups in people's houses used to freak her out when I was in my twenties. That whole concept was so new back then and older generations were used to people working for one company all their lives and then retiring with a pension. Still, she is always my biggest cheerleader and defender and at times, makes me step back and think of things in a different way.” From 1988 until 1992, Alyce attended St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where she majored in language and literature. Although that was a formative experience that molded much of her life, for personal reasons, she withdrew f...

Lighthouses in Monsoon’s Words “My lighthouse would be knowing when I am not happy, finding my purpose. When you are not having fun, something is wrong. My family is my lighthouse. They helped me to realize I was not happy and try something else.” Monsoon Pabrai, is like her name: she prevails with force. She was born into the world of finance. Her father, fund manager Mohnish Pabrai, tried to encourage Monsoon and her sister to be as fascinated with investing as he is. She graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 2017, but don’t let her short career fool you. Monsoon is the current marketing and community lead at Coral Labs, a start-up company. Prior to working at Coral Labs, she was an investment analyst intern at the UCLA Foundation and worked as a research analyst for Dalton Investments. During dinner, if her father was excited about a recent investment, he would break it down for Monsoon and her sister. She became curious and wanted to invest on her o...

Lighthouses in Denise’s Words “In looking back, several women have acted as a lighthouse for me over the years. Starting with a high school math teacher, to a college professor, my first boss, and several other amazing women that have mentored and supported me throughout my career. Each brought their authentic selves to work every day – embracing career, family, and community. I am forever grateful for their leadership and support, and I hope I can do the same for others in the future.” Denise was born into a multigenerational family of farmers in Ohio. Her grandfather traded commodities like corn and soybeans, so, although he did not have a college education, he traded to protect his crop from commodity price changes. Denise’s interests in high school, however, were not agricultural. Her passion was in math and science due to two teachers that pushed her passion: Ms. Chambers, her calculus teacher, and Mr. Merryweather, her biology teacher. Throughout high school, she ...

Below is another excerpt from my book, "Lighthouse: Women Leading the Way in Finance," that comes out in April 2020.  To me, a lighthouse guides boats in the sea. Its light provides warning of potential hazards along with the comfort of not feeling alone in the vast ocean. My new book is a compilation of female lighthouses in finance: their education, career paths, and struggles. The variety of experience and expertise provides each reader with one or more lighthouses to guide their journey and make them not feel so alone. I am grateful to them for sharing their stories.  It highlights many women in finance professions.  Lighthouses in Heather’s Words “For the first five to eight years of my career, I benefited from the mentorship of Bill Andersen, former portfolio manager at Driehaus [Capital Management], where I worked. He is now the founding principal of Ranger International, and we stay in touch to this day. Bill was so helpful thinking through my different ca...

Below is an excerpt from my book, "Lighthouse: Women Leading the Way in Finance," that is coming out in April. To me, a lighthouse guides boats in the sea. Its light provides warning of potential hazards along with the comfort of not feeling alone in the vast ocean. My new book is a compilation of female lighthouses in finance: their education, career paths, and struggles. The variety of experience and expertise provides each reader with one or more lighthouses to guide their journey and make them not feel so alone. I am grateful to them for sharing their stories.  Lighthouses in Vicki’s Words “I have many lighthouses. I am struck by wisdom and truth-telling so when I hear someone say something that wakes me up I collect it and add it to my list. I'm a synthesizer. I feel like I've been following the breadcrumbs one by one and someday it will all be clear. There is no one thing. It's a series of books, articles, conversations, relationships, tuning into sub...

I am excited to announce that I am publishing a new book "Lighthouse: Women Leading the Way in Finance" due out in April 2020. When I published Early Bird in 2017, I had no idea what opportunities were about to come my way and the number of inspiring people I was about to meet. I remember the cold November Saturday when I hit the publish button on Amazon, and all I could think was it would be incredible to sell 100 copies. But it has been over two years now and I am still blown away by the responses. The biggest thing that sticks with me is the number of people and families who used Early Bird to have family conversations, start investing goals, and launch their investing journey. I gave a number of talks on the power of investing young with some of the world's greatest investors at Ensemble Capital ( link ), Markel ( link ), Google, and Berkshire Hathaway among many others. One incredibly inspiring trip I took was to speak to UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Manage...