Here are some key quotes from my latest podcast with Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, discussing his career in the asset management business and running a successful firm:

“Maybe I just take two seconds on SALT Talks because we’re working at home. And in lieu of our live conferences, we’ve been doing a series of 40 minute conversations with different high-profile guests from across the spectrum.”

“This is a lesson for young people that may listen to your podcast – don’t burn any bridges. I picked up the phone and called the guy that fired me. I said, ‘Hey, could you recommend me for the job?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I could recommend you for that job.’ And he did.”

“And then I left in December of 1996 to start my first asset management company, which was a registered investment adviser. And I’m going to tell a quick story because this is an operational podcast. I had no idea what I was doing.”

“If you’re consistent in your culture of shooting for best practices, people will start thinking in a best practice sort of a way and then good things start happening.”

“[W]e really try to watch our language at SkyBridge. Not the cursing. I could care less about that. But people work with me. They never work for me. And SkyBridge is a collaboration and it’s our firm. It’s not me, me, me, my my my firm.”

“Now, the good news is, if you’re failing at it, I’m a great guy to have around because the fact that you’re trying, I’m totally cool with the failure. I have no problem with that. I’m an entrepreneur, so we’re going to go bounce off the walls here and there.”

“[T]he number one thing for us is compliance centrism because you don’t want to ruin the reputation of the firm or yourself personally.”

“Do the right thing. You’ll live longer, you’ll sleep better, and your clients down deep, they can feel it from you. They know that you’re trying to do the right thing for them.”

“You’re going to get hit in this business. But how you get up and how you respond to the hit, how you grow and adapt yourself from the hit is all that matters.”

“I think [the SALT Conference] has opened the eyes of our investment team and our sales force and has opened and expanded our global relationships.”

“And so my message to people would be, go for it. You know, push through the areas of your life where you feel uncomfortable. And when you’re feeling uncomfortable, that’s probably when you’re living.”

“We’ve had this setback now as a result of COVID-19. Many people have. I’m not complaining about it or feeling victimized. I’m just saying I’ve got to deal with that new reality. And I’ve got to figure out a way to grow the business back and restore confidence in our performance and our investment management team, which we’re already starting to do.”