Ex-JPMorgan analyst jettisons fintech for West Coast venture capital
When Max Winston left JPMorgan in 2018, he took an 80% pay cut. After 18 months as an investment banker, he decided the industry wasn’t for him and joined Monzo, the British app-based bank instead. Nearly seven years later, he’s leaving Monzo for venture capital.
“I followed the crowd into JPMorgan,” says Winston, who studied at the London School of Economics. “I was a bit peer pressured into it. Leaving and joining Monzo was one of the best decisions I ever made, despite the initial cut in pay.”
Winston left Monzo this August and is joining Avra, a venture capital fund founded by former senior partners at Y Combinator, the US VC that backed companies like Stripe and Airbnb. He’s joining Avra a partner and intends to move to the US where he says there’s more potential to invest in companies at the cutting edge of AI.
It’s a strong indication that leaving banking for a role in fintech can be a route to better things. At Monzo, Winston managed investor relations, led fundraising and built the wealth division. He worked with his new employers who invested in Monzo while they were at Y Combinator. Y Combinator was an early stage investor in Monzo and invested again in the bank after doubts were raised over its cash position during COVID. “I have never had a steeper learning curve,” says Winston.
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