It’s hard to believe that just five years ago, Vested was a team of three–me, our CEO Dan Simon, and COO Ishviene Arora–with no clients, no office, no swag (if you know us, that may be the hardest part to imagine); just big ideas and the camaraderie of former coworkers. In that time, we’ve been able to build a brand and a business that truly embodies our approach to our work and the industry: nerdy, fun-loving, collaborative, and dedicated.

From growing a team of 30-plus Vesties in NYC plus our expansion in the UK and Canada, to our list of blue-chip clients, building Vested has been an exciting and rewarding journey. We’re proud of all we’ve accomplished to date, and thrilled by the possibility of the year ahead. As we enter our sixth year, amid a global pandemic and an underlying uncertainty, our focus over the next 12 months will be on change, opportunity, and maturity.

CHANGE

In 2020, change seems to be a constant. Lucky for us, we’re well-positioned for this type of environment because, for us, change has always been a constant. Not once in the last five years have we rested on our laurels, or rejoiced in the possibility of slowing down. More than being comfortable with change, we seek it out.

In the next year and indeed for the foreseeable future, we will continue this trend. Finance, technology and communications are ever-evolving and so are we. We will focus on change in many aspects:

• In our firm, ensuring we’re positioned for adaptability, and inviting in colleagues and partners that challenge assumptions, complement or supplement our strengths, and push us to continually reinvent our business. 
• In our people. Though we don’t actively seek to change our employees, we encourage discovery and evolution. Further, though we value and celebrate the diversity of our team currently, we welcome the opportunity for even more variety in race, ethnicity, background, gender, sexuality, geography, interests, and skill sets.
• In our industries. We’ve never lacked for exciting ideas of ways to shape the future of finance – and we’re excited to bring a few more of those ideas to life in this coming year.

OPPORTUNITY

In our five years as Vested – and in the many before – we’ve learned that there are different kinds of opportunities. There are those we create, just as we did Vested. And there are those that we seize, even if the timing doesn’t quite seem serendipitous. We were able to do that this past year with the exciting (but in some cases, a bit unforeseen) acquisitions of a Canadian agency, a media brand, and a content agency. And we also created new opportunities by hiring exceptional people within our professional services practice, and by establishing a new networking community for our clients and peers.

Opportunities for growth and development are aplenty. In the next year, we’ll surely see many more, and are preparing ourselves to accept the opportunities best aligned with our vision by: continuing to keep abreast of industry trends and client needs; running an efficient business so that we have the means to invest if an opportunity demands it.

We’re helping clients see and seize opportunities through programs like Forward Guidance and Financial Narrative. And, as always, we’re committed to helping our employees pursue opportunities, as well; we very recently launched a financial coaching program with a partner to help employees master their own finances. And we’re working closely with colleagues to create as positive and collaborative a work environment as possible.

MATURITY

Our growth has not been without associated growing pains. But as this past year in particular has shown, we are no longer a scrappy little startup or a handful of colleagues working out of borrowed office space. We’re a diverse team, a hungry team, and a larger team. We’ve been blessed to build a team of individuals who are, to abuse a pun, invested in our firm – literally and figuratively. 

Maturing in this environment, too, means baking resiliency even further into our business, and continuing to think about the long term. It means considering the sustainability of our industry and client base, diversifying and expanding the business, and finding exciting ways to continue to surprise and delight our clients and customers.

Many thanks to all those who’ve had a hand in shaping our first five years – and here’s to even more exciting years ahead!