Welcome to another power-packed episode of Success Unleash’d with Shawne Merriman and Zack Ellison! Today, we dive deep into the secrets of entrepreneurial success with Aoifinn Devitt — a senior advisor at Moneta, a $40 billion investment giant, and the brilliant host of the 50 Faces podcast. From her roots in Dublin to breaking into the high-stakes world of finance in New York, Aoifinn’s story is one of fierce independence, bold pivots, and unstoppable ambition. She went from practicing law to mastering investment consulting, ultimately rising to the role of CIO. In this episode, Aoifinn reveals how she carved her own path in a male-dominated industry, embraced the risks of running her own firm, and found freedom in building something from the ground up. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to truly unlock your potential — this is the conversation you need to hear.

Success Unleash’d Principles from This Episode with Aoifinn Devitt

1. Self-Determination and Independence

Without mentors in finance, Aoifinn carved her own path, moving from law to finance through sheer curiosity and drive. Her story highlights the power of forging ahead, even without a clear guide, and trusting your ability to create your own opportunities.

2.The Power of the Pivot

Aoifinn embraced career shifts — from law to finance, investment banking to consulting — recognizing that sometimes staying the course isn’t the answer. Knowing when to pivot, even out of necessity, reflects the importance of adaptability and strategic change.

3.Embracing Entrepreneurship Despite Uncertainty

Starting her own firm meant trading financial security for freedom. Aoifinn acknowledged the hidden support systems of big companies but accepted the risks of entrepreneurship to build something aligned with her vision — a bold leap for personal growth.

4.Learning by Doing

Aoifinn stressed that real growth happens when you leave corporate safety nets behind. Building her own business pushed her to solve problems independently, reinforcing that hands-on experience often teaches what structured environments cannot.

5.Competitive Drive and Resilience

Aoifinn’s strong work ethic, shaped by her independent upbringing, kept her moving through challenges like the 2008 crash. Her resilience and competitive spirit fueled her success, proving that grit and perseverance are key to long-term achievement.

6.Embrace Shared Experiences

Entrepreneurs often feel isolated, but hearing others’ stories — through books like Shoe Dog or podcasts — reveals that challenges are universal. Recognizing this builds a sense of community and motivation.

7.Leverage Your Network

Founders, despite different industries, share similar struggles. Connecting with this “founder network” provides support, advice, and a sense of belonging — strengthening your entrepreneurial foundation.

8.Balance Confidence and Vulnerability

Project confidence, but be honest about your struggles. The best entrepreneurs blend competence with a willingness to learn, building trust and inviting valuable mentorship.

9.Ask Strategic Questions

Don’t ask basic questions — ask thoughtful, informed ones. Learn from others’ mistakes and successes, showing you’ve done your homework and are ready to grow.

10.Learn from Others’ Mistakes

Don’t romanticize failure — avoid it by studying others’ missteps. Success comes from adopting proven strategies and sidestepping pitfalls, not learning the hard way with “other people’s money.”

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Watch the Episode Here

Listen to the Podcast Here

From Law To Leadership: A Journey To Financial Mastery, Podcasting, And Entrepreneurial Success With Aoifinn Devitt

In this episode, we have Aoifinn Devitt with us, who’s a friend of mine and one of the best financial minds out there. Aoifinn is a Senior Advisor at Moneta, which is a large registered investment advisor that she’ll talk about, and also the host of the 50 Faces Podcast, which has many great episodes. Aoifinn, we’re excited to have you here. Thanks for joining.

Thank you.

Talk a little bit about how you came from Ireland, worked your way up, and became the CIO at Moneta, if I’m not mistaken, which is a $40 billion manager. It’s quite a lot of money there and a position of responsibility. You’ve also built out this amazing podcast that has over 250 episodes, probably more than that at this point. Talk a little bit about your upbringing, what brought you to America, how you got into finance, and how you rose to where you are.

Aoifinn’s Background And Path To Finance

Thank you again for having me here. I grew up in Dublin. I was not a first-generation college student. My parents had gone to college. They’d done very well there. I was the first to have any interest or inclination around financial markets. I studied law. I was not growing up at a table discussing the Wall Street Journal on stock picks. Ireland in the 1970s and ‘80s was quite impoverished and was on the fringes of Europe, by no means the center of fund activity.

My family members were primarily in teaching and medicine. That was what I grew up thinking about. Law was a branching out for me. It was only when I became a practitioner of law. That was quite a big leap from Trinity College to New York City and one of the magic circle firms in 1995. When I got into the practice of law, that was when I started to touch finance as a service provider. It was then that I became intrigued by the numbers. It wasn’t that I didn’t love being a commercial lawyer. I just thought, “What if I enjoy something else more?” That was behind my desire to go to an MBA, a business school, and move into investing.

I’m always curious about the difference between somebody who puts you on that track and a self-starter. It sounds like you found your path in doing so. Was that the case, or did somebody guide you along the way?

I found my own path and was not given any guidance. Probably, I would have been advised against it. A lot of my independence and self-starting nature came from the fact that my parents were quite young when I was born in the early ‘20s. They had a lot of their lives left to live. We became quite independent. We spent a lot of time going to my grandma’s house growing up. That independence streak and sense of competitiveness drove me to pursue my path.

Quite frankly, nobody was around to guide me. There would have been no mentor or role model, certainly not in my initial circle, that I could have looked to. When I got to New York, I worked with some amazing lawyers, but they were lawyers. They were not on the business side. I had no context at all. Business school started that for me.

What got you on the investment track specifically? How did you work your way out? It’s not easy to break in, especially when you’re transitioning from another area. Even if it’s somebody who’s smart and has a law degree, it’s a very different skillset. It used to be, and still is a very male-dominated industry. How did you break in and do so well?

Breaking Into Investment Management

It’s interesting. The investment management side of things is not well-telegraphed outside the industry. In business school, there tend to be the routes of going into industry, investment consulting, and investment banking. Investment management doesn’t feature there. I originally went on the path of investment banking. As you know, that can be quite volatile with ebbs and flows. I happened to be there when a particular sector was cresting. That was at CMT or Communications Media Technology banking. This was in 2000. It was cresting but quickly came crashing down.

When it came crashing down, I started to look for something complementary that might be more cerebral than trying to tap in and look for business out of a crumbling investment banking reality. I went to investment consulting. That was my pathway into investing. I didn’t even know the investment consulting world existed. It’s not well-known outside of the industry. From there, I ultimately became a CIO. You get to see all angles as an investment consultant. You just don’t pull the trigger. It was great to finally make the step from giving advice to pulling the trigger.

I’m always curious when people start to see that pathway to pivot. When somebody sees something crashing or going wrong, at what point do you say, “Maybe I should get into this?” A lot of people have the mentality to fight through and wait it out. At what point did you start pivoting into that?

It gets to a bit of an internal conflict we all have, especially as investors. As investors, we’re supposed to be long-term. We think about riding out the volatility, sticking with conviction, and not being swayed by the backdrop. There comes a time when things do change fundamentally. That’s when the time has come to pivot. Investment banking, I’m not sure, was by design. It was by necessity. The jobs were being reduced. There were reductions in force. It wasn’t at all possible to stay in that role. There simply wasn’t the work.

When I started running my firm, that hand-to-mouth, very lean existence, I was starting the business in ‘06 and ‘07. The hedge fund wave was rising. When ’08 came, I realized that if I wanted to have anything to advise on, it would have to be the way down the mountain. Think about getting out of trouble when you’ve made a due diligence error or managing through a recession. That pivot was driven by necessity.

When you talk about pivoting and running your firm, a lot of people think, “I’m going to have my company and do something on my own.” People think they’re going to have it easier. You make your schedule. You can do things your way. Did that mentality change for you when you went from working somewhere else to running your firm?

Entrepreneurial Mindset And Starting Her Own Firm

Running my firm came from a sense that I wanted to grow, stretch, and have a bit of self-determination. It’s always better to do that within some kind of cocoon of protection. Unfortunately, I did try to do this intrapreneur approach and didn’t get much traction for it. It comes from a competitive nature. When you get impatient, you always underweight the security of the paycheck, the big firm, and the IT help desk.

When you’re fixed on pursuing a dream or adventure, you fully outweigh that. You quickly realize what you’ve given up once you start the firm. Self-determination was a big factor in starting my firm. I had to forego some financial security for that and compounded it with a bit of financial risk. Zack and I have discussed this. The ability to do your own thing is valuable in its own right.

Betting On Yourself, Facing Hardships, And Choosing The Right Partners

All three of us are founders and business builders. We could all go work at big companies, get paid well, and have a cushy life, but the reality is we’ll never reach our full potential in that role, I believe. I don’t believe anybody can reach their full potential and know what they’re truly capable of until they start something of their own. That’s the only way you’ll know.

Pivoting is sometimes driven by necessity. Share on X

You never know if you’re at a big firm with a great team behind you and a big brand. That is not to say that those people aren’t incredibly talented and hardworking in many cases. It’s just to say that you’ll never know how good you could be until you put yourself out there. You say, “I’m going to go build something from nothing and wear all the risk, but also have a lot of autonomy and upside.” One thing I admire about entrepreneurs is their willingness to take that risk. Sometimes, taking the risk is the biggest hurdle, stepping into that role and saying, “I’m going to do it.”

It’s a mindset of, “If not now, when? If I hadn’t done it, would I always wonder what if?” That sense of anticipating regret for not pursuing a path. That seemed very strong at that time. It’s also the resilience we bring with us and the sense of self-sufficiency that gives us the confidence to do these things.

You have to bet on yourself. I was going to ask you, if you could do it all over again, you would still do it, but would you do anything differently in how you pivoted and started? If you could do it all over again, would you change something about that process?

Yeah, 100%. The partners you build, doing it with better partners at the outset, recognizing that you sometimes need a set of different hearts and minds to win hearts and minds. You need to exploit context networks. There’s an old adage, “Asset raising is taking so much longer than you think.” We were trying to raise assets at one point.

In my firm, we were launching a fund to fund. It took far longer. I didn’t choose the right partner. I probably should have chosen a partner earlier and accepted that we would have to give up some economics to do that. That is something I underestimated. Going it alone is hard. You need to maximize the hit rate by having multiple people on the team.

You built something of your own. What do you think about what was hard building it? What were your biggest obstacles?

She just touched on something that strikes me core to the heart. It’s partners, having the right people. You get into something and have to realize that everybody’s not going to take the same steps you are or put the same amount of effort in. You’re counting on certain people to bring the same amount of things to the table as you will. Whether it’s how hard you work, how long you work, or what you’re willing to do, you’re expecting that other people will, too. That’s something I learned starting out.

Choosing the right partners and having the right team and people around you can be a detriment. It can set you back if that happens. When you’re starting, nobody tells you these things because everything looks like a shiny object. You’ve got these goals and dreams. It’s going to be big. Everything’s going to be perfect. You then find out, “Hold on. I’m working a lot longer, risking a lot more, and putting a lot more on the table than them.” Not having the right partners. When she said that, it hit me right in the heart. That’s probably one of the biggest things.

It’s also realizing the swell of energy and the commitments you have is very rare. You’re going to see that in another person. Maybe not expecting it necessarily and recognizing working with what you have is key. What I found was a game-changer for me. Part of the reason I started my podcast was listening to How I Built This by Guy Raz.

That podcast took the scrappy stories of startup founders, movements, and idealists. It gave the unvarnished reality. That was an eye-opener for me. It is not a straight-up hockey stick. It is not going down a yellow brick road. It’s full of hurdles and hardship. We all get through these hardships, but hearing how this entrepreneur got through that, I feel a bit more human and resilient, ready for the next challenge.

I want to add one thing. This has helped me a lot. One of my favorite books to read is Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog. He was in the apparel business. I was selling in 190 stores across the country. Hearing all the hurdles allowed me to understand that I’m not the only one dealing with this. That’s what’s cool about this show and why I was excited about it when we launched it. We’re hearing everyone’s stories.

When people listen, especially when you’re an entrepreneur starting something, you always think you’re the only one going through this and dealing with it. When you find out someone’s dealing with the same thing, maybe worse, it doesn’t make you feel alone. One of the biggest things is listening to other people’s stories, how they started, and what they had to deal with.

Universal Challenges For Founders

One of the things I’ve learned as an investor in early-stage companies is how similar founders are and the obstacles they have to overcome. They can be very different people with very different products, but it almost doesn’t matter. It could be a man or a woman, Black or White, young or old. You’re going to go through the same growing pains.

The partners you build — or those you start with — matter. Having better partners at the outset and recognizing that, to win hearts and minds, you sometimes need a diverse set of hearts and minds is key. Share on X

I find it fascinating and comforting in the sense that every time I meet other founders, even if they’re doing something completely different in another part of the world, we’re almost like kin. We’re almost like brothers or sisters right from the outset. Everything they’re telling me about what they’ve gone through, I’ve gone through, too. Maybe in a slightly different context, but it’s always the same kind of stuff.

That’s what makes this early-stage building mentality so exciting. You have a huge network of people going through it, but you often feel alone while doing it. In reality, you’re not. There are a lot of people going through the same thing. Once you tap into that, there’s massive strength in it. You’ve got other people who understand what you’re going through and have resources of different types that can help you.

The tension for me is between the spin and the raw, unvarnished reality. There’s always a desire to maintain a little bit of smoke and mirrors, a bit of spin, to punch above your weight. That’s natural in any startup. You don’t want to be completely unvarnished about the truth. What a lot of founders forget is that there are safe spaces where they don’t need to spin. The more they spin, the more time gets lost. The more they spin, the more everything appears perfect in that story.

Sometimes, they spend so much time focusing on selling the story that they don’t ask for advice, help, resources, or general insights. When I’m working with others who’ve started funds, I want to cut through the spin because I know it’s not easy in there. We can be helpful if we don’t waste the meeting talking about unrealistic projections and business models.

Asking The Right Questions

I want to ask about that because a lot of people, especially when you’re starting and launching something, are afraid to ask questions. You’re so busy building your own thing that you don’t ask questions. I always looked at it like I want to ask questions to people who were in my industry, who built what I built. “What did you mess up? What went wrong?” If you already made those mistakes, lost a lot of money and time, I want to make sure I don’t. How important is it to ask those questions?

It’s very important. The question is, “Are you going to get the honest answers?” Just because someone has made those mistakes and is successful doesn’t mean they’ll be forthcoming. They may have selective memory, or they may not want to dwell on that. They may have a revisionist history where everything went sweetly for them. That’s one possibility you have to be aware of. It’s difficult to get the answers because time is precious.

That’s why I find listening to podcasts so helpful because it passes some work on the side. I’m not taking anyone’s active time doing that. I can then curate the questions after that. I 100% agree. You have to ask questions. Like any mentor-mentee relationship, it has to be delicate because no one has unlimited time. The needier you are, the more you’ll seem weak. You haven’t done your research. You haven’t diminished. You have to calibrate how and when to ask those questions and be mindful and respectful of other people’s time.

Learning From Others’ Failures

I remember back in school, my teachers used to tell me, and maybe they told you the same thing, they would say things like there’s no such thing as a dumb question. When you’re starting, doing orientation at a big firm, they’ll tell you, “Don’t ask anything.” It doesn’t matter if it’s a stupid question. I always thought that was the worst advice you could give somebody. There’s a dumb question, and I’m judging you and other people as well when you ask stupid questions. If you ask good questions, I’m noting that also.

To your point, Aoifinn, I do think there’s a lot of calibration that needs to get done in the sense that you need to be confident. You project that you’re going to create value for others, especially if you’re trying to attract investment dollars. At the same time, you have to also show that authenticity and some realism at the least, and maybe even some vulnerability in some ways, to say, “I’m killing it in X, Y, and Z, but I’m struggling in this area.” Do you have any advice that you can give me in this area? That, to me, is hard to calibrate exactly, but there’s some balance people need to find.

To Shawne’s point earlier, I want to tap into this because it’s such a great point. Learning from others who came before you. I know Shawne’s excellent at that. He tells me all the time about others who have built businesses. He’s emulating what they did well. He’s also noting what they didn’t do well so that he doesn’t make the same mistakes. It’s the same thing for me. I looked at all the best asset managers and investors that have anything in common with what I’m building. I looked at what they did right and what they did wrong. I took all the things that were good and synthesized them into something new, innovative, and better in my mind.

One of the things I like to say is it’s good to learn from mistakes, but it’s also good to learn from the mistakes of others. All the VCs will tell you, “It’s fine to fail. Go out and fail. Failure is great. You learn from it.” Do not have that on your radar. Failure is not acceptable. My view is that you need to go out and be successful. Learn from what others did that caused them to fail, and don’t do it. Do not use my money, or other people’s money, to learn. You don’t get paid to learn.

If you haven’t figured it out, you’re probably not ready to be successful, and it’s great if you haven’t put in the work, prepared yourself, and learned everything you need to before you go after it. It might be a little controversial, but that’s honestly how I think about it. Everybody thinks it’s all shiny unicorns and bubblegum puppy dogs. The reality is that it’s not. It’s a cutthroat business, no matter what you’re in. You have to be ultra-competitive and be on all the time because you never know when your chance is going to come.

Failure is extremely hard. Thank God this has not happened to me, but one of my colleagues had to sell his car to make payroll. These are painful decisions that impact a family and that can destroy wealth. We should not sugarcoat it. It’s very painful and should be avoided at all costs. When it does happen, we need to be able to get back up, but we certainly don’t go out targeting it.

It’s a cutthroat business. No matter what field you're in, you have to be ultra-competitive and always on, because you never know when your chance will come. Share on X

Building A Successful Podcast: Insights From 50 Faces

Aoifinn, I want to talk to you about your 50 Faces Podcast because it’s doing quite well. You’ve got some great guests on. It keeps getting better and better. How did you build that? You had this idea you wanted to start, but how have you built it to be so successful? The second part of that question is, what are some of the key things you’ve learned from guests over the years?

I started simply to tell the stories that I felt were not being told. It was a classic case of asking for forgiveness, not permission, because I had looked for permission, like I mentioned before I started my firm. I looked for an avenue in which I could access these names, give the interviews, and put them on a platform, but that platform was not forthcoming, so I created my own.

As to how I built it, a lot about how I built my firm originally is being visible as a personal brand. Unfortunately, I don’t know the secret to the algorithm, but LinkedIn is where it’s always easier to generate excitement from individual accounts than a corporate account. I could not divorce myself from the brand and hope to get any traction at all.

Most of my awareness-building has been on LinkedIn and then word of mouth after that. It is very slow. I know this because I have multiple podcasts in my suite, some capsule and some main collections. The capsule collections are virtually unknown. I see how long it takes for them to get traction. I know there’s a massive long tail of podcasts that have very few listeners.

They may be seminal listening for those few listeners that there are. That’s not to say it’s a low-quality product. It’s that breaking through into bigger bands of listenership is extremely difficult. There is a bit of fashion and endorsement involved. One of the biggest ways is getting dropped into the feed of another well-known podcast. That’s what happens in the big platforms like Pushkin and Crooked Media. They’re all promoting each other. That’s a huge way. I’ve also noticed other podcasts sponsoring podcasts, which has been interesting.

As to how I’ve learned and what I’ve learned from the podcast, we are releasing number 300. We are into our sixth series. It’s tremendous. There’s consistency in great guests coming my way is the way I describe it. I remember every single podcast and the nuances and the wisdom that’s come from that. I have been given 300 gifts here by having the benefit of the wisdom of 300 professionals who have shared the rough with the smooth.

That is such a vulnerability that is admirable. It happens very little in our industry that we sit down for 30 or 35 minutes and get at the heart of someone’s motivations, career journey, and wisdom. That is quite a deep conversation that can get deep very quickly. I’m surprised that we don’t get there more often in our interactions. Maybe it’s because most interactions are 50/50 in terms of percentage time speaking, whereas a podcast is much more of a listening effort on the part of the host. It’s been wonderful hearing about the massive variation in how people build their careers. It gives you a lot of confidence in being able to make a go of almost any career and the ability to pivot.

We have so much richness that’s gone into these careers. We know that we are not one-trick ponies. Especially in this age of AI and the concern about being replaced and job lines becoming extinct, a need to emphasize continuous learning, pivot, and get into that well of skills you brought to the table. Whether you used to be an actor before you went into business development, you ran your own business, or you were a doctor before you went into investing. All these skills can be put back in the mix and drawn upon in another way.

The second part of the question was, with all the guests you’ve had, you’ve probably heard some amazing stories and pieces of advice. Are there any pieces of advice that stick out in terms of how people became successful, like core attributes, traits, mindset, or habits that stick with you?

I discussed a little bit about what Shawne said about the standards we set for ourselves. Marquette Chester, a very successful, well-known business development executive based in Atlanta, said that nobody else has ever set hurdles as high for him as the ones he set for himself. That struck me. First of all, it’s a little exhausting to think that you are your own taskmaster, essentially, but equally, that is a sense of if you set very high standards for yourself, you will always be seeking self-improvement. You will never relax.

Nobody else can hold you to account. You’re holding yourself to account. That’s a fairly unique intensity. I do think that has driven him to be successful. In other cases, it was just sheer love. It’s another business development role. I speak with a lot of people in business development because it’s so hard. It is so hard to generate relationships, develop that thick skin, and have the patience to wake up in the morning and go at it again when you know you will be issued with a hundred noes.

What fascinates me is the ability to grapple with that. Hearing about people who play the long game and invest in relationships that may not bear fruit for 10 or 15 years is something you don’t get taught in any MBA or university program. You have to learn that from the feet of the masters. Those are some of the masters of this art. I’d say that is another successful thing.

One of my favorite podcasts is with a senior lawyer in the UK, someone called Stephanie Boyce. She has always said her motto is PUSH. Persist Until Something Happens. You spoke before about the desire to give up. She is one of the first leaders of the law society in the UK and the first Black woman in that role. She has tremendous persistence. We’ve released a video for International Women’s Day. Our motto is just to keep going. In this day and age, when DEI is under attack, and women may feel that we’ve made one step forward, we’ve gone two steps back, the persistence that I’m hearing from the guests is just to keep going. They do say if you feel like you’re going through hell, keep going.

In this age of AI, with concerns about being replaced and job roles becoming extinct, there's a real need to emphasize continuous learning — to pivot and tap into the well of skills you bring to the table. Share on X

I’m still in PUSH. That’s one of my favorite ones so far. I’m taking that from you. I’ll use that a lot.

That’s how I think the success comes. It’s not giving up.

It’s funny when Shawne and I were developing this show. We’re thinking about names. There’s a name I liked because it is part of both what Shawne’s personality is and my own, which is relentless pursuit. It’s what defines me and Shawne in my mind. One of the biggest defining factors is that we’re relentless. I don’t care if I hear no. I don’t care about anything. I am going to keep going until I get to that goal, whatever it might be.

Shawne’s the same way. That’s why I knew I wanted to partner with him in a business context because I think a lot of people saw that here’s a great athlete, but they didn’t understand what made Shawne great. A big part of it was that it wasn’t even the athletic side of it. It was the mind. It’s being relentless and not taking no for an answer. Keep going, like you said.

I like that name, Relentless Pursuit, because, to me, that is emblematic of what we’re doing, relentlessly pursuing something, whatever that is. It changes at times, but that relentless pursuit never stops. Unfortunately, that name was taken, so Success Unleash’d was born. It’s the same thing. It’s the same mindset to me. It’s that underlying relentless pursuit of greatness.

I love it. Shawne, you would be amazed at how many of my guests are previous sports players, not necessarily stars. The line I can draw between sports and our business is getting stronger. I interviewed a Jiu-Jitsu champion. Some of the wisdom from that, I’ve been reflecting on. First of all, ego is the enemy. My opponent is my teacher. You need a bit of an ego to have the confidence to get into the arena, but then the ego becomes the enemy there.

He spoke about the concept of tapping out. When you’re in a Jiu-Jitsu combat, you’re losing. Someone has to win. It’s a zero-sum game in that instance. Someone has to tap out and say, “I concede.” You get up and play another round. That tapping out should be easier to do in our professional setting. Tap out and start again. It’s not the same as failing and starting again, but sometimes, in some circumstances, we need to extricate and start again without fear of having our reputations damaged. In a competitive, repeated game, you get out and start again. I’ve learned from it.

It’s one of the things I always talk about with sports. One of the things that excited me about Zack and I doing this was because there were so many different analogies and synergies with sports, business, life, and everything else that you could not get away from. No matter how much you try to separate the two, sports over here, business and life here, there was always this bridge that everybody had to cross at some point. It was cool to hear you say that.

Shawne, I wanted to ask you about when Aoifinn brought up jiu-jitsu. Aoifinn, as you know, Shawne is the Founder and CEO of Lights Out Xtreme Fighting, which is the hottest MMA promotion in the world. I would say number two to the UFC. Shawne works with many of the best fighters in the world. Shawne, you get to see a lot of their mental makeup, too. I wanted to ask you this. What do you see in the best fighters? What makes somebody a better fighter outside of skill and athleticism?

It’s always mindset and the way they prepare. I can always tell the day of the weigh-ins how someone’s walking into a weigh-in the night before the fight before it even happens. Someone comes in. He’s on weight, on time, and is focused. The questions asked about what time they got to be there tomorrow. Everything is locked in. The fight is won long before they step into that cage.

I’ve been around athletes my entire life. I can see these up-and-coming martial arts talents and say, “He’s going to make it. She’s going to make it. She’s not going to make it. He’s not going to make it.” I can identify these guys who are not prepared. They’re not taking the same approach and mindset their opponent has. As an owner and being on this side promoting, I have to be quiet a bit. I don’t want to give my thoughts on who I think is going to win or lose, but in my mind, I see this during the weigh-ins. A lot of this is won in preparation.

We talked about that in another episode, probably more than one. It’s such a common theme, this idea of preparing. That’s what leads to success on game day or when it matters most. It’s not about what you’re doing at that time. It’s what you did before that. We’ve talked about how this idea of preparation leads to the ability to be decisive. You prepared and thought through a lot of scenarios and know what your strengths are and what your weaknesses might be.

When the time comes to perform, you’re able to act quickly and make good decisions in a short amount of time. Speaking of time, we’re about out of time. Aoifinn, I wanted to ask you 2 or 3 more questions in a mini lightning round. One question for me is, what’s one piece of advice you would give to younger folks, let’s say college or just entering the workforce, in terms of mindset to help them be successful?

This is going to be taken from a guest, but it is about saying yes. Say yes when you’re given a challenge or a stretch assignment, asked to speak in public, or asked to attend a conference. Say yes. Be a can-do person. That will stand you in good stead.

Just keep going. If you feel like you're going through hell, keep going. Success comes when you don’t give up. Share on X

I love that. That’s what I used to hear, the term “can do.” That was verbatim what we used to hear on the training floor. They’d say, “Just be a can-do person.” That’s what they would say. It didn’t matter what they asked you to do. You just had to do it and do it well. That’s true for any job. If you don’t know it, figure it out. I can’t stand it when people say, “I haven’t done that before. I don’t know how to do it.” Everybody who’s ever started an innovative company, by definition, no one’s ever done it before. It’s innovative and new. You’re breaking ground. You have to figure it out. The can-do mentality enables you to do that. Shawne, did you have anything else you wanted to ask?

That was good.

Aoifinn, I’ll ask you the last question because I selfishly wanted to get your thoughts on this. Since you’ve been a successful investor and allocator, Shawne and I are both always in the business of raising money and doing deals, and this is great advice for anyone to hear. If you’re a founder or a fund manager or you’re someone looking to raise capital, do you have any tips for capital raising in general?

This may not be what you’d expect me to say, but look at who people entrust with their money. In many cases, if you’re an allocator, it’s not your money. It’s someone else’s pension, endowment, or hard-earned savings. That’s an extra layer of care. You want to trust that person. What that person needs to do is lead with their personality, story, credibility, and integrity so that a relationship can be bridged. At the end of the day, we care less about what’s in the pitch book.

We do care, but references are a way to bolster that trust in the person. What you want to do is create that trust. Be mindful of the fact that it could take time. Trust doesn’t get built overnight. Recognize that it could be a long game and that you want to get out there. One way to show you’re trustworthy is through selfless acts. It’s things like helping instead of asking. Also, being on the front foot with things like giving advice, making connections, and learning about the allocator’s DNA and identity. When you do that, you’re going to build goodwill much faster.

Aoifinn, thanks again for coming on.

Much appreciated.

I loved it. Thank you so much for an engaging discussion.

Thank you.

Good luck with the 50 Faces. I’m excited to listen and watch a lot more of those.

Three hundred plus. Thank you. Bye.

Take care.

Important Links

• Zack Ellison on LinkedIn
• Zack Ellison on Instagram
• The 7 in 7 Show with Zack Ellison (podcast)
• Applied Real Intelligence (A.R.I.) website
• Shawne Merriman on LinkedIn
• Shawne Merriman on Instagram
• Lights Out Sports TV website
• Lights Out Xtreme Fighting website
• Aoifinn Devitt on LinkedIn
• Moneta
• 50 Faces Podcast
• How I Built This by Guy Raz
• Shoe Dog

About Aoifinn Devitt

Senior Investment Advisor, Moneta Group

Aoifinn is passionate about financial markets, knowledge sharing and education. She strives to demystify the world of investing for clients by educating them rather than merely offering advice. Her commitment to reducing complexity has empowered countless clients to make informed decisions.

Her decision to transition to Compardo, Wienstroer & Janes (CWJ) at Moneta reflects this passion and her personal aspirations to advise clients more personally and create lasting relationships with families for generations to come.

In her role as Senior Investment Advisor, Aoifinn is responsible for leading the team’s overall investment efforts and serving as a liaison to Moneta’s in-house investment department. Aoifinn also operates as the team’s Chicago Market Leader with an emphasis on serving the Family Office Practice.

Originally from Ireland, Aoifinn began her career in London as an investment banking associate at Goldman Sachs International and a specialist consultant at Cambridge Associates Limited. She subsequently founded Clontarf Capital, a pan-alternatives research and consulting firm. She later served as CIO for the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago and head of investment for Ireland at Hermes Fund Managers Ireland Limited.

When Aoifinn joined Moneta in 2021 as CIO, she brought with her a wealth of experience in institutional client management and alternative investments, coupled with a robust background in portfolio oversight. Her illustrious global career, spanning key financial hubs such as London, Hong Kong, New York City, and Chicago, has enriched her perspective and nurtured her creativity, innovation, and adaptability. Over the years, she has cultivated a vast network of industry contacts and gained exposure to a diverse array of investment manager talent. Most recently, Aoifinn excelled as Moneta’s Chief Global Market Strategist, leveraging her over two decades of experience in the financial industry to provide a truly global investment outlook.

Aoifinn is also a licensed attorney and has been a member of the New York Bar since 1996. She holds law degrees from Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and an MSc in Applied Neuroscience from Kings College London.

In addition to her professional achievements, Aoifinn hosts and produces The Fiftyfaces Podcast, which highlights diversity and inclusion within the investment industry and other professions. She has completed 55 marathons, speaks German, French and Spanish, and enjoys traveling, particularly when it involves some skiing in the winter months.

EDUCATION

• School of Law at Trinity College Dublin
• The University of Oxford Faculty of Law
• Master in Business Administration; INSEAD
• MSc in Applied Neuroscience; Kings College London

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• The New York Bar
• CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®)