Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Todd.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born in New York but grew up between California and Virginia where I started my college education at James Madison University. After two years of school, I fell into the glamorous world of finance in 1997 as a summer intern at PaineWebber in Washington, DC. I ended up taking a full-time role there and never made it back to JMU. I learned the ropes and started to climb the corporate ladder; however, after a few years, I made the decision to go back to school and finished my degree at George Mason University with a Major in Management Information Systems and a Minor in Spanish.
In 2001, just a few weeks after graduation I packed up my Nissan Sentra and hit the road for Miami! While I didn’t know a soul in the Magic City nor have a job, I felt compelled to make a change. I moved into a studio apartment and secured a job at News Cafe on Ocean Drive; my dreams of being a cabana girl were in progress! BUT before I could even start my career in hospitality my resume ended up at Lloyds TSB Bank in Downtown Miami via an attorney friend in DC. After a four hour interview (partly in Spanish!) I started my five year journey with this UK company.
I was given many opportunities at Lloyds and became an Assistant Vice President at a relatively young age. The turning point for me was when they extended an offer to join the two year training program in the UK. That was my big chance but I turned it down. I had other things in mind like falling in love and having children so when my now former husband asked me to be the co-founder of his tech company, RacingTraders, I jumped at the idea.
RacingTraders was an interface to Betfair, the largest UK betting exchange. It was a brilliant business that gave us the freedom to move to Maryland to start our family and then to Malta to be closer to our client base. After four years in operation, we sold the company and I went back into the workplace to help pay the bills while the next big idea started brewing! During this time, I led business development efforts for a law firm and then went back to finance, first with Morgan Stanley where I obtained my licenses and from there to work with a traditional long/short hedge fund and more recently with a cryptocurrency fund.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Going independent and moving away from finance was not easy, I have morphed quite a bit in the last two years but thankfully have now started to focus on doing the work that I love which is somehow easier.
Looking back, being an empathetic, moral driven woman in finance and cryptocurrency at times proved very challenging but it also made me stronger and gave me the know-how to navigate the business world.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the 8Metta story. Tell us more about the business.
8Metta offers mindful + creative business development and community outreach services to local businesses. We connect the dots and help create meaningful relationships for select partners including Innergy Meditation, Daycation, Tech Beach and Mad Room Hospitality.
I formed 8Metta in order to truly reflect what I do and also remind myself how I want to do it. The 8 stands for infinity and metta means loving-kindness. I think what sets us apart is that we are able to quickly become an integral part of a team and provide support without too much additional expense.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck, that’s a good one.
I feel that I have been very lucky in love. I met my husband Valter Castelo in 2018 by pure chance as he managed the car wash that I frequented in Miami Beach. One visit he asked me out to play tennis and that was the beginning of a beautiful journey together.
Our relationship has given me a sense of peace and stability and allowed me to finally create the business I always envisioned while maintaining an awesome family life. Valter and I live in Coral Gables with my two daughters, Lily and Heidi, and we are thankful that my Mom, Arlene Zachmann, lives just down the road.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my story; I hope that it somehow inspires your readers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.8metta.com
- Phone: 786-315-3408
- Email: jen@8metta.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jentodd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.m.todd.5
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermtodd/
Image Credit:
Gannon Studios (Headshot), Elizabeth Gonzalez (Group event shots)
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