A Chat with BlueprintSMB
From an orphanage in South Korea, to Kansas City, to Wall Street, to buying and operating a manufacturing business
Many in SMB/ETA/X circles know the account Blueprintsmb. Fewer know the man behind it. Even fewer know his full story. Born in Seoul and having spent his first few years in an orphanage, he was adopted by a loving family in Kansas City and went on to build a successful American life. But the path was not without struggles for meaning and purpose, especially once he built a family of his own.
In this interview, he anonymously shares his early beginnings, rise to the Ivy League, years in investment banking and then the hedge fund world, and ultimately his dive headfirst into the dirty, gritty, chaotic world of buying and running a small manufacturing business in the Northeast.
So, who are you?
Call me Blueprintsmb. People on X will know which account this is.
Where are you from? Where do you live now?
I was born in Seoul, South Korea. Grew up in an orphanage until age 3 in South Korea after my birth mother couldn’t financially take care of me. I was fortunately adopted by a loving couple in Kansas City (on the Kansas side). Now I live with my wife and 7-year-old daughter in New Jersey after two decades living mostly in New York with a brief stint in San Francisco.
What did your early life and career look like? What were you doing?
After switching from pre-med to economics at Brown I basically followed the “safe” path I saw my Sigma Chi fraternity brothers doing and went to Wall Street. I started my career in NYC in investment banking at Morgan Stanley (did my third year in San Francisco) before embarking on the “holy grail” career of the vaunted buyside of hedge funds and public markets investing. I worked at both best ideas or single manager hedge funds and multi-manager funds where I ultimately became a portfolio manager managing my own book before leaving the industry in 2022.
It was a grind. I enjoyed it sometimes, got lucky and had a few good years, but I oftentimes found the job pretty brutal and stressful.
And now?
So in 2022 I purchased a small manufacturing business in New Jersey using a combination of a large equity check from my savings and an SBA loan. My family moved from the Upper West Side in Manhattan to New Jersey around the same time.
Was there a moment when you realized you couldn’t stay on your old path?
I had flirted with leaving public markets first in 2018 during garden leave before starting at a new firm as a portfolio manager, but I couldn’t find any businesses I liked so I started the new job. 2020 was an incredibly stressful year for my family —imagine living in a small NYC apartment with a 3-year-old with both parents working from home while hearing police sirens all day — but it actually was a pretty good year P&L-wise for my book and I had a nice bonus.
When travel was no longer illegal, in the summer of 2021 I took my family to the Four Seasons Surfside for a week-long vacation. It wasn’t cheap. I spent most of the vacation trying to “fix” my book that was acting like complete garbage and probably spent more time in the hotel room than I did on the beach.
Here I was as a portfolio manager working at a great company with awesome people and great flexibility, yet I was having a horrible time while driving my wife and daughter nuts by not being present.
When would it get better? Would it ever?
I ultimately decided it would probably never get better.
The job is stressful and hard, which is why the compensation can be incredibly lucrative in the good years. I remember on the plane ride back telling my wife…
“If I’m tethered to Bloomberg for the next 20 years, it’ll be the death of me. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
Who was the first person you told of your plans? How did they react?
My wife and my parents. All supportive. Both my parents were self-employed so I grew up having my parents around during my childhood in Kansas. I’m now home for dinner every night and around every weekend, so my wife and daughter are very happy with that.
How do your friends or family describe what you do? Do they get it right?
They just tell the truth — I’m a small business owner. Most of my network is 20 years old, either from college or my Morgan Stanley analyst class, which means most are in finance or tech with a smattering in start-ups. This network was incredibly helpful when I thought about different paths, as I was able to get their candid views on their career paths. Every path has its own issues.
On lifestyle, identity, and relationships…
So you have a wife and daughter. How has your lifestyle and relationship changed?
My quality of life is much better. Like I said, I’m home every night for dinner and around most weekends. During earnings, I was never around.
Did your wife approve? What anxieties did you or she have? Looking back, were they overblown or valid?
Owning a manufacturing business during a manufacturing recession has been brutal at times, and my wife hates that we have a personal guarantee despite the fact we have personal liquidity that could pay off all the debt today if we wanted to.
I think it’s still a tough thing for her to digest psychologically knowing that if this goes south, the bank could take a lot of our liquidity. She likes that I’m around more, but also wonders if I could have found an easier business to buy. I’m not sure many businesses are easy to run sub-$5mm enterprise value, but I get her perspective given that I’m leaving the apartment at 4am every day.
How has your sense of identity shifted no longer introducing yourself as a hedge fund PM and now calling yourself a small business owner?
Honestly, it’s been super easy. I think in my 30s it would have been harder as I’m naturally competitive. I played travel soccer growing up where a lot of my teammates played Division 1. But now that I’m 40+, I’ve seen enough to know this is the right path for me.
It also helps that most of my peers tell me they would love to do what I’m doing but they aren’t brave enough or have sufficient liquidity to feel comfortable making this pivot.
The perception of what a career on Wall Street looks like by the mainstream media and non-finance people is far from what the reality is. Those that have grinded now decades absolutely understand the move and “get it.”
What have you sacrificed that you didn’t expect to?
It’s incredibly hard, as it should be. I 100% would have maximized short-term income by finding another finance job instead of pursuing this path. Writing a huge equity check and waiting to get paid back in two years while having to learn a brand-new business and basically ignoring two decades of career experience is not for most.
What do you and your family do for fun? How is that different now versus in the past?
We have loved living in New Jersey, especially with a car. We do weekend road trips pretty much every other weekend during the summer…. Vermont, New Hampshire, Jersey Shore, Rhode Island, Upstate New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts. Just got back from a nice weekend at the beach for Labor Day weekend and will likely be home for Thanksgiving.
The industry shuts down the first week of July and last week of December so we usually use those weeks to do something more adventurous like go to Mexico, but lately we’ve been going back to Kansas City to spend time with my dad who has been battling cancer for the last decade. We’re now at the point where we are hoping he can qualify for clinical trials as we have run out of options.
I’m sorry to learn about your father. It’s good that you’re all able to spend that time with him.
Yeah.
On ownership realities…
What are the supposed positives about business ownership that are a bit misleading?
I left public markets because it felt like short-duration investing with so many variables driving moves meant I felt helpless most of the year outside of earnings, where fundamentals actually mattered... getting fundamentals right was my strength as an investor.
Small business unfortunately is similar in some ways, although better than public markets. Customers shut down, employees steal or don’t show up, equipment breaks, etc. Stuff is breaking all the time and it takes 1 to 2 years to build the muscle memory where you can have something happen and not feel like the world is ending, especially with personally guaranteed debt.
So, what are the positives?
The downside of having a W2 job is just a lot more tolerable in many ways. Yes, you can get fired, but most people are fortunate to secure a new gig within 6 months. Garden leave (paid) was basically mandatory in my former W2 life so time off between jobs was actually fun as you were paid before starting your next gig.
The upside of SMB is way higher, but the downside is higher too. If you lose your W2 job, you don’t “lose” money since you’re paid a salary with some bonus. In SMB, if you have an unexpected machine breakdown or repair, or revenues decline, you can lose money.
Also, EBITDA is not cash flow so chasing accounts receivable is something new for any brand-new business owner.
What number has kept you up at night the most?
For me it’s backlog. I freak out when it’s only 2 weeks. I like to have it 3 to 4 weeks where I’m somewhat nervous about managing lead times but having a backlog helps me sleep at night knowing my team is set for work for a bit.
How do you know when it’s time to close up shop and call it a day?
Pretty much every day at 4pm. I leave the factory without fail unless Saia or one of the LTL trucking companies is late for a pickup.
What was the lowest low and the highest high you’ve experienced?
Highest was the fast payback on my equity investment and being able to pay off my entire LOC within 2 years. Year 3 has actually been the lowest just given weak demand and having to now spend more time on business development than I did in the first two years when demand trends were more stable.
Did anything almost kill the deal before closing?
Ironically, without getting into the details, the lease negotiation actually p--- me off on what the seller and I would be responsible for. It sounds stupid, but I almost walked away from the deal a few times.
If you sold or exited tomorrow, what part of the journey would you miss most?
The learning, problem solving.
I would say one of most positive things a human can do is doing something hard or scary and being able to do it. I worked on Wall Street for two decades. Being able to feed my family running a manufacturing business with zero experience has dramatically increased my confidence in that… wow, okay I can do non-finance things and make money.
It sounds ridiculous but the harsh reality is public markets investing has very few transferable skills to other industries, so a lot of my peers feel trapped in this career move. I know I did for a long time.
Do you think entrepreneurs are born or made?
Honestly no idea. I’m actually low risk, yet what I’m doing is high risk. I really, honestly, never thought I would do something like this. It’s hard as hell.
On career paths and alternatives…
Would you ever go back to a W2 or to work for someone else?
Hard to imagine, but I feel a responsibility to take care of my family so if this doesn’t work out, I will have no problem working for someone else to feed my family.
What would you have done differently, knowing what you know now?
I wish I had done this before marriage and having a kid. Personally guaranteed debt with a wife and young daughter... I wouldn’t recommend it for most. It’s all psychological, but it can be a heavy mental burden.
If you were to jump into another business or career, what sectors interest you and why?
Not sure. I eventually want to move back to Kansas City so would have to buy a business there likely.
Would you want your kids or mentees to follow in your path?
Honestly no. It’s hard as hell and W2 is the right path for 99% of people.
On money and investing…
Are you investing outside your business?
Most of my net worth is liquid in equity ETFs.
What’s your general framework or approach to investing these days?
Invest early and often. Spend less than you make. Avoiding individual stocks is the right strategy for most.
Do you believe you’ve walked away from significant financial upside to pursue your current path? Was it worth it?
Yes and yes.
I have a better idea now of what enough is.
On health, happiness, and outlook…
What do you do to stay healthy or active?
I quit drinking and smoking a decade ago.
I fast a few times during the week.
What seeds are you planting now that you hope will bear fruit in 3–5 years?
Paying off this SBA debt, getting a management layer where my involvement is 20 hours a week. At that point, looking to use my background and learnings to find an additional earnings stream.
All told, are you happy?
Yes. It’s been scary at times but I’m glad with this pivot.
Thank you for doing this. And congratulations on your success and ongoing journey.
Thanks, happy to do it.
Always a mini therapy session. Good to self-reflect.
Blueprint is a beauty, and a great follow on X. Nice interview guys, thank you.
Great interview as usual.
Can see that Blueprint is an ex fund manager - very even and measured answers.