Most investment bankers are trained to execute.
Very few are trained to originate and that’s why most never make partner or build their own firm.
In this episode, Marcel Brix, Co-Managing Director and shareholder at Blok Management, shares how he went from intern to co-founder of one of Germany’s fastest-growing boutique investment banks and why he now spends 90% of his time on origination.
We break down:
What really changes when you move from executor to originator
How Marcel helped scale a boutique from zero to 20+ people
Why discipline, routines, and soft skills matter more than technical brilliance
How VPs can start building a personal deal pipeline today
The leadership mindset required to grow a firm without losing culture
If you want to advance faster, build leverage, or one day launch your own boutique, this episode is a must-listen.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Welcome to the Investment Banking Leaders Podcast
Why this episode matters for ambitious bankers
02:00 – From intern to boutique banker: Marcel’s unconventional path
Why big banks weren’t the right fit
06:30 – How Bloc Management was born
The deal that changed everything
09:00 – The brutal early days of building a boutique
Doing everything yourself — models, pitches, admin, and sales
14:30 – Why origination is the real career unlock in investment banking
The skill most bankers never properly develop
18:00 – The partner problem: execution vs. origination
Why many bankers hit a ceiling
21:30 – How Marcel spends 90% of his time on origination
Funnels, LinkedIn, podcasts, and consistency
26:00 – Advice for VPs trying to become originators
How to carve out origination time without dropping execution quality
30:00 – Should bankers learn sales?
Why soft skills matter more than most admit
34:00 – Discipline, routines, and compounding habits
Why success is a marathon, not a sprint
38:30 – Leadership lessons from building a firm from scratch
How to lead without ego
42:00 – Treating interns like future partners
Why culture compounds over time
45:00 – Building and protecting culture while scaling Putting people first — even before shareholders
48:00 – Book recommendation: Atomic Habits
Why small habits drive outsized results
49:00 – One piece of advice for bankers who want to build their own boutique
Start earlier than you think
Investment Banking Leaders Club: https://ibleadersclub.com/Host: Peter Nieberg ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/peternieberg/ )Guest: Marcel Brix: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-brix/ ) / https://www.blok-management.de/en/Sponsors: https://www.altrum.com/
