Litquidity, a financial meme account, managed by an anonymous former Wall Street banker, has become the talk of the town in the finance sector, garnering thousands of views daily. But, have you ever wondered who the brain behind this famous account is?
The viral posts of Litquidity, which has over eight lakh followers on Instagram and close to 3,50,000 followers on X, are “comedic cocaine to banking executives and trading floor interns,” Financial Times reported.
In a recent interview with the newspaper, the man behind Litquidity revealed his identity and introduced himself as 'Hank Medina'.
“There were always those loudmouths at the office... But I was mostly the observer,” Medina told the newspaper, speaking about the ‘Wall Street type’ whom Litquidity satirises in its posts regularly.
Medina, 32, was born in Miami, while his parents were Nicaraguan immigrants. During his childhood, he used to play tennis with his father on public courts.
In 2013, Medina graduated from Cornell University’s business school and sought a job in the finance sector. He started his career with CIT Group and after a brief stint, he went on to join Jefferies as an investment banker.
As per the report, Medina was the ‘top bucket’ among the intake of analysts in his first year itself.
Medina later went on to join a Connecticut-based private equity firm, named Wexford Capital, in 2016. During the same time, he launched the 'Litquidity' account. As young Wall Streeters shared his posts, the account quickly gained popularity among the masses.
In 2019, the private equity firm relocated to Palm Beach, while Medina went on to join Deutsche Bank, marking his return to investment banking.
As its account kept gaining momentum, Medina realised he needed to build 'Litquidity' into a bigger brand. For the same, he hired ex-investment banker and reality TV star Mark Moran in late 2021.
Based on similar businesses obtaining funding, Medina estimated at the time that Litquidity's valuation could be approximately $20 million.
Some time later, Medina launched the newsletter Exec Sum and a podcast, named Big Swinging Decks, which was backed by a crypto firm. However, he had to stop the podcast when crypto crashed.
Moran’s involvement in the venture ended after 10 months amid a clash over their vision for the business.
For some time now, Medina has remained focused on his venture capital offshoot Litquidity Capital. It has made over 30 investments in early stage start-ups.
While speaking to Financial Times, Medina said that he even tried an experiment last year -- offering $1,000-an-hour calls to his followers.
Interestingly, he was surprised by the results. “If people really wanted to talk to me at a time when I was incredibly busy, it’s like, here’s how,” he said.
Why he remained anonymous
Medina told the newspaper that anonymity helped him combat anxiety and even offered him protection from online attacks and litigious banks.
He concluded by saying that now he sees Litquidity more as a ‘holding company’ for investing in brands.
The viral posts of Litquidity, which has over eight lakh followers on Instagram and close to 3,50,000 followers on X, are “comedic cocaine to banking executives and trading floor interns,” Financial Times reported.
In a recent interview with the newspaper, the man behind Litquidity revealed his identity and introduced himself as 'Hank Medina'.
“There were always those loudmouths at the office... But I was mostly the observer,” Medina told the newspaper, speaking about the ‘Wall Street type’ whom Litquidity satirises in its posts regularly.
Medina, 32, was born in Miami, while his parents were Nicaraguan immigrants. During his childhood, he used to play tennis with his father on public courts.
In 2013, Medina graduated from Cornell University’s business school and sought a job in the finance sector. He started his career with CIT Group and after a brief stint, he went on to join Jefferies as an investment banker.
As per the report, Medina was the ‘top bucket’ among the intake of analysts in his first year itself.
Medina later went on to join a Connecticut-based private equity firm, named Wexford Capital, in 2016. During the same time, he launched the 'Litquidity' account. As young Wall Streeters shared his posts, the account quickly gained popularity among the masses.
In 2019, the private equity firm relocated to Palm Beach, while Medina went on to join Deutsche Bank, marking his return to investment banking.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘Litquidity’ gained popularity and Medina decided to pursue the project full-time.
As its account kept gaining momentum, Medina realised he needed to build 'Litquidity' into a bigger brand. For the same, he hired ex-investment banker and reality TV star Mark Moran in late 2021.
Based on similar businesses obtaining funding, Medina estimated at the time that Litquidity's valuation could be approximately $20 million.
Some time later, Medina launched the newsletter Exec Sum and a podcast, named Big Swinging Decks, which was backed by a crypto firm. However, he had to stop the podcast when crypto crashed.
Moran’s involvement in the venture ended after 10 months amid a clash over their vision for the business.
For some time now, Medina has remained focused on his venture capital offshoot Litquidity Capital. It has made over 30 investments in early stage start-ups.
While speaking to Financial Times, Medina said that he even tried an experiment last year -- offering $1,000-an-hour calls to his followers.
Interestingly, he was surprised by the results. “If people really wanted to talk to me at a time when I was incredibly busy, it’s like, here’s how,” he said.
Why he remained anonymous
Medina told the newspaper that anonymity helped him combat anxiety and even offered him protection from online attacks and litigious banks.
He concluded by saying that now he sees Litquidity more as a ‘holding company’ for investing in brands.
First Published: Feb 7, 2024 6:52 PM IST
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