Gabriel Tracton, Steven Marks and Jack Smagarinsky

Guzman y Gomez

Last Friday, Founder and CEO of Guzman y Gomez (GyG), Steven Marks visited the Emanuel School Investment Club. This was a great opportunity for the students to hear from a veteran of finance and entrepreneurship.  It was brilliant to see over 120 students attend, revealing the passion for business and finance among Emanuel School students.

Early Career

Steven’s entrepreneurial passion started at the young age of 8, shovelling snow in the NYC winter.

Steven’s natural abilities in lacrosse and mathematics secured him a position at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Economics and International Relations, undertaking his economics courses at the Wharton Business School.

Upon graduation, he was scouted by the Founder of SAC Capital Steven Cohen to work as a trader at his hedge fund making him one of the youngest traders on Wall Street. At the time, SAC Capital had 5 employees and managed $30m AUM. SAC went on to become one of the most successful hedge funds and Steven Cohen is now worth approximately $17.4 billion. 

Moving to Australia and starting GyG

Steven decided that he wanted to come to Sydney after working with many Australians in London at Cheyne Capital as he was mesmerised by pictures of Bondi. Through seeing Australia’s potential and following his natural interest for travelling and new cultures, he was set on building a hotel in Bondi.

Instead of betting on businesses while working in finance, he wanted to build a business. So he began starting many businesses ranging from t-shirt manufacturing, opening a wine bar, starting a record label and finally starting Guzman y Gomez. Steven inspired many of the students with his advice that you’re not locked into a career. You can always try something new and succeed if you are willing to put in the work and grow.

However, Steven’s story of building GyG from the ground up was never easy as he endured years of long workdays while incurring losses but he never gave up. Steven explained that the two key components of his success at GyG are the high quality food and the culture of people – something he has never compromised on. Now Guzman y Gomez has reached a unicorn valuation ($1b+) with many prospects such as expanding further internationally and a possible future IPO.

Why is Guzman y Gomez called Guzman y Gomez?

Many of Steven’s childhood friends which he had played soccer with were Mexican, with last names such as Gomez, Lopez, Guzman, Hernandez. So when Steven was thinking of an appropriate name for a Mexican food business, he attributed the name to these old friends of his.

By Jack Smagarinsky and Gabriel Tracton, Founders of the Investment Club