Byron Donalds

So like, if you can learn to like teenagers, like a whole group of teenagers, you're good.

You can figure out just about anybody else.

And so through that process, I became much more outgoing and engaging people.

How I got into politics, it was 2008 financial collapse.

I was working in insurance at the time.

One of our major investors wanted to pull their investment because they were just really freaked out about the American economy.

They were international.

And I had to go do the research.

I had just left commercial banking.

So I'm doing all the research to try to save the investment because if the investment leaves, I'm out of a job.

And the last thing I did before I put out my report to the owners of the company, I turned on the House Financial Services Committee.

in Congress.

I'd never watched anything political.

I was apolitical most of my life up until that moment in 2008.

I'd watched that hearing and I said to myself, who are these people?

Why are they not smart?

How come they don't understand what's going on in the economy?

They're designing the solutions.

And I just, I went down a rabbit hole.

I started watching more political news and political news is