Wallace Tsai: Goldman Sachs to Insurance Founder
The Mike Litton Experience
Mike Litton
5.0 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 March 2026
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this powerful episode of The Mike Litton Experience Podcast, host Mike Litton sits down with Wallace Tsai, founder of Aboveboard Financial, to explore her incredible journey from elite finance to purpose-driven entrepreneurship.
Wallace shares her inspiring life story—from growing up in Cleveland and studying Economics at Wellesley College, to working at Goldman Sachs in New York City during one of the most intense eras in modern financial history. She opens up about the demanding world of investment banking, the lessons learned during the 2008 financial crisis, and the pivotal moments that led her to rethink her career and priorities.
After years in high-pressure finance roles and hedge fund investing, Wallace made a bold transition into entrepreneurship. Driven by a mission to bring clarity and transparency to the financial services industry, she founded Aboveboard Financial, a company focused on simplifying insurance and helping individuals make smarter, more informed financial decisions.
She also discusses her experience teaching English in Nanjing, China, her personal growth during global events like 9/11, and how motherhood became a turning point in reshaping her career path.
What viewers will gain from this episode:
- Insights into life at Goldman Sachs and high-stakes finance
- Lessons on career pivots and finding meaningful work
- A deeper understanding of insurance and financial protection
- Real-life stories of resilience, adaptability, and entrepreneurship
- Practical advice on protecting your family’s financial future
This episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in finance, entrepreneurship, personal growth, and making smarter life and career decisions.
If you enjoy meaningful conversations like this, subscribe to The Mike Litton Experience Podcast for more inspiring life stories and powerful insights from extraordinary guests.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | But it was a great learning experience and made a lot of good friends, some of whom I'm still |
| 0:04.5 | in touch with today. |
| 0:05.3 | So yeah, it was overall I would recommend it. |
| 0:08.4 | Like it was a good experience, but it was a lot. |
| 0:11.0 | How many hours a day? |
| 0:14.0 | So it would come in waves, but I would say a typical day might be that you get in around |
| 0:18.1 | 930 or 10 in the morning and then you're maybe leaving the |
| 0:21.6 | office around 1 a.m. 2 a.m. And then there'd be periods of time that we would go through |
| 0:27.6 | where if you're on a live deal, I mean, there are times when I literally slept below my desk. |
| 0:31.5 | And I remember we went to some local bar that had a TV where English language news was accessible. |
| 0:42.2 | I believe, thinking back on it now, I believe it was because it was inside one of the fancy hotels in the city. |
| 0:48.4 | Because it actually wasn't that easy to get English language news. |
| 0:51.8 | In fact, when I arrived in Nanjing, the New York Times website was |
| 0:57.1 | banned. And the emergency room doctor walks in, and I said, I know you. I mean, stop for a second. |
| 1:06.7 | And he goes, really? And I said, yeah, four years ago, you worked on my dad, on my dad's left leg at Scripps La Jolla. And this was Scripps Cincinnati's. Oh, wow. And he goes, you've got a really good memory. He goes, I worked there four years ago. He goes, I don't remember you or your dad, right? But he came in and checked on my dad's leg. My dad had had back surgery, you know. Yeah. So then, I don't know, 30 minutes later, he walks into that same emergency room and he says, |
| 1:34.1 | we found it. |
| 1:35.4 | It's massive. |
| 1:36.7 | And we're going to do everything we can to save your life tonight. |
| 1:39.5 | Wow. |
| 1:40.4 | What did they find you? |
| 1:41.2 | The biggest clot they've ever seen in a human being in the history of the hospital. Oh, wow. It's called a saddlecloth. They got it out, apparently? They did. And it set a record when they removed it. It's the largest one they've ever moved from anybody. So they put me on the table. And this guy walks over and he says, my name's Alan. I'm the anesthesiologist. So they put me on the table and this guy walks over and he says, my name's Alan. I'm |
| 2:03.3 | the anesthesiologist. He said, okay. He goes, I need you to shut up. I've been in there a minute |
... |
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