I moved to New York without knowing anyone

I moved from LA to New York in 2024 to start at BlackRock. I was 20, had just finished college, and didn’t know anyone here.

In college, I saw the same people all the time. You could make plans without really planning anything. Moving across the country meant starting that part over too.

I wanted friends outside work. People I could hang out with without every conversation turning into what we did or where we wanted to end up. Other people who were new here and trying to figure it out would probably be looking for the same thing.

So I started hosting events. We called it Analyst Connect at the time. Interns, new grads, and people early in their careers came along. Some came alone, stayed, swapped numbers, and kept hanging out afterward. I was trying to meet people too, so getting to see that happen meant a lot.

That became Anchor. We’ve since hosted events in New York, LA, and San Francisco. I’m still doing this alongside my job, and a lot of the work is pretty practical: finding a venue, talking to partners, and getting people to come.

The part I want to work on next is what happens between events. It’s easy to meet someone once and never see them again. I want Anchor to help with making another plan, so you’re not starting from scratch every time you want to do something.