“If You’re Good Enough, Eventually They’ll Ask You to Sell”
An ASK. BUILD. GROW. Conversation With Ben Charon, Managing Director at General Atlantic
Ben Charon didn’t arrive on Wall Street with a polished pedigree. He grew up year-round on Cape Cod, far from the finance world, where the economy was driven by seasonal tourism. He cold-called his way into banking, spent nearly a decade as an Associate across three different roles, and only later found the right fit that set his finance career on a faster trajectory. Today, as a Managing Director in the Capital Solutions Group at General Atlantic, Charon is involved with the firm’s fundraising and investor relations—work that requires as much grit as it does polish. ABG Print sat down with him to talk about breaking in, standing out, and the mindset that keeps him sharp.
You grew up on Cape Cod. What was that like, and how did it shape your ambitions?
I grew up lower middle class in a small, rural town. Cape Cod is buzzing in the summer and deserted in the winter. My parents had blue-collar jobs, and I knew nothing about finance careers. My mom likes to remind me that at five I said I wanted to be a stockbroker, mostly because I wanted to wear a tie. That was exotic to me. I played a lot of sports, got recruited to play soccer at Brandeis, and thought I might become a lawyer. Then I met a senior TA in an economics class who had just accepted a job at Goldman. Hearing about the work and pay planted the seed for Wall Street.
You didn’t exactly have connections to get you there. How did you make the leap?
I cold-called a Brandeis alum at Credit Suisse five times before I landed an interview. When I showed up, he asked how I got in the door because “only kids who go through me get CS interviews.” I was like, “with all due respect, I cold called you like five times. You never got back to me.” So long story short, he advocated for me to get the job. And then, the next thing you know, I’m on Wall Street. I joined the retail and consumer group during the LBO boom, so it was a crash course in M&A and leveraged buyouts.
What was the toughest early lesson?
Precision. Banking isn’t rocket science—the math is arithmetic; the writing is straightforward—but things have to be correct 100% of the time. Mistakes cause more senior bankers to lose trust in you quickly. That mindset stayed with me: details matter. As I got more senior, I had to learn not to let perfect be the enemy of good, but when you’re junior, sloppiness isn’t tolerated.
When I interview candidates, I give extra credit to those who had to hustle. Hunger is hard to teach.
You’ve mentioned feeling different than your peers on Wall Street.
Definitely. I didn’t have a finance background, and many of my peers were coming out of top finance programs like Wharton and had been prepping for years. I had to catch up fast. And socially, it was eye-opening. A lot of people had advantages like parents in finance careers, resumes passed directly to recruiters. I had none of that. Honestly, I took pride in breaking in the old-fashioned way. Now, when I interview candidates, I give extra credit to those who had to hustle. Hunger is hard to teach.
At what point did you feel like you belonged in the room?
Probably at Evercore. After business school, I realized I didn’t want to go back to banking—I wanted something more relationship-driven. I joined UBS in high-yield sales and trading, but the business was shrinking. That’s when I asked myself: where are markets still opaque, where do relationships matter most? That led me to private equity fundraising. At Evercore, I worked as a placement agent, helping mid-market firms raise capital from pensions, endowments, and family offices.
What’s the difference between selling a bond and raising money for a private equity fund?
On my first day in high-yield trading, a colleague was out and I executed a trade in 30 seconds. In private equity, the sales cycle can be 18 months. You need patience, persistence, and the ability to build trust over time. The contrast was shocking but ultimately rewarding.
Once I found the right lane, the promotions came faster.
You spent nearly eight years as an Associate (including your time at business school). How did that affect your perspective?
It taught me persistence. I was an Associate across investment banking, sales & trading, and fundraising before finally making VP (at Evercore). Once I found the right lane, the promotions came faster. But those years gave me resilience and empathy for people grinding in the middle ranks.
For the uninitiated, what exactly is a placement agent?
Think of it as a fundraiser for hire. A giant like Blackstone has internal teams raising money for dozens of strategies. Mid-market firms raise one fund every four or five years, so it’s inefficient to staff that in-house. They hire placement agents, specialist bankers who bring their funds to institutional investors. That was my job at Evercore.
What was it like starting with small accounts and working your way up, and how did mentorship shape your finance career?
When you’re just starting out, nobody is handing you a $300B pension fund to cover. You start with smaller accounts, prove yourself, and over time you earn responsibility for larger relationships. That’s where mentorship comes in: senior people took chances on me, letting me sit in on big meetings once I’d proven I could handle the situation. It was very much an apprenticeship, and it shaped how I now try to bring up junior colleagues.
How do you handle the rejection that comes with fundraising?
You need thick skin. Expect 90% nos. Stay even-keeled and don’t get too low in bad years or too high in good ones. I once showed a group of new hires two emails I received from the same investor 6 years apart: in 2013, they said not to waste my time trying to build a relationship with them, then in 2019, they made a $150M commitment to one of my clients. If you’re not ready for that journey, this business isn’t for you.
When did you realize sales would be central to your finance career?
Honestly, I didn’t realize it early enough. I assumed the smartest math person would ultimately become the best banker. But once you get senior, you become a salesperson. Whether it’s convincing a founder to let you sell their company or an LP to back your fund, persuasion is half the job. That was something I wish someone would have told me. You better learn how to sell. Because if you get good enough at something, at some point, someone will ask you to be a salesperson.
That sounds like advice for anyone starting out.
Exactly. There are so many paths on Wall Street. Not everyone has to be the quant. I knew I wasn’t going to out-model the analyst from Wharton, but I could build relationships. That’s a highly valuable skill that not everyone has. There’s demand for all kinds of strengths—you just have to recognize yours.
If you get good enough at something, at some point, someone will ask you to be a salesperson.
Why do you think sales isn’t taught in business school?
It’s funny. Schools put so much emphasis on finance, accounting, marketing, but not sales, which ends up being one of the most important skills. Maybe it’s seen as less academic. But in reality, it’s at the heart of most senior roles in finance. You learn it through mentors, not textbooks.
And now at General Atlantic, your role is what’s called “Capital Solutions.” What does that mean in plain English?
Fundraising and Investor Relations. General Atlantic manages over $114bn in AUM, and it doesn’t just appear. You have to convince institutional investors to commit their capital. It’s highly competitive. Thousands of private equity firms are out there asking the same questions. Relationships, trust, and track record matter.
And how do you avoid burnout?
I remind myself that pressure is a privilege. It means you’ve been trusted with something important. And when I need to recharge, I play with my seven-year-old son. That puts everything in perspective.
What about life outside finance? How do you see New York now that you live in Connecticut?
New York was home for 15 years. I loved every minute and never thought I’d leave. If not for COVID, I probably wouldn’t have. Now I live in Connecticut and love it, but I’ll always have fond memories of the city. New York draws some of the most ambitious people in the world, and that ambition gives the city its energy.
If you weren’t in finance, what would you be doing?
Probably a bartender.
That’s a good relationship sales role.
Exactly.
Quick hits:
- One habit that keeps you sharp: Sleep.
- Favorite book: The Billionaire Who Wasn’t by Conor O’Clery.
- Go-to news source: Wall Street Journal.
- Most-used phrase in a pitch: “We are differentiated because …”
The Takeaway For Your Finance Career
For Ben Charon, breaking in wasn’t about pedigree—it was about persistence. His story is a reminder to early finance career professionals that there are many ways to stand out: know your strengths, learn to sell, and stay resilient. Hunger, humility, and adaptability often matter more than a perfect resume.
