“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise that it won’t be boring.” -- David
Bowie. April Rudin loves this quote and she added: "What keeps me motivated is being open to possibilities in the world around me and almost never turning down someone who reaches out to me for a conversation. People who keep their options open without a prescribed path enjoy all that life has to offer!"
In 2008, April opened an opportunity for herself to launch her firm, the Rudin Group. Fourteen years ago, she learned that the world was on the precipices of the largest wealth transfer in history, millennials / nextgen had changing preferences/passions from previous generations, and the wealthtech / fintech / martech platforms were launching. She noticed that many existing brands were cliched in their messages and images like a stock photo of a yacht for retirement, chess piece, or lighthouse. April went to a friend who ran a large trust company at the time and told him her idea for launching a wealth management / wealthtech / fintech marketing firm, and he told her:
1. You are too old to be an entrepreneur (14 years ago!)
2. Banks will never hire outside firms
3. High net worth people will never be “on” the internet
4. Social media is a fad
"I thought if this old white guy thinks this, I must be onto something!" April says.
Then April founded the Rudin Group, a global wealth marketing firm specializing in creating marketing solutions for financial service firms and more. As founder and CEO, April works with her clients to drive brand awareness, visibility, engagement with content, and lead generation. She also spends time working with her teams to develop differentiated messaging, content, and distribution strategies on behalf of global brands on the buy side, sell side, wealthtech, and fintech. The culture at the Rudin Group is largely driven by the people. They have always had a distributed remote workforce and have people that have been working with April the entirety of the time. "I am also happy to have a bunch of new and talented joiners as a result of the “great resignation” – many people are seeking a new way of working without boundaries and borders." She says.
Having been working and interacting for fourteen years every day with some of the leading firms that are impacting / changing fintech, April appreciates the privilege and pleasure to think about how her clients can best come to market. She is also proud of her own profile in fintech / wealthtech and works with a number of small businesses and women launching their own businesses to help guide and mentor them. April says: "I am most proud of my extensive network of friends and colleagues working in fintech! I love to connect and keep up to date on what others are doing that I can bring to my work."
More on April
Instagram: @aprilrudin
Twitter: @TheRudinGroup
Where you currently live: Living in NJ with a beautiful rooftop deck giving me the inspirational view of the George Washington Bridge and the city of NYC
Family at home: My gen-Z sons
Hometown: Detroit!
Favorite hobby: Tennis – I am still trying to perfect my serve
Favorite part of your day: Settling into bed at the end of the day
Favorite show to binge on: Inventing Anna
Daily Diary
7:30 am – 12 pm: Zoom calls with people from all over the globe, usually Asia then Europe then the US.
12 pm: I try to take a walk outside during the middle of the day.
12:30 pm- 6:30 pm: Zoom calls. 😊
Cooking a healthy-ish dinner and binge watching something on Netflix.
On the weekends, I like to wake up whenever I do. Schedule some exercise and outdoor time.