Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Bakalar
Sophie Bakalar started working on the trading desk when she was 17 years old, after excelling in math in high school. She traded credit derivatives for a hedge fund prior to the 2008 recession in what she calls a "Wild West" of finance that ultimately left her looking for a more meaningful way to use her skills.
"No one wakes up in the morning and is excited about trading credit derivatives," Bakalar tells Axios.
Why she matters: She joined Collaborative Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests primarily in consumer startups, and eventually started the firm's climate investing practice.
