How to Build an Investment Banking Boutique from Zero, and Why Origination Is the Real Power

Most investment bankers are trained to execute.
Very few are trained to originate and that’s why most never make partner or build their own firm.

In this episode, Marcel Brix, Co-Managing Director and shareholder at Blok Management, shares how he went from intern to co-founder of one of Germany’s fastest-growing boutique investment banks and why he now spends 90% of his time on origination.

We break down:

• What really changes when you move from executor to originator

• How Marcel helped scale a boutique from zero to 20+ people

• Why discipline, routines, and soft skills matter more than technical brilliance

• How VPs can start building a personal deal pipeline today

• The leadership mindset required to grow a firm without losing culture

If you want to advance faster, build leverage, or one day launch your own boutique, this episode is a must-listen.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome to the Investment Banking Leaders Podcast
Why this episode matters for ambitious bankers

02:00 – From intern to boutique banker: Marcel’s unconventional path
Why big banks weren’t the right fit

06:30 – How Bloc Management was born
The deal that changed everything

09:00 – The brutal early days of building a boutique
Doing everything yourself — models, pitches, admin, and sales

14:30 – Why origination is the real career unlock in investment banking
The skill most bankers never properly develop

18:00 – The partner problem: execution vs. origination
Why many bankers hit a ceiling

21:30 – How Marcel spends 90% of his time on origination
Funnels, LinkedIn, podcasts, and consistency

26:00 – Advice for VPs trying to become originators
How to carve out origination time without dropping execution quality

30:00 – Should bankers learn sales?
Why soft skills matter more than most admit

34:00 – Discipline, routines, and compounding habits
Why success is a marathon, not a sprint

38:30 – Leadership lessons from building a firm from scratch

How to lead without ego

42:00 – Treating interns like future partners

Why culture compounds over time

45:00 – Building and protecting culture while scaling Putting people first — even before shareholders

48:00 – Book recommendation: Atomic Habits

Why small habits drive outsized results

49:00 – One piece of advice for bankers who want to build their own boutique

Start earlier than you think

Investment Banking Leaders Club: https://ibleadersclub.com/Host: Peter Nieberg (  https://www.linkedin.com/in/peternieberg/ )Guest: Marcel Brix: (  https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-brix/ ) / https://www.blok-management.de/en/Sponsors: https://www.altrum.com/