Moelis

Ken Moelis left Bear Stearns in 2007 and opened from a single office with no capital, no institutional investors. Starting from nothing meant no legacy. He hired salespeople from Goldman who hated slow hierarchy. The founders' relationships became the seed, replicated into new industries by people he hired. By 2024, Moelis had offices across four continents and 1100 staff generating one and a half billion in revenue. Growth came from people recommending people. A partner in London knows someone in Houston who knows someone in Singapore. The Rolodex compounded. Pure referral economics. The fee structure remained lean and ruthless.