Codie Sanchez graduated early from Arizona State University with a journalism degree and traveled to Juárez, Mexico to document the violence there, earning the Robert F. Kennedy Award for print journalism. But seeing how financial illiteracy devastated people changed her trajectory.

From Journalism to Wall Street

She pivoted to finance in 2008, joining Vanguard just as the financial crisis hit. Over the next decade, she climbed the ranks at Goldman Sachs, State Street, and First Trust — eventually building a billion-dollar asset management firm in Latin America. All along, she was quietly buying "boring businesses" on the side: laundromats, car washes, and service businesses that generated steady cash flow.

10K Subscribers in 30 Days

In January 2020, when the pandemic shut everything down, she launched Contrarian Thinking as a newsletter to share her unconventional investing philosophy. It was meant for friends and family. Instead, it hit 10,000 subscribers in 30 days and 55,000 subscribers within eight months.

The insight was clear: millions of people were trapped in jobs they hated and didn't know there was an alternative to VC-backed tech startups. Codie offered one: buy existing businesses.

Courses, Community, and Holding Company

She launched the Small Biz Buying Course, built a 3,000+ member community, and co-founded Contrarian Thinking Capital and Main Street Hold Co. to acquire businesses at scale. Her social media presence exploded to 8M+ followers across platforms. Her book *Main Street Millionaire* became a NYT bestseller.

• Newsletter: 750K+ subscribers (started January 2020)
• Social media: 8M+ followers across platforms
• Community: 3,000+ paid members
• Portfolio: 9 figures ($100M+) in revenue across "boring businesses"
• Book: *Main Street Millionaire* (NYT bestseller)
• Previous career: Goldman Sachs, State Street, First Trust