Corporate Baddie DeAndre Brown on Leaving Investment Banking for TikTok Fame
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In this episode of Awf The Record, DeAndre Brown – aka the original “The Corporate Baddie” – gets real about leaving investment banking to become a full-time content creator. From viral TikToks and six-figure brand deals to burnout, reinvention, and building a brand with purpose, this episode peels back the curtain on what it really takes to pivot from 9-to-5 to FYP.
He shares the lessons he learned negotiating deals (including a $6k LinkedIn check and an $80k CVS partnership), why authenticity is his non-negotiable, and how he's using social media as a springboard into broadcast journalism. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Should I leave this job?” or “Can I ac
tually make it as a creator?” then this one's for you.
KEYPOINTS:
[1:18] - Internships (Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Supreme Court) & access for people of color
[7:38] - The birth of “Corporate Baddie” and why he never called himself that
[10:32] - DeAndre on doing viral while working a 9-to-5 (and getting HR involved)
[12:26] - Why he walked away from a lucrative job and what came next
[20:11] - Red flags in brand contracts and creator burnout
[27:21] - The art of reinvention in the age of social media
[31:18] - His master plan for life after content: journalism, storytelling, legacy
QUOTES
"The reason I've been able to transition myself throughout the past three and a half years is that I've allowed myself time to just not do it." – DeAndre Brown
"The best way to just remain authentic is to truly not be afraid and care about people's opinions on your life, about who you are, about what you do, and what decisions you make, just doing it. Just do it - Nike." – DeAndre Brown
"You have to be confident in who you are, and you cannot let people kind of gear you away from the person that you know that you are." – DeAndre Brown
GUEST RESOURCES
DeAndre Brown
IG | @imdrebrown
TikTok | @imdrebrown
RESOURCES:
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Mona Kosar Abdi
IG | @monakabdi
Jeannette Reyes
IG | @msnewslady
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