Meet Paul Sydlansky owner of Lake Road Advisors, LLC 1. Describe Your Business: Lake Road Advisors, LLC is a financial planning and investment advisory firm that specializes in helping businesses owners and young professional families who feel overwhelmed by the idea of financial planning. These individuals understand that planning is important but don’t’ have the time, experience, or desire to navigate through everything that needs to be done. Lake Road Advisors helps build, implement, and monitor a plan for you to achieve your goals. 2. Tell us your story: My very first finance class sparked my interest in the market. During college, I interned at a small brokerage firm in my hometown and fell in love with the speed, competition, and excitement of the industry. I earned a BA in Economics from Marist College before launching my career on Wall Street. I spent 13 years working with Morgan Stanley, first in the Private Wealth Management Division and then the Institutional Equities Division, working with some of the world’s largest and most successful hedge funds. I also earned my MBA from New York University while growing my career.

Then in 2009, I became the father of twins. Suddenly, the long commute, even longer hours, and lack of flexibility didn’t seem worth the pay. By the time our third child arrived in 2011, the aggressive Wall Street lifestyle had lost all appeal. I wanted to be successful in my career, but I was not willing to sacrifice my family life. So in 2012, my wife and I put family first and moved to upstate New York for a better quality of life. I founded Lake Road Advisors because I believe there is a less complicated, transparent method to provide financial planning services. I became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ to help families and small business owners create clear paths to achieve their goals.

3. What has helped you succeed and gain experience? My time on Wall Street gave me a unique perspective into

the financial system and the industry as a whole. Working with clients in a high pressured, fast paced, deadline orientated environment made me appreciate the importance of customer service. My most recent experience at a local RIA made me quickly realize that there was a more effective and efficient way to help people navigate the confusing personal financial landscape.

4. What inspires you? I am inspired every time I help a family get one step closer to their goals. Anytime someone

can walk away from a meeting with me and feel inspired to act on something it makes what I do worth it. 5. What keeps you up at night? What are your challenges? As a business that provides financial services, it’s

often difficult to avoid being labeled with the many stereotypes of the industry. I try hard to break that mold with a “palm’s up” approach to networking and meeting people. This means learning about them and what they do so I can try help them. This often has nothing to do with financial services. It can be as simple as making an introduction to someone in my network. From my experience, in any relationship, no matter what it evolves into, you first need to build trust. If becoming a client down the road makes sense, great. If not, the worst that has happened is I made a connection and hopefully added value to them

6. What is your favorite local activity? Spending time at Keuka Lake with my family in the summer. 7. Anything else we need to know about you? My business is virtual so I can work with clients anywhere in the US.

My office is currently in Binghamton but will be closer to Corning/Watkins Glen early next year. I am always happy to meet new people and see if I can be helpful. Don’t hesitate to reach out in person or online https://www.linkedin.com/in/psyd1 or follow me on twitter @psydlansky

LAKE ROAD ADVISORS

Lake Road Advisors, LLC • 607-821-1033 • 37 Front Street Binghamton, NY 13905 www.lakeroadadvisors.com