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it has encountered many of the problems of a startup without
engendering quite the same cultural feel. Between a patchwork
of acquisitions—including its $750 million purchase of financial-
adviser network United Capital this year, the firm’s largest in nearly
two decades—and engineers both in-house and outsourced to three
of the “Big Four” consulting firms simultaneously, former Marcus
employees describe a Babel-like experience. Engineers chafed at the
way Goldman computers require running compliance systems that
restrict their functions, and dubbed them “Kushners”—a reference
to the way presidential son-in-law Jared famously runs Microsoft
Windows on a Mac. Without its own consumer data to back-test,
Goldman initially took higher losses on Marcus loans than itsays Lemkau. But as its revenue has steadily
shrunk, it has had to come to terms with trying
something new. Goldman is targeting $5 bil-
lion in annual revenue from new businesses
by the end of 2020, with Marcus on track to
generate more than $1 billion.
Neither Solomon nor Goldman likes do-
ing anything unless they can excel, and the
firm determined it should be able to start a
consumer tech business at least as well as any
garage-full of entrepreneurs in San Francisco.
Three years after launching Marcus, though,
INVES T OR ’ S GUIDE 2020 GOLDMAN SACHS
MASS TRANSITION Solomon, shown here in the lobby of Goldman’s New York headquarters, hopes to simplify the firm’s hierarchy.
His own regular-guy bona fides extend to his commute: To the dismay of some board members, he often travels by subway.