In today’s economic landscape, personal impressions are shaped by both the way you communicate with others and the data generated from your online activity. It is critical that professionals think about how they showcase their professional work, ideas, and values to others. For Jesse Ransford, Corporate Finance Consultant with Economics Partners in NYC, your digital presence and reputation do not just represent what you achieve; they also represent how successful you are on multiple levels.
Early Career and Foundations in Finance
With an Economics degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Jesse Ransford has a solid background in Economics with a concentration in Valuation. His analytical skills and interest in Valuation have led him to become a member of Economics Partners, where he provides consultancy regarding tax structuring, valuations, and Reports on the Financial Reporting of Businesses to clients.
As a Corporate Finance consultant, Jesse needs to be very detail-oriented and have excellent communication skills. This has helped him achieve recognition within the Corporate Finance field as an accomplished young professional.
At Economics Partners, Jesse is responsible for producing technical work across various industries. Energy, Technology, and Retail. He creates Excel Models that facilitate complex valuation analysis and conducts market research relating to the client’s business and prepares detailed economic reports, which enable the client to make knowledgeable business decisions based on financial information. Jesse can interpret the complexities of business finance into practical solutions/recommendations, which increase his value within the Corporate Finance sector.
From Aspen to New York: A Story of Adaptability
Growing up in Colorado, Jesse learned early on that Focus, Endurance, and Balance were essential qualities for achieving success. He developed a passion for skiing by racing through the mountains at the Aspen Highlands while competing against others who had the same goals as him. It required him to have both precision and flexibility to be successful.
His years attending a small charter school in Aspen were instrumental in helping him identify some of his other hidden talents that were not necessarily related to academics. He enjoyed the Performing Arts and found confidence while exercising his creative side through major roles such as The White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. The blend of analytical ability and creative expression would continue to be a theme throughout his life.
The drive for discovery and a desire to experience new environments prompted him to ask his family to send him to boarding school in New Hampshire. While there, he formed friendships with students from around the world, which provided him with a unique perspective on the world and how he viewed it as a professional.
Upon moving to New York City in 2025, Jesse embraced this new chapter of his life and has seamlessly transitioned from living in the mountains to living in the fast-paced world of Finance. He is now actively exploring New York’s many neighbourhoods, cultural venues, and restaurants with the same enthusiasm he had while skiing and enjoying the thrills of the ski slope while maintaining a sense of balance between the excitement of ambition and passion for discovering new things.
Building a Strong Professional Reputation
When asked how he approaches reputation management in his career, Jesse focuses on three guiding principles: consistency, clarity, and follow-through.
“I deliver work products that are technically sound and on time—whether that’s a valuation model, a transfer pricing analysis, or a written report. I’d rather under-promise and over-deliver than the other way around,” he explains.
The importance of a consistent approach to building trust and maintaining that trust is through clear communication. Jesse often expresses his opinion on how a financial advisor must communicate complex economic and financial concepts in simple terms, especially since many of the clients have no technical background or expertise, so they can make informed decisions based on the advisor’s recommendations.
The third pillar of Jesse’s approach is his follow-through. He documents his results, closes communication loops, and responds in a timely manner. This helps him build a reputation as being dependable, detail-oriented, and easy to work with. These consistent and small activities create a solid foundation for his reputation of being capable and trustworthy.
Learning Through Feedback and Adaptation
Jesse Ransford started out his career in the midst of a global pandemic. Being the only new analyst on a team composed of experienced and well-established professionals, he encountered many new challenges, most of which had little guidance associated with them.
To help him adjust to this new working environment, Jesse took it upon himself to educate himself through self-directed learning. He enrolled in on-line courses, studied corporate finance textbooks, and spent time examining over 100 legal and valuation documents that the firm had archived. Each of these tasks allowed Jesse not only to build a solid foundation in all areas of transfer pricing, but it also gave him the ability to understand the analytical frameworks that supported this area of practice.
In addition to this self-education process, Jesse put together a detailed feedback system for himself. As Jesse recalls, “I kept a detailed record of all written and oral feedback I received so that I would only make mistakes once.” Over time, Jesse learned to identify what different managers preferred as well as their expectations, and tailored his written documents and analyses accordingly.
When Jesse encountered difficulties with technical issues in either Excel or PowerPoint, he leveraged AI tools, online forums, and independent research to address these issues. Jesse understood that his work often had significant financial consequences with regard to IRS audits (in the millions of dollars), so he developed an extensive self-review process and sometimes sought the input of peers to further ensure accuracy in his work.
Crafting a Meaningful Digital Presence
While many professionals view online visibility as a measure of popularity, Jesse takes a more thoughtful approach. His strategy emphasizes specificity, utility, and honesty over volume.
“I try to stand out by being specific, useful, and honest rather than loud,” he says. Rather than posting broad commentary, he shares practical insights drawn from real-world finance problems—mini explainers that make technical topics like discount rates, benchmarking, and transfer pricing easier to understand.
By avoiding generic content and focusing on frameworks or lessons that others can apply immediately, Jesse cultivates an online presence rooted in authenticity and value.
Balancing Openness and Privacy
In his relationships with clients, Jesse strives to walk the line between being open and keeping certain information confidential, while sharing enough context to help other people understand and learn from the experience. Furthermore, he regularly uses prior examples to demonstrate the overall goals of Financial Services, while maintaining an educational aspect and the integrity associated with his professional role.
By exercising this degree of considered restraint, Jesse reaffirms the same values that are prevalent in his personal reputation—being responsible, precise, and displaying the utmost respect for the trust that has been placed upon him by his clients.
Meaningful Engagement and Analytics
While Jesse sees social media engagement primarily as an opportunity to add value rather than a way to achieve high levels of visibility, his method when posting and commenting is to focus on providing thorough, concise responses along with clarification when he is addressing technical issues. As such, he also takes the time to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of others in each instance.
He uses analytic data as an educational resource and uses what he learns to improve his overall communication and content-development processes by paying attention to what types of posts generate thoughtful conversations and direct outreach regarding popular subject areas, including but not limited to: the impact of AI on the financial services sector, the methods used to determine value, etc.
A Brand Built on Clarity and Integrity
Jesse Ransford’s digital presence is defined by one primary principle—to make rigorous finance and economics accessible to everyone. He hopes that, “whenever you come across my name on something, you will expect it to contain thorough, carefully considered analyses; clear explanations of the content; and an honest effort to provide assistance.”
Jesse has proven that today’s world has made it possible to lose your online reputation in a day with only one error in judgement, and that is why he will continue to set an unwavering example through his deliberate and open approach. The trajectory of his life from the mountain tops of Aspen to the financial centres of New York City shows that it is possible to build a strong offline and online professional identity through both discipline, character and continual education.