Dominick Valenti, founder and CEO of Valenti Partners LLC and radio personality, has worked in investment banking for over four decades. Previously the youngest managing director at a major investment bank on Wall Street, he founded Valenti Partners in 1991 to offer his industry insights and share his experience with companies of various sizes seeking funding for new projects. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Dominick is known for delivering straightforward advice to help arrange funding for projects connected to local and international economies, key industries, and financial planning.
His parents were Italian immigrants who came to the USA in their teens. They met each other, married, and in their forties decided to adopt a child. Then came Dominick. “You can imagine that when I dirtied my diaper, it was sent straight to the Smithsonian because I was the golden boy. I was always so very loved,” Dominick reflects.
Despite this affection, his family was definitively blue-collar. “I didn’t have Roman numerals after my name. My father dug ditches, worked as a security guard, fitted rugs, and painted houses to get me through my education,” he recalls. Dominick pitched in as well. From a young age, he was always the best baseball player on his team. When he became one of the best players in his entire borough, he was offered a scholarship to a prestigious high school. Dominick excelled in sports and academics alike, and soon it was time to choose a college.
However, in his junior year, he was diagnosed with leukemia. “Back then, that was a death sentence,” he says, “So all the scholarships, all the colleges, they went the other way.” After Dominick—now 63—overcame the disease through radiation treatment, he carried the experience forward, embracing a positive outlook. Dominick decided to pursue his college baseball career at St. John’s University. His journey to founding Valenti Partners LLC began soon after.
As captain of the St. John’s Red Storm, Dominick noticed one student trying out for the team three consecutive years. This student was, to put it mildly, lacking in talent, and other players, along with the coach, often teased him. Dominick did not appreciate the teasing, and during the student’s third try-out, he spoke to the coach. “It’s not about how good he is. All he wants is a jacket with his name on it. All he wants is to go to the bar after a game and say, ‘We won.’ So here’s what we are going to do,” Dominick recalls saying. Though the coach was initially against it, he agreed, and the student became the equipment manager, with Dominick offering his support.
This unassuming act of kindness did not go unnoticed. When the newly christened equipment manager invited Dominick to dinner with his father, Dominick arrived at a home unlike any he had seen. That evening, the student’s father offered him a job on Wall Street.
A week after graduating college, he married his now-wife and began his career in investment banking. When he selected mergers and acquisitions as his specialty, his boss gave him memorable advice: “In three months, you will either be one of the top guys on Wall Street or you’ll be selling peanuts on the corner.” With persistence and resilience, Dominick advanced through challenges. Despite his modest background, a few weeks into his job, he was sent to London for his first assignment, where he began establishing his reputation. Dominick became the youngest managing director in the history of that bank.
In founding Valenti Partners, Dominick leveraged his skills to assist clients in arranging deals with investors for various projects. Whether on his radio show or in meetings with clients, Dominick is recognized for his direct and transparent approach. His style includes breaking down complex financial concepts in accessible terms and remaining grounded in his values. Dominick Valenti is committed to supporting clients as they work toward their financial goals through his company’s services. As he concludes, “I’m here to provide clients with the benefit of my experience and skills.”