Notes by Hammad Manjra

Writing.

Stories from Vegas, New York, and building Anchor.

Life and work

In story order. The years below are when it happened.

2021–2022

At 18, I moved to Las Vegas and took on the work of finding customers, pitching, negotiating, and closing business.

2022–2024

I built business in LA and Las Vegas before studying at UC Riverside and joining BlackRock. The sales experience still shapes how I work.

2024

I moved to New York at 20. Starting a conversation was easy. Having people to text on a Friday took more work.

How the events started. Read the full stories on Anchor.

2024Starting over

I came here for a job at BlackRock. I also had to figure out how to make friends outside work.

Summer 2025The first gathering

Twenty-five people in a park, and what I wanted to change about the conversations.