Codie Sanchez is on a mission to help one million people build financial freedom through small business ownership. A welcome deviation from the mainstream, she teaches everyday people to build wealth by investing in recession proof, AI-resistant, “boring” businesses like laundromats, car washes, and plumbing services—without tons of money up front. Sanchez makes the case that buying businesses isn’t for the rich, but rather how one becomes rich.

Founder and CEO of Contrarian Thinking, a New York Times bestselling author, and host of the BigDeal podcast, Sanchez is a formidable force in the world of personal finance. Motivational, straightforward, and accessible, she brings to the stage the same simple frameworks used to build her own nine-figure holding company. Whether speaking to seasoned or aspiring entrepreneurs and investors, Codie Sanchez leaves audiences feeling empowered to change their lives and eager to start a new chapter.

More About Codie Sanchez

Born to immigrant parents, Sanchez and her family lived paycheck to paycheck throughout her formative years. Determined to empower marginalized people, she began her career as a journalist bringing attention to the murder, mutilation, and human trafficking of thousands of women in Juarez, Mexico. She earned the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for her coverage, but after witnessing firsthand the ways in which financial stability could be a lifeline, Sanchez realized she didn’t want to write stories, she wanted to change them. She shifted gears from journalism to finance, dedicating herself to learning how to earn more money so she could help others do the same.

As she expanded her expertise and ascended the ranks at prominent financial institutions including Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, State Street, and First Trust, she also witnessed the devastating impacts of financial illiteracy on ordinary people through the 2008 financial crisis and the covid-19 pandemic. Reaffirmed in her mission to educate and empower others toward financial independence, she launched Contrarian Thinking, a financial education media company. In just a few short years, the brand has amassed 8 million social followers, 100 million monthly views, 750k devoted newsletter subscribers, and has empowered tens of thousands worldwide to take control of their financial destinies and become successful small business owners.

Sanchez also disseminates her contrarian thinking as the bestselling author of Main Street Millionaire, a strategy-packed guide to small business ownership, and as the host of BigDeal, a podcast helping listeners build a life worth living through wealth creation. She is also the founder of Contrarian Thinking Capital, a venture capital firm, and Main Street Holding Company, focused on bringing Main Street businesses back to the limelight.

Codie Sanchez is committed to democratizing ownership and pulling back the curtain on the wealth building tactics that the rich don’t want you to know. Her methods aren’t risky get rich quick schemes, but rather strategies to building wealth slowly and consistently, offering stability and freedom for generations to come.

“Being an owner is hard. Being an employee is hard. It’s all hard. But you’ve got to choose your hard. And personally, entrepreneurship is always worth it.”