Star Morgan Stanley banker Carla Harris reveals 3 pieces of advice for entrepreneurs

Getty/Angela WeissCarla Harris.

When Morgan Stanley’s Carla Harris offers up advice, you definitely want to listen.

Harris is the vice chairman for global wealth management and a senior client advisor for Morgan Stanley.

A former mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets banker, she’s landed some major deals over the years, including the initial public offerings of UPS and Martha Stewart Living. In 2013, President Obama appointed her to chair the National Women’s Business Council.

Harris recently had the opportunity to give some career advice to a group of entrepreneurs at PowerMoves Miami, an event dedicated to boosting the number of venture-backed, minority-founded startups in America.

“So often, the marketplace is not aware of the diversity of entrepreneurs that are out there with great ideas,” Harris told Business Insider.

“So the more that we can elevate the visibility of this kind of entrepreneur talent, the greater the probability that you will get the sophisticated investment dollars flowing in their direction, thereby creating, of course, a multiplier effect. As these companies become more successful, they create more jobs, they create more wealth in the community, and they also inspire even more entrepreneurs.”

Harris, who is also an accomplished singer and the author of multiple books, served as a moderator at the PowerMoves Miami event and a judge in a Series A pitch competition.

She was able to share some important advice with the participants, both as a seasoned banker with nearly three decades of experience working in the capital markets, and as a successful woman of color in the business world.

Here’s what she said.