Clarkson Potter attended St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire, and then graduated from Yale in 1901. He eventually became an investment banker in New York, first serving with the William R. Compton Bond and Mortgage Company in his native St. Louis. He did very well in investment banking and served on the board of directors of several prominent companies, including the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Corporation. In New York, he was a partner with Hayden Stone & Co. During World War I, Potter served as national assistant director of the War Loan Organization.