Rising sophomore trying to pivot to finance

Hi! I'm a rising sophomore that goes to a HYP school and I’m trying to better understand how to position myself for recruiting in finance.

I came into college interested in software engineering and currently have a SWE internship at a startup. While I’ve learned a lot technically, I’ve realized I’m more interested in financial markets and investing (what my major is related to) than traditional software engineering.

At this point, I'd really appreciate advice on how I should work on strengthening my skillset/resume especially after not doing anything finance-related during my freshman year. I'm interested in something like asset management, but I'm also open to/learning about different paths. Most of my projects/extracurriculars/experience is tech (two minor SWE internships, SWE at school orgs, etc.), which concerns me due to the lack of experience in finance. What are specific things I could work on doing/learning this summer? Some of my upperclassman friends have recommended Search Fund analyst positions -- are these worth it?

How can I best pivot or signal interest without prior finance internships? Someone I met at an event last year runs a small local PE firm specializing in biotech. Would it be a long shot to reach out to him asking for an unpaid internship/any opportunity to shadow? Recruiting for summer 2028 is approaching quickly so any advice would be great!

Thanks so much!