Single Manager that recruit from H/S with PE Background - Do they care about finishing PE program / quitting to do something else until school starts?
If I want to join an Altimeter or a Cat Rock or an Alkeon or a Viking type fund out of Harvard / Stanford MBA, with a MBB + UMM PE pre-MBA background:
Will those firms care if I quit my 2-year UMM PE Associate program now (school starts August / September) to go work at an early-ish stage startup?
I am sure most hiring managers will know that my PE program was a 2-year program (firm like Berkshire / GTCR / WCAS) and that I'm breaking my standard 2-year commitment. But I want to join a flaming hot startup (backing from LSVP / Sequoia / KPCB / Accel types) as an early (#1-5) business hire. The startup is in a sector I can't stop thinking about, and spend a lot of time talking to people within (including within public competitors I have analyzed for stock pitches).
My story would be, look, this company is a mover and a shaker in the space, I love their sector, and I couldn't say no. I already did 4+ deals while in PE, I wasn't learning more, and yea, I broke my promise to stay as an Associate for 2 years, but you know what, I learned way way more this way, and I took a gamble on my career because I wanted to chart my own path and believe it will pay off.
Thoughts?
bruh cat rock and alkeon aren't viking altimeter caliber lol
Yea I just threw out the first SMs that came to mind, I hope the question / context still generally makes sense
alkeon is on the same level imo. very underrated and under the radar firm.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but you left MBB after a couple years to go to PE then would leave PE after one year to work at a startup for less than a year before going to business school then work at a hedge fund? Seems like a lot of bouncing around. If you are really interested in this opportunity at the startup then why go to a hedge fund (let alone business school)? I would just pick one path and commit to it. Plus, the hedge funds you mentioned pursue radically different strategies..
To clarify, 3y MBB + 2y PE is standard pre-MBA path
I’m proposing 3y MBB + 1.5y PE + 0.5 in startup as pre MBA
Broad strokes idea would be 1) I’m interested in trying it out, think it would be cool, and don’t want to waste my MBA internship on this, 2) think I’d learn more than just 6 more months of PE
It’s really a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too question, if I can do this thing I want to do (main reason) and then still recruit for HF post MBA.
I don’t think there is one right answer here, but staying at the PE firm for the full 2 years seems like the right call if you are serious about working at a hedge fund long-term. Joining a startup for half a year may make you seem fickle/ not committed to investing, and I doubt that one could make a worthwhile impact in that short amount of time. If you want to test the waters at this startup with the potential to ride it out then by all means give it a shot.
just do it. am at 1B+ SM HF (obviously not a viking/altimeter) and help lead hiring, story would make sense to us. it's just 6 months, and upside optionality and your own odds of regret both seem high here.
only thing i'd think about is whether this impacts your references
I feel not finishing 2 years would hurt a little bit. But I think you should try the start-up. It sounds like you are really excited and I feel you will regret it later if you never try it
Wait so you want to work at the startup for 6 months only?
You’re saying you want to take a gamble and chart your own path but you’re already planning on leaving, no?
As a pre-MBA internship / externship. It might have been worth noting in the premises of the post that these are not that uncommon. Often you email a founder and they know the drill - in for 6 months to do some project(s) like stand up a new vertical GTM, new pricing strategy, lead a fundraising process, etc.
Oh okay. Was just curious how it fit into your longterm career goals since you want to go to a HF after
With limited amount you've disclosed - I'd assume you were a typical prestige-chaser i.e. do something because it sounds good on the resume, not because you actually want to. Nothing wrong with that - I find about 75%+ of people in high-finance are like this early in their career.
This is something really important to develop in your 20's and for that reason - I would recommend you quit PE and try the startup, and not worry about optics of recruiting at Tiger or whatever. Trying new things to see if you live up to the commitment you gave is a good thing to help get out of that behavior so I'd say keep trying new things until you've found it. The earlier you find it, the better.
Thanks. Yea I am a typical prestige chaser 100%. I have a hard time breaking out of this mentality. This is the first time I've found something and I think, man this is the bees knees. I'll think about your comment some more but this is good food for thought. My interest in working in HF is just more of the same money + prestige chasing + it seems like a better version of PE which makes for an ok job I suppose but not too particularly stimulating outside of an occasional kernel of exciting research.
Sounds like you might enjoy this startup more than the hedge fund (not a bad thing, just an observation). Hedge fund not a great job for most people anyways.
Not to derail your post, but why did you choose to recruit with 3yr at MBB instead of 2? Does it make much of a difference to recruiters? How do you do at ur fund vs ex bankers? Where you able to get PE looks from APO/KKR/SLP/WP/TPG/CVC, etc.
Thanks for the help, I wish you luck with your upcoming decision.
Hey - If I can offer my thoughts...I am at a HF similar to what you listed above. I joined my HF before completing the 2 year PE program. That's to say that nobody cares if you did 1.5 years or 2 years. So long as you have the skills to succeed in this new job (which I figure you do, if you know how to do some basic modelling + thinking about companies). Is the extra 6 month experience at a startup useful? I would almost certainly say yes. If you are targeting a crossover fund doing public and pvt.... it's a no brainer that this would be an add to your skillset, not a detractor.
What would your pitch be as to why the operating experience would add value to a crossover (or any other) fund?
Anyone would appreciate an ability to evaluate a company with perspective from someone who has been in a startup before. Or connect better with the founder to win the deal. Whatever it is, it’s a unique perspective into how a startup works. Things that are done well, not well. It’s certainly not a detracting skill set.
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