Does MM bizdev within PE suck? Going from the investment to the bizdev side... Anyone done it before?
How should people think about business development roles within PE firms and those trajectories? I spent 3 years in IB and have hit 1 year of PE experience on the investment side at a MM fund. I have an invitation to join a brand new firm/fund (2 deal partners, 1 principal and 1 operating partner) as the platform biz dev hire. The fund is tiny (~$125mm first fund) and we haven't discussed comp or title yet. Is anyone on the biz dev side specifically on the LMM/MM side here that can shed some light on their duties, lifestyle, comp and trajectory?
My current role on the investment side is okay but I don't love it. It seems like all of the parts I like (seeing new bizzes, hearing biz owner stories of growth/challenges, initial investment discussions, light preview modeling) would be kept in this biz dev role while all the parts I hate (deep due diligence, shaky portco work, overly detailed modeling) would go away. I don't love the idea of having to go to M&A conferences to fakesmile with bankers but everything else seems great (despite the likely pay cut).
I do worry about becoming a second-class citizen relative to existing and future investment professional hires. The people at the fund overall seem nice though and I have a strong relationship with one of the founders. I am longing for better WLB too.
I'm also increasingly thinking about the search fund/indy sponsor route for the future and feel like biz dev experienced swirled with my actual deal experience may be helpful and relevant but not sure if I'm extrapolating in a wishful way.
Bump
I actually know a few ex-SVP/EVP at my current company (MF-PE backed) who left for biz dev roles at LMM/MM firms (funds varying from ~$300M-1B+). Some of them got to exit to cool startups or got C-suite jobs at portcos. Loads of upside on equity. Heck, two of our C-suite/executives co-founded LMM funds ($150-600M range for inaugural funds) after focusing exclusively on bizdev/strategy at the company that got brought out.
Given your goals, I would definitely consider taking the MM platform bizdev role. Bizdev work opens up a lot of doors to connect with others who also maybe be thinking of new ideas/starting new companies. It's shocking how much optionality some of these ex-employees I mentioned above have vs. their PE investment team counterparts.
Honestly sounds like you're a better fit for growth investing vs. buyouts if you like the initial outreach / learning about the biz / high-level modeling. Have a mentor who's the BD partner at a LMM fund and while it can be cool, there's definitely a level of frustration that comes with intro'ing the investment team to a company you really like and not having any control over whether it goes forward or not.
Is growth equity not somewhat equally as sweaty as buyout?
Fund-dependent but overall definitely not. More like 50-60 hours a week at a typical growth fund that has a good balance of sourcing / execution.
This is good advice. The other thing that I'll add to this is that in growth ability to source is the primary driver of returns (v. buyout where it's ability to underwrite) and you can probably make MD in a ton of shops without ever touching Excel if you're good enough. It would give you an opportunity to do what you most enjoy doing without risk of being a "second class citizen" since you would still be the board member, etc.
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