the startup
I have the opportunity to start a tech company seeded by a partner at a large pe firm. I also have the opportunity to move to ibd from ER at my firm this summer. What do I do? I'm worried I will hate ibd. Yet there are risks associated with the startup (and high rewards too). I think I'd like to do the startup, but don't want to throw away my career given the options I have in front of me. If it's any yardstick, I've tired of er greatly--but worried what I don't like about er will be amplified in banking.
Do you have an MBA or are you straight out of undergrad? I would go for the start up. If it doesn't work you could go for an MBA. Business schools seem to really like entrepreneurs.
I'm 18 months out of undergrad (t20 school, not ivy). Could I get into banking if this blows up? What would my other options be?
to the OP, I just moved into IBD from a tech consulting start-up. PM me with any questions.
Lol considering you have funding and who is funding you...startup. Much, much, much better (unless he's funding you with like a pittance of a couple hundred k, then probably not baller). But if he's putting in at least seven figs of his own money, then do it.
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Go for the Start Up...If you screw up there's the MBA...if you don't, then the risk/reward profile is much better than a cushy ib job
What about research do you dislike so much?
To ghenghis khan, I hate the passiveness. Ie studying something for so long waiting for a thesis to play out. I'm less interested in stock prices and more interested in a process oriented role (like completing a merger, or launching a capital raise). Further, I think research culture exudes mediocrity (at least where I am). The idnustry I cover is really boring too.
What about the skills I wouldn't get if I didn't go into banking? I think there's a lot more I can learn in banking that I can't in research? I had been hoping the startup could be acquisition intensive down the road, so banking might help. Finally, I always wanted to go to a megafund, and the startup kills that ambition.
In sum, I don't want to just be another entrepreneur. Hence the risks involved.
Really well put and I think that tells you what you need to know. MAKE something happen.
From a college kid, I can say I would love a chance to work at a startup. I can imagine it's rare enough to get an idea off the ground, much less get significant funding early on.
Anyone else? Thanks for all of the advice so far.
I was CFO for a PE-funded start-up technology company. It didn't go anywhere but what I learned during that time was well worth taking the risk. My advice is to do the start-up.
If it was up to me I'd take the start-up in a heartbeat.....I am hoping I can be in a position like this soon, but as the poster above said you only live once, and I'd take the chance on really creating something special....if you don't like ER, I'm telling you man you wouldn't like IBD, it's not as exciting as you think (I've done both). Also you mentioned being worried about the skills you would be missing out on if you didn't do IB, and let me tell you from first hand experience in IB, it teaches you very little about running businesses and in my opinion doesn't prepare you well if entrepreneurship is the route you want to go and you would learn far more at the start-up
You have to decide what your long term goals are go down that path... Just make sure you have no regrets....especially if you choose IB and you are spending your nights and weekends making frivolous changes to pitchbooks when you could've really been making an impact with the start-up
Watch the video below, maybe it can inspire you... it's about an ex-goldman banker who left and started his own start-up.....I agree with a lot of what he is saying
lol why is this even a question?
I'm not in your shoes, but I left M&A for a prominent NYC startup and don't regret it one bit. It is a different experience completely, and I think people that thrive in either, are rarely the same breed. I wasn't a horrible analyst, but I was not the type to be subservient, and just wanted more responsibility - which wasnt possibly in my bank. Also - I just don't really care if someone has VP or Director on their title, I never felt that was enough for them to be the worlds biggest dbag(and I let them know that).
At my startup - it's been a phenomenal experience - to work closely with some big names in the internet space, have funding to you can really see capital being deployed (efficiently and inefficiently), and most of all, learning to wear a ton of hats. The best part is when you discuss an idea, and see it begin to go into action the next week. To see one round of funding at X valuation, and then another one several months later at a much higher valuation is also exciting (esp if you have a lot of equity).
Working on big deals is exciting, and you certainly learn a lot, but at the end of the day, you are still the grunt or cog in the machine, and I felt that 80% of the work I did in banking was never used, meaningless, or was irrelevant to whether the deal went through or not.
A lot of my friends still work in banking, some are jealous of what I do now, but some really like the technical aspects of working on deals, and would prefer the PE route. Best of luck though - sounds like you have a good problem to have.
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