Decision needed today : Investment Banking Associate at no-name boutique vs Corp Strategy & Development at $3B Firm
Hi, recent top 15 MBA grad here. Until today I had no luck with recruiting. I just got 2 offers.
Offer 1: is for IBD Associate at a M&A, capital raising deals in 100-200M range and MD's come from BB firms.
Offer 2: Corporate Strategy & Development at publicly traded fintech firm with ~$3B in revenue. Located in small city. Base is 100k with no real bonuses. Firm is pretty mature but has been active with M&A and JV's with top companies.
I haven't had much luck with banking recruiting this year so this was my only shot to get into the industry. Long term goal is to maybe get into a buy-side role (really hard from either one) or start a business. What opportunity makes more sense out of MBA? Does Corp Strat close more doors because its a specialized field? Will the boutique experience be looked down upon when switching jobs or lateraling?
I have seen MBA Associates (with no prior Analyst-kind-of experience) making move to buy-side roles.
Interesting predicament you are in as I could see both having their pluses and minuses.
Investment Banking is the most traditional route to the buy-side (pre-MBA). I'm not sure what the prospects are for post-MBA to get into buy side.
Corp Dev is technically a "buy-side" role, so you'll have an opportunity to flesh out investments which could prove to be extremely helpful if your end goal is buy side or starting your own business.
I think as a post-MBA student the game changes a little bit as far as exits so i'd be interested in hearing everyone's thoughts as I might be in a similar situation down the road.
I went straight into buy-side out of MBA without prior IB experience - similar salary as your IBD Associate role.
If you want to get into buy-side investing, I think IBD would be seen as more relevant and would help you lateral a year or two down the road.
Delete
It really depends on what your goals are and how important money is to you.
Personally I would take offer 2.
There are likely some risks involved working at a boutique that small. Offer 1 seems riskier and offers less money. If you really want to do investment banking and get experience though then perhaps taking this position is worth the additional risk.
Good luck making your decision!
If I'm just starting out and in the mid-20s to late 20s, I'd take up offer1 if they have a track record of closing deals. Make a background check of how many deals were been closed since they started. Your saying "Firm has a few decent M&A, capital raising deals in 100-200M range and MD's come from BB firms." is not good enough to convince me that I'll join the firm. Will they stand-out in the crowd? Will they be ale to close deals in this range with BB. Think 2 years hence.
I don't look at money always when I'm starting fresh into a job which can yield $$$ in the long-run. As long as I can meet my monthly bills with a 10% savings, I will do it, provided I'm satisfied with the culture, growth (you can grow and get responsibilities much faster in a small/boutique firm) and assignments. Later, as you grow further (internally or outside the firm), money will always kiss your feet. (I started my career with a start-up with a meager base + 3% commission on sales + cash bonus for business development and team performance. I was the third person to join them with 4 customers, 1 purchase order worth $1,000 - yes, you read it correct; it's only $1,000 - and 2 employees.)
It's your work that counts to your next employer; your next employer looks at the brand because they assume you learned and gained experience while performing your role and contributing to the deals while staying in the process.
I'd also keep in mind what BankerC159 said
Good luck!
Thanks for the advice all. Ended up taking offer #2. I have some regrets passing on a banking offer after spending all this time trying to land one, but I just wasn't comfortable with the risk of uncertainty given the size and lack of budget (especially first job out of MBA).
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