HF after $100M Startup?
Hey folks, I'm seeking some career advice here.
I worked at a top tier credit shop straight out of undergrad for 6 months before my desk got spun out.
Perhaps I should’ve taken the offer to go to the new shop, but I had a tech startup opportunity and raised $5m at a $100M valuation within weeks of leaving the fund (originally raised at less, but over the past year, val has grown to $100M).
But I feel like I had a lot more to learn from the hedge fund side; pay has been great but I’m just not satisfied with the startup life and my cofounder can take over the company. I basically left the fund industry with minimal connections, no real track record of PnL… I want to do a proper 2 year gig before it’s too late.
Where can I even go from here? I’d only be interested with top tier funds (Diameter, Lone Pine, etc) or megafunds (Apollo, KKR).
I have a solid resume but I’m not sure if these megafunds look at non-bankers. I feel like the top tier funds would be more receptive; few would look down on me for taking the $100M startup opportunity.
For context, I graduated in 2023 and I'm 27 (took extra years in school), hence I feel like I'm running out of time and want to get in my stint before I'm 30. My role models all did 2+2+2 and they were starting their own funds around my age.
You are a founder/majority owner of a $100mm company and you are worried about working at a megafund to make $400k in two years? Firsf congrats second is this real?
To answer directly: Ownership is under 20/over 10, relatively illiquid (only real exit is IPO / acquihire). So not as glamorous as you might think, but yes, still much more than I'd make at a megafund. Even just my salary is on par with the entire comp of most Principal's. Sure, agreed.
But to answer indirectly: it's not about the money at this stage. As I allured to in my post, my role models "ate shit" doing 6 years of IB -> MFPE -> HF, and now run their own funds. Some in the 10 figure AUM range.
I just don't see how I'd get there with my background. I don't want to be a tech bro forever, or investing in random startups as a vc for the next 40 years of my career. Kill me now if I end up like Chamath & co. Ending up as a scout at a16z or Sequoia is not appealing to me. I'd rather run my own book for the allure + sovereignty of it.
The way I see it, I missed having an Analyst class (one of the only juniors at my fund for the 6 short months I worked there). I have minimal relationships. Again, my role models at my age were sitting across the table from large capital allocators that ended up seeding their funds when they started them years down the road. I've completely missed out on the relational aspect of finance.
Ironically you might be better off raising a fund from random VC guys these days than going trad HF route
That openAI kid raised $1.5bn to invest in semiconductors
Chamath is worth $10 billion per his own admission
Both amazing outcomes!
Know many who have been on both sides of the fence - these valuations can be quite "fake" but varies case by case. Aside from founder shares being concentrated & illiquid, usually the investors have preferred stock and get their money back first on any exit (sometimes with a multiple), in which case the founder shares are worth dramatically less than the sticker value from the investment.
There are scores of unprofitable companies with >$100mm "valuations" that are doing less than $10mm in annual revenue. With the right founders, there are "ideas" raising at $30-50mm - it is the VC really just buying the founder's time and commitment. Job satisfaction aside, lot of seats in finance are worth more if OP can climb the ladder.
Agreed, plus there's poor visibility beyond the X years of runway left.
Think people are generally better off in finance.
Zero days of experience in publics but “I’d only be interested in the top tier funds”
Ok bro lol
I worked in Special Situations / Distressed, I'm still only interested in those groups or adjacent, like: Apollo Hybrid, Ares Special Ops, Diameter, DKCM, KKR SS (although I've heard it's been downhill recently)
Ok great you go get ‘em tiger, show Apollo and KKR who’s the boss with your $100M startup resume
(You won’t even get a reply from HR)
“Diameter / Lone Pine” what enjoyment do college kids get from making posts like this..
There have been a few superstars that joined places like DKCM, Tiger, Silver Point, Caspian out of undergrad, myself included.
It's possible. What's so far fetched about asking this?
The only difference now is that I'm a fair bit removed from the industry, haven't networked around yet. Don't know what the landscape would be. Came to WSO to see if anyone had fund recommendations.
You had 6mo experience out of college bro that isn’t even enough to figure out fckin anything besides where the coffee machine is, let alone close any deals or count as real investing experience. pls rid yourself of this delusion that you are already a “hedge fund guy” and are at all remotely qualified to work for a top fund. Your feeling that the top funds wouldn’t fault you is lol. They may not fault you, but nobody gives a fuck if you have quite literally zero investment experience at age 28. Life needs to humble you pronto
Hahaha true
" I'd ONLY GOT TO THE TOP FUNDS" Brr
Have fun choosing between MM IB and ER!
Thanks for comment, Point 1 is something I'd have to think about more. On initial thoughts:
Points 1 and 2) I know I'd be at a disadvantage vs the status quo. But to be clear, I'm not trying to compete against some MFPE Associates for a role at XYZ Fund. If XYZ Fund hires undergrads for bottom-rung roles, that's what I'd be competing for, against undergrads going full-time.
I don't understand why people are losing it at the thought that if DKCM hires 3 Investment Analysts a year that come from a target + top junior summer internship, then someone with the same profile but an extra 2 years of building a $100M startup is ruled out.
That’s really all I was trying to get across in my other comments. What I was hoping to get out of this thread were stories / anecdotes about people who left the industry early and came back in interesting roles and maybe google those folks myself, reach out, etc.
Point 3) For sure, unfortunately not interested in vc. I think it's either a short game (1-2 years to build your network -> raise for your own startup) or a super long game (10-20 years to see your investments play out). Lateralling out in the middle / burning out is a career killer.
Points 4 and 5) Can't really talk about this irl, it would be extremely bad optics if my investors found out I was job-hunting.
Re humblebragging, whether or not you see my background as relevant, it’s the only thing I can point to for my question to even make sense. There’s no perfect way to frame it without rubbing someone the wrong way.
Alternatively, I could have written long and sycophantic prose (that no one will read), or I can title the post something attention grabbing like "HF After $100M Startup?", state my background and what I’m aiming for.
Buddy I don’t know why you’re so fixated on the undergrad to FT pipeline at DKCM or SPC. There is a reason schools hire from undergrad. You will have 2-4 of FT YOE by the time you are being considered for a job there. You are not going to be considered for the undergrad to FT pipeline unless you go back to school… your pipeline will be that of a lateral unless you have strong relationships pull for you. I don’t know if you’re so oblivious to that fact or just choose to ignore it…
You had a great and relevant background for those spots 2-4 years ago. You now have a great but irrelevant background… so why is it ao hard to accept the fact that you’re going to have to take it down a notch and maybe work at a T2/T3 fund and work your way up (which I think is still far fetched on the special sits/distressed side given PMs increasingly want someone who can plug and play) or go back to school and get back in the recruiting pipeline. Your head seems a bit too far up your ass and out of touch with recruiting standards at these “top” funds… I’m just surprised you’re fixated on it as someone claiming to have worked at one of these places
Edit - I don’t mean to be rude with the comment but I just think you need to come to terms with reality and maybe reconsider some of your goals so you’re not spinning the wheels and waste time. Great if you can land a seat at one of those funds but odds are stacked against you. Given your confidence, why not just reach out and try? Whats the worst that can happen? They say no and thats it
Head so far up your own ass and still unwilling to take no for an answer. As I said before, if you think you’re so qualified, just fucking go reach out and apply? You can come back crying for more advice when nobody responds to you as all of us are predicting here. You are not in a position to gun for only the top funds that appear in WSJ or have dedicated Wikipedia pages. What the fuck is the point of coming here to ask for advice and then ignoring said advice? Waste of time bro.
Now you go get ‘em, tiger
Asking for a friend which valuation firm marked OP's startup at $100mm valuation...
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