Tiger Grandcub Startup HF out of College - Need Advice

Take it and don't look back. Get an analyst job at a bank if it doesn't work out.

If you’re smart and think you can hit the ground running take the offer 

Otherwise don’t 

del

Go HF. No point of doing a banking program if your true interest is equities

i will play devils advocate here - the HF seems like a great opportunity. 

that said you will make a ton of friends/lifelong connections at an EB training program. lot of them will be very smart, successful, and do different things beyond investing (operating, startup, pivot to grad school) and having that network both professional and socially pays dividends over the next 10+ years

if its a top EB you may get better looks too (top tiger cubs/SMs, top pods etc) afterwards

~$800m-1.2b for a start up fund is no joke of a size. How many investment professionals? Do you have any context as to progression? How many other juniors are currently there?

this ning's fund?

some pros and cons from someone who faced a similar choice 5 years ago (not IB but LO RA offer) and decided to join the startup (fwiw mine was much smaller than yours). Bottom line is, if you want to do investing, go to the HF (800mm-1.2bn is exiting the startup territory), but be aware of the risks and properly diligence the PM prior to making the decision.

pros

• great exposure to investing:
  • learned a lot right from day 1 and by the end of year 5 I knew a lot because I got involved in complex investments (did credit and special sits). I got names in the book year 1 onwards... was essentially functioning as a senior analyst with carve year 3 onwards.
  • Some of my positions were the largest in the fund, had a couple hundred mm allocated to me (could be more for you depending on IP at your fund because your fund is larger).
  • By year 5 I had been through the gauntlet.. from pitching names and getting grilled on names to the PM, feeling ecstatic over picking winners (some that made the year), anxiousness over earnings / key events, and losing sleep over managing names blowing up while my PM hounded me. Getting this experience so early on in your career is priceless if you really want to do public markets investing.
• comp: in certain years with good performance I made a lot more than my peers in IB / PE
• good network on the buyside: built a good relationship with sales / desk analysts / legal and financial advisors

cons

• no structured training: beginning of year 1 felt like a fire drill every day because my PM and senior analyst simply had no time to sit down and teach me stuff. Learned everything by myself and picked up some bad habits along the way
• exit ops:
  • lack of brand name + perceived quality of training vs IB/PE peers will result in a slight uphill battle when you decide to leave. That said, my PM was legit (had a pedigreed background) and so was my experience.. so when I did receive interviews, I always stood out. You might have to strongly convince HHs to send you their best opportunities.. which isn't hard to do.
  • Receiving interviews at the start wasn't as easy as I wished it would be, but once I smartly highlighted my experience on my resume, I started getting interviews at top funds and ultimately an offer at one of them
  • Biggest hurdles in recruiting for me were 1) interviewers concerned I was "stepping back" into a "junior" role and would be bored and leave asap despite similar YOE as IB/PE peers considered for said roles (as I was basically a senior analyst with carve at the time of leaving), 2) perceived lack of quality training vs IB/PE peers. For my new role, I'm stepping back into a relatively junior role but that's a personal choice in exchange of an excellent brand name (which I think will pay dividends down the line).. you might not have to do that
• volatile comp: comp in good years was way more than IB/PE peers but in bad years was almost a donut / much lower than peers.. if you value stability in comp, IB/PE is better
• no analyst class: I had a network on the buyside, but no analyst class to rely on / no group of junior analysts that'll build their careers with me that I can rely on in the future

Do it

There is no reward without risk

Can you provide some elaboration on what you did to get into this position? Obviously, there’s a degree of luck involved, but any tips from your target would be great (side question - are we talking WHYP or more semi-target?). Specifically, things you did to stand out and secure the offer, and general advice. I think a lot of juniors are in envy of your position.

From,
A student interested in public markets.