Anyone know ANYTHING about Cascadia Capital?

Does anyone have thoughts on this firm? Smaller, regional shop (based in Seattle) so not a lot of discussion on this forum, but they seem solid: they do mostly advisory, have closed 2-3 M&A deals per month YTD, and have been growing headcount quickly according to linkedin. Anyone have any thoughts / experience with them?

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Thanks for the insight. I don't know a ton about banking, so could you elaborate on both of those points? I don't know what a shingle model is, and would be interested in the questionable hires.

A few of the MDs are subpar guys that were let go by larger, more reputable banks. The shingle model means that MD comp is even more heavily dependent on signing up and closing deals. The shared resources are less integrated and the firm operates with more of a franchise approach (see Capstone Headwaters) vs. an integrated unit.

They also tend to low ball fees based on our experience competing with them on pitches.

 
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Not sure what role you are considering for this firm you should talk to people who've left the firm to hear the pros/cons from their experience before you consider joining them.

Cons

  • They are exploitive as a firm; As an intern, you are expected to clock analyst hours. The reason they are exploitive is that they used the status that a person is an intern to underpay them even though they expected them to pull banking hours. Their intern pay was below the Seattle minimum wage. You legit would have made more money working at McDonald's than being an intern at Cascadia. This is different from the big banks where the interns are paid a pro-rata rate as if they were a full-time analysts. 
  • If you've decided to skip the internship and go full time, their pay is 25% below the street for the base salary and lower bonus as well. All of this while dealing with the same shit as an analyst and clocking just as many hours.
  • Culture is not a selling point for them compared to the other boutique banks in Seattle or on the west coast. You have to figure this out for yourself by networking around at the other firms in the area if you are set on living in Seattle. 
  • Can really only exit to a bank and not PE 

Pros

  • they have strong deal flow 
  • every team is different but there are some awesome people there. However, this is not on every team so you want to do your own due diligence on the teams before you commit. You are vetting them just as much as they are vetting you.
  • Can exit to another bank or corp fin
 

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