Hey all. I've got a friend (and in this case, its an actual friend, not me) thats going to be at a top BB (GS/ms/JPM) starting this summer (again, really, not me lol il be at a top MM not BB).
He's been ranting on the past few weeks about what he wants to do after banking and its really seems like he is interested in going into companies with a sweaty equity position (so he would come into a struggling company and take on a strategic/co-COO role for a percentage of the company) and help turn them around for an extended period of time, sell the company and move on. Basically doing a similar PE model but without the LBO since there is no change in ownership. He's clearly much more interested in the operational side of things that deal structure etc.
He's saying that although finance and modeling could help him with this (he'll be in consumer/retail group at gs/ms/jpm), that the best experience for turn arounds or capitalizing on a business potential/opportunity is just by doing it. not by advising companies on being sold, bought, raising equity/debt or merging.
My counter argument was pretty cliche: you'll learn a lot about different business models & how to make financial models, learn about how companies grow & how they use financing to grow, how to analyze financial statements that could lead to key business strategic decisions, learn general business knowledge from different parts of the value chains etc. etc.
The kid is not sold on my argument and really thinks he fucked up and should have done consulting if ANYTHING, and then started doing these turn-arounds.
Other than building credibility (which is HUGE in my opinon, il stress that to him more) when coming into a struggling company and saying you can help turn them around, what useful reasons do you think i can pass along to him to literally convince him not to terminate his contract with gs/ms/jpm? (ya, hes actually made jokes about dropping out before training even starts)
Btw, i love this california weather. its like summer already :D
I've been through this thought crisis before.
Tell him that consulting is filled with just as much bullshit as banking (as far as adding actual value to a company goes, not just the work itself), that going into a summer internship with one foot in the door and the other out is a recipe for unhappiness, and more importantly that nobody is going to let him come into the C-suite after an analyst stint in banking or consulting and "turn around" a company. There are lots of smart people out there in the business world and for on reason or another, companies still fail all the time: he is most likely not god's gift to corporate strategy.
Most importantly, tell him that you can't plan ahead for everything no matter how convinced you are that you know exactly what you're going to want years down the line. Keep as many options as you can open, and things will fall into place as time progresses if you're diligent.
Listen, IBanking is by far the best "launchpad". But MBB consulting would have given him a greater multi-dimensional view of businesses and industries.
Why not restructuring?
I'd tell your friend to quit banking after training ends so that he can pursue his interests. Life's too short to spend years of it being miserable. He won't enjoy his banking experience if he feels this way already, and since he isn't passionate about banking, it's unlikely that he'll perform well as an analyst. So why waste the 2 years, assuming he makes it that long? Banking's not for everyone and you should be glad that he's figured himself out.
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