The Wall Street Journal wrote an in-depth profile on FT Partners and their CEO Steve McLaughlin. I really had hoped that the Journal would mention the infamous FT Partners Coin with Steve's face on it that the junior bankers received for their hard work during the pandemic.
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Do y'all think FT Partners has the potential to have the same level of prestige as some industry-specific EB, such as LionTree/Raine in Media, Qatalyst in Tech, & SVB Leerink/Guggenheim in both Healthcare and Tech
They have a bad rep here because their WLB/culture sucks but they do pay very well and are on solid mandates in their space. They also don’t pitch much.
Except they don’t pay well, only person that actually gets paid well there is Steve and the whole firm knows it
No. No prospect with any other option would take FTP. The culture is bad, the exit opps are limited, and fintech is very niche.
There's a lot of reasons why people don't like him but there's no doubt that Steve is a grinder. Love his unique fee structures and his willingness to stick to his ideas.
What is his unique fee structure?
Bump
Lots of bad things you can say about FTP but in their space they are killing it and Steve is a hustler.
Just wish they had some better hours / culture and I would consider FTP.
Fact he grew his firm that much and seems to have retained 100% equity - absolute baller.
I bet Richard.3 is very happy
There is a lot of unnecessary hand-wringing here about bankers being douchebags and pricks. In my experience, people are way, way more chill than WSO would have you believe provided that you don't waste their time or act like an idiot yourself. That said, everyone I have interacted with from FTP has been absolutely awful.
I don’t see how his fee structure is sustainable moving forward. Yeah he seems like the number 1 guy in niche space, but now that fintech is all the rage and firmly mainstream, why hire him for 9% transaction value when I can hire MS or GS FIG or whatever for normal fee.
Also the economics of the firm are shaky for long term stability. How do you attract and retain other rainmakers when you’re so openly keeping the whole pie for yourself?
Also apparently the culture is trash and it is about the sweatiest of any sweatshops out there.
Those things combined with mostly early stage fundraising mandates (not a good skillset for exits), will continue to be impediments to becoming a truly desirable place for junior talent.
All of the above obviously takes nothing away from the insane success he has had, massive personal wealth, and industry reputation. Those numbers are pretty staggering so good for him. I wouldn’t want it work there though haha.
Edit: Also the name FT Partners lmao, there aren’t any partners.
Looking at the valuations they get I feel like the fees could be somewhat sustainable.
That being said, yes seems to be a sweatshop, but I see a lot of potential there. After all, it is not a sweatshop where you work on some stupid pitch. Perfect place to get some deal experience and go somewhere else.
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