Hi all. I’m currently in my second year at a top EB and cannot wait to leave.
However, I have a couple startup ideas that I’d like to personally explore. My question becomes, if I leave are my chances of getting into PE 2-3 years down the line gone? If my startup fails, I want to have a backup, curious to hear your thoughts.
Note that I would have 2 years of IB experience once I leave.
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You can always make time for physical education.
Take this with a grain of salt since I’m not a PE partner, just have spoken to a lot of PE professionals. Nothing is ever impossible, but you won’t be a target candidate anymore for the vast majority of traditional MM/UMM buyout shops. But who fucking cares? Every choice we make closes some doors but opens others. There will still be SOME shops that value your experiences as a founder. That’s not even considering the Bull case scenario where your startup is very successful and suddenly many PE shops are interested in you as an operating partner. I say go chase your dreams with everything you have and don’t worry what PE firms think or what doors are closed. If you decide in 3 years that God put you in this earth to buy out $15M industrial piping companies, you will find your way home.
Everyone's calculus for whether and when to make the leap into entrepreneurship is personal and different. OP may get married and start a family in 2 years, meaning his risk aversion may go up (or at least should). Maybe he's being tapped for a senior associate/VP promotion in 2 years and he's left wrestling with pursuing an idea he's always thought he would pursue vs. cashing fat checks and accruing carry in a career track chair. When to pursue an idea has less to do with time sensitivity relating to the idea itself and more to do with where people will be in life if they pursue path A over B.
I do agree, though, that if OP does not have a vision to revenue or some sense of market-fit with even 15% confidence, they should keep solidifying the foundation of their idea while balancing their career before jumping in truly blind.