Leaving IB to read books for a year and maybe join a start-up
Hello community,
This is probably the most serious post I am going to write since I have been here… So any thoughtful inputs would be helpful and appreciated.
TLDR; hate banking. Havent read all my life until recently and am starting to see the immense value, and of course this means actually thinking about and reflecting on what you read. Interested in entrepreneurship. No idea what i want to build, but something that is meaningful. Eventually want to start my own company later. I am willing to take all the risks, yes sleeping on the street, eating $1 meals everyday, and all the other painful things that I probably don't know about, but one thing I am certain about is that deep inside, although I have lived a risk-averse life, I actually want to take risks and enjoy living in ambiguity (my father lived this kind of life). Want to hear your thoughts.
Like many, I chased prestige, worked hard to recruit for this job and was fortunate enough to get an offer from top 3 BB (GS/JPM/MS). A few months into the job, even though I understand having a good attitude is the most important part of the job and having intellectual curiosity can help you make more out of this job and in a way make it more meaningful, but it's incredibly hard to not think about the reality every second that you are 90% of the time driving processes (writing emails, sending invited and blah blah blah). I compete by writing faster responses, sending timely calendar invites, taking good notes, list fucking goes on. Yes, there are of course other ways to add value, and I have been. I have to see and work with a few hardos everyday who love this job, don't know how. These people claim but don't know shit about how a business actually works and operates, ie. a market cap is not always truly indicative of how good a business is, but I have to work with finance-hardos who think so and can't see the greater picture. Clearly, I don't have a great attitude on the job. Here is the thing. I have been reading a lot (economics, history, finance, and etc), and a part of me tells me that these corporate jobs don't prepare you to truly think about the world. Sure you will learn all these valuable skillsets (valuation, modeling, etc), but I am thinking knowledge I can gain from reading can be far more valuable than any of this shit I do, and that if I read so much that I can at least see where the future is going to some extent, this can be far more valuable 5-10 years down the road when i eventually start my own company.
Thank you for reading.
i agree. most of the work done in IB doesn't really teach you how to run a company at all especially at analyst level. it's extremely high level and focuses around getting transactions done and collecting fees. however, i think itd be better to leverage 1 to 2 years of IB then go to a startup whats wrong w that?
Does this post just not deserve that much attention?
Do you have a safety net / what is that safety net? How is your financial situation if this doesn't work out? Could you join the family business (assuming your father was also an entrepreneur) if this doesn't work out?
The reality is none of that in isolation will "teach" you how to run a business. Every experience has value in itself and a good operator, or a good investor, or a good banker, learns to leverage any and all experience into the situation they are tackling today, "connecting the dots" so to speak. When you're thinking of cash cycles and working capital as part of your business, you can leverage your banking chops. When you're thinking of macro cycles and such, whatever economics book you read will help you wrap your head around it.
Easier said than done, but if you're truly motivated, I don't see why you can't stay in banking AND read. You continue to build "pedigree" with a top BB name and save up to actually invest in your business / build that nest egg. There is still a lot of relevant learning value in what we do, like fuck I learn SOOO MUCH just listening to my clients talk about their businesses, how they view the economy, strategies at play etc.
What I will say is that in the long term, banking will kill that risk taking part of you. Like take it out back and bury it in the woods. The $ adds up, lifestyle creep is real, as are the handcuffs. So hold on that entrepreneurship drive and stay focused.
I suspect a lot of senior bankers wish they had started a company when they were younger but then, as you stated, golden handcuffs and such and then the entrepreneurship spirit slowly fades away
Based
Why not just move into some 9-5 or a startup/early stage investing? Sounds like IB is not for you, which is fine.
IB is transaction focused, of course the market cap is important to them... they don't actually give a shit about the business because it's not their job to "see the greater picture". Just as you find that interesting, people who like IB are interested in transaction structuring, strategic combinations, etc... different strokes for different folks. Go find a lean startup where you can dig into the operational side more.
Reading is great, but if you think you can learn how to run a business and learn about the world just from reading then you will be pretty damn insufferable to most of your colleagues (or investors if you start your own company). Knowledge is great but it's naive to think reading will teach you everything or where the future is going.
What’s been your reading list?
Excellent question. Been reading zero to IPO, zero to one… just entrepreneurship related books. Planning to read more economics book after this, particularly interested in how different economic markets work, and what the forces at play are. Any good recs? Hbu what have you been reading?
From someone who basically had the entire year to read, I would also caution that you might get bored. After hitting 100+ books this year, suddenly one day I got sick of reading, went on a reading break for a few months, and just got back into it. Personally, if there's a topic you're interested in, I think it's only really worth it to read the top books on that topic. Afterwards, you'll find that a lot of the information repeats or could be summarized more succinctly.
Thank you for this input. I have heard many say this, and I agree, but it's not about the content that I would voracious to read about, more so the thinking that comes with it. Even if the content is repetitive, if you pick up the right books, I mean you must be learning about different unique perspectives and be able to think real deeply. Obviously I am not going to spend my time just reading, but I feel that I have missed out so much in understanding the world by not reading…
I think quitting with one year experience to read books for one year and then start your own company is a great idea.
Most first years I know are smarter than the finance “hardos” who don’t know how to run a company, just like you said.
Let us know how it turns out for you.
That may sound good in your head, but are you really going to go from not reading much in your life to isolating yourself and reading for a year? I mean, all the power to you if you can pull it off, but it sounds like a recipe for laziness. Like it will last a couple of weeks and then you go back to old habits and just do nothing with your time. If you really want to pull something like this off, then do something extreme like hop on a plane and live and train in a Shaolin temple for a year or travel the world or something. If you think you're going to go home and read books for a year, then you probably will fall back into old habits after a few weeks. If you really insist, then rent a house in the woods and do a think week like Bill Gates. No phone, computer, or technology of any kind. If you can last a week, then keep going until you drive yourself crazy.
Also, it's easy to type stuff like you're willing to sleep on the streets and eat $1 meals every day, but the reality might not be what you picture in your head, either. I dare you to hop on a plane to some random city, mail your phone, wallet, and keys to someone you trust with no return address, and try to live on the streets for a month. I wasn't serious, don't do that. No disrespect, but you probably wouldn't last a week. Most people wouldn't last a week if they had a choice to go back home. Most people don't know about that stuff; it isn't glamorous, and you don't have to know about it to succeed in business or be risk-tolerant.
Honestly, you just sound bored with your life. You should probably travel to see the world, maybe get a hobby like MMA for some risk-filled action in your life, or join a startup or something if you really want to learn about business.
Sitting around learning all day is a trap, and one that I have fallen into. Let's say you wanted to get good at say basketball (this is roughly plagiarized from twitter), and you spent a year solely watching film, studying shooting mechanics, and playing 2K. After this year, do you think you would be able to step on the court for the first time ever and nail a three? The only way you can really, deeply learn what you want is by doing it. This is also the only way you can retain what you learn.
For sure spend some time reading and thinking about what kind of business you want to try, but don't wait too long. After a few months, pick something and go for it.
Just get Blinkist. It teaches you 50% of the knowledge of a book in like 3% of the time it takes to read it. That way you can keep your job.
Tired of reading picture books in IB?
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