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.
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.