Moving to Strategy & Ops in London
Analyst here at an EB in London looking to move to Strategy & Ops a little later down the line in a start-up at the disruptor level
Think Revolut, Deliveroo (1 year ago pre-IPO), Peloton etc.
Chances of lateraling into a product team, will this be higher at certain start-up verticals etc?
Is this space dominated by ex-consultants or more like 50/50?
What sort of pay-cut am I looking at?
Is VC a common path after a few years in S&O post IBD/consulting?
Thanks a bunch!
You have an OKish chance coming from an EB, although peers in MBB consulting / top BB probably fair better. You need to remember you'll also be competing against engineering, tech and other entrepreneurial employees who will have more varied skills than you, and who are probably smarter than you. And if you think engineers aren't personable in London, I would disagree. Getting into product will be difficult, as your skills are not related at all. Unless you have an interest or degree in engineering / tech, and some solid operational experience that's either hands on or entrepreneurial, there is really no reason HR should select you. I would aim for finance roles first, and possibly at fintech companies only depending on your background, then lateral. Operational roles would be a stretch, as your experience in banking is not that transferable. Think of it this way, do you think you offer more skills / creativity / problem solving than a top engineering graduate with some strategy or tech experience? Your EB experience has really not prepared you for such a role, instead it offered routes into PE, Private Debt and other finance roles. It is definitely possible, but there is alot of work for you to complete. Good luck
Thanks, I do see your point though what skills/creativity/problem solving abilities would a top BB candidate have over a candidate from a top EB in London? Think Laz/Roths or for that matter a smaller EB like PWP etc.
By Finance roles and then lateral do you mean Corp Dev and then lateral to product internally in the start-up?
It would be incorrect then to think that at the disruptor level, product roles become more business orientated and less technical?
Top BBs have better brand recognition (in Europe/US) outside of banking than EBs, with the exception of Laz and potentially a couple others (PJT, Centerview). These product/operational guys won't really care if you have more m&a experience, but they would ultimately prefer a GS TMT candidate over a Rothschild Healthcare Analyst. You could lateral from corp dev, or just a strategy and finance related role. More importantly, if you really want to lateral to product you will need to understand the business and industry thoroughly, much more than your ibd experience taught you. Will need to gain an appreciation for the technical aspects of the business too and leading technical teams, many people fail to understand this on WSO. That's why an MBA / internal training may be necessary. You are coming in at the wrong angle if you think you can settle for a product role that requires only a business understanding; at the end of the day you will be leading technical teams. If you cannot communicate and manage effectively you will be a poor fit for the role.
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Lol engineers aren’t going into s&o wtf are you smoking?
Anyone have any idea of the comp for product managers at startups?
There's a guy on here called princeman (or something similar?) that knows alot in this area. I don't know how to @ him on here but he's answered this question to me recently.
princepieman
Varies a huge amount.
Depends on whether the startup is amply funded or not (+ whether they're more or less conservative with comp). Amply funded / more generous startups tend to have similar-ish (in the same vicinity) base salaries as the major tech names. Less amply-funded / earlier stage or more conservative startups are on the lower end (non-tech companies are usually on the mid-lower end of the range too).
Can only comment on ranges I personally know about (inclusive of both major cos and startups).
The (wide) ranges I've seen are something like:
FWIW I'm currently on the lower end of the APM range but have interviews for the same role in LDN but with £45-55k base + other comp on top (only 6mo of exp in). Also in the running for a Bay Area position which is in another universe altogether comp wise compared to London.
Equity varies wildly as well (top paying major public tech cos vs top paying pre-IPO unicorns vs lower paying public tech cos vs startups w/ generous equty vs startups with less generous equity vs no equity whatsoever). Pub tech co / pre-IPO unicorn equity should be thought about on a year to year vesting basis (you get a large grant that vests over several years + refersher grants to maintain that vesting rhythm year-to-year; flexing up or down with perf reviews and larger yearly vesting amounts upon promotion). Whereas startup equty should be thought about as a lottery ticket that could get very meaningful or could be worth 0 (in which case all you earned was your base).Truly can't comment on what's typcal in equity at startups but have a little insight into the picture at the major tech companies if you're curious.
Not super useful because of just how varied the space is wrt comp but hope that helps.
That's extremely useful - thanks so much for the response. Any data points you have on the equity comp, even just for the major tech cos would be great to know if you have them :)
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