Non-fake small boutiques that will take a sophomore intern?

Ended up putting the cart before the horse and signed a 2026 SA offer I'm very happy with before having anything for 2025. I genuinely want to be a lifer in M&A and want to get my feet wet sooner than that. I'm thinking there surely has to be a small boutique doing ~$10mm-$50mm deals that would take me for the summer right? I'd expect to be paid but nothing more than minimum wage since there's 0 upside for the firm taking me on.

Anybody know any names in NYC that would do this? Any suggestions for best practices while going about this? If you work at a firm like this, please PM, I'd be happy to give you 10 weeks of solid grinding and would be grateful with minimal pay.

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Gonna be difficult unless you have a personal connection, even with no pay, an intern can't really add much to the team until they're trained, which usually kicks in halfway throughout the summer. Too much time investment for no reward (in their eyes), unless they know you personally and see you as someone worth investing in.

Honestly I'd recommend going to a start up. If you have your offer and happy with the idea of working there full time I'd really recommend expanding your horizons.

I came into my SA stint with no finance experience (1 audit internship), so I felt really behind the guys with several top firms under their belt, but I grinded and by the time I got to my performance eval I was ahead of them.

Find a space ur interested in and search for series a,b,c funded startups, you'll be able to work directly with the cfo/coo/directors/etc, learn about the other side of VC, and have a potentially lucrative exit if you learn later down that M&A isn't you're true passion.

Congrats on the offer! Take a day or two to celebrate before hopping back on the saddle

 

BillGatesIPhone

Gonna be difficult unless you have a personal connection, even with no pay, an intern can't really add much to the team until they're trained, which usually kicks in halfway throughout the summer. Too much time investment for no reward (in their eyes), unless they know you personally and see you as someone worth investing in.

Honestly I'd recommend going to a start up. If you have your offer and happy with the idea of working there full time I'd really recommend expanding your horizons.

I came into my SA stint with no finance experience (1 audit internship), so I felt really behind the guys with several top firms under their belt, but I grinded and by the time I got to my performance eval I was ahead of them.

Find a space ur interested in and search for series a,b,c funded startups, you'll be able to work directly with the cfo/coo/directors/etc, learn about the other side of VC, and have a potentially lucrative exit if you learn later down that M&A isn't you're true passion.

Congrats on the offer! Take a day or two to celebrate before hopping back on the saddle

Seems like I can’t reply directly. No idea why, some shadow ban maybe? Interns are largely a screening program to find talent. They add negative value as you spend time training someone who may not matriculate. This is especially the case for you as you already have your next thing lined up. I wouldn’t sweat it too much. Do what you can to prepare for next year. 

 

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