Perfect Two-Year Program for Family Business Trajectory
My long-term goal is to work for two years, then transition to help run my family business.
Right now, I’m trying to figure out what the most valuable two-year experience in high finance would be before making that move. I’m optimizing for two key factors:
- Competency – Building sharp, transferable skills for running a business. Actually be helpful.
- Prestige – Name-brand (I’ll be joining a large family business... dont wanna be COO—Child of Owner).
I'm currently considering two paths:
1. Direct PE Focused on My Family’s Industry
Gain exposure to businesses that mirror my family’s. I'd develop reps around operational value creation, scaling, and sector-specific growth. The experience would offer deep, relevant insights—but at the potential cost of broader recognition.
Even if I miraculously landed at an MF/UMM like WP/GA in my family’s space, the general public (especially internationally or outside of finance) may not recognize the name the same way they would a lower BB. I know that might sound like a sht post, but this perception matters outside finance circles.
I’d also likely target MM firms for their leaner teams, more hands-on operational exposure, and a clearer look into what scales and what doesn’t. Also, the realistically higher chance of landing. Learning to create value and work closely with portfolio companies is incredibly appealing—and practically useful.
2. Go into IB at a BB
Tried and tested. The skillset might skew more toward grunt work and less toward strategy than PE, but the brand name is unmatched. I'd gain rigorous training, a strong network, and instant credibility. Many CFOs/CEOs come out of IB, and it's a widely respected entry point.
Let’s be real—it’s two years of long hours, decks, and not much that directly translates into running a business. But someone who made a similar move from SF Tech to a family business said, "What actually transfers is the ability to work hard and learn fast."
How I’m Thinking About the Tradeoff:
- Best operating reps that translate? (think this is the highest value add from me to the fam) MM PE focused on my family’s sector.
- Best pure name brand? (again super important for me, see COO above + proving myself) BB IB.
Not a sht post. I know none of these paths are guaranteed. I’m just trying to think through what the ideal two-year run would look like in a perfect world. Also beyond what I've typed out (a job i havent considered ex consulting or fam industry specifc job).
Would love to hear thoughts from those who left finance to eventually join a family business.
Thanks in advance. My first post. Things vague for anonymity. Also had chatgtp write a bit. long-term MBA M7 in mind. also if other things to consider lmk. open to all advice.
After you do your two years, what will you be doing at your family's firm?
> General Manager, Head of Division, regular analyst?
Where do you want to end up in 10-15 years COO, CEO, CFO etc.
If you can give some more context it would help, because right now its not clear
Thanks for replying
To be honest im not entirely sure. I’d think buiz dev associate but it could range to higher on the spectrum
In 10 years id like to be a executive (any position) or board member.
Following
Would prioritize learning skills over name brand since you have the nepotism on your side. Who cares what others think about how you got the role, learn as much as possible so you can scale the actual business.
Faced the same dilemma - Went for a Lower BB over MM PE (both Analyst positions in London) as brand recognition is what matters most in my opinion
Will go against the grain and provide maybe controversial advice—a MM investment bank in your family’s industry is probably the best. I also would note the mental and workplace training aspects are more important than the actual work experience you get. Very important to your development is proving yourself without daddy’s help and furthermore, the first job people have is more about learning to operate in a corporate environment than becoming a subject matter expert.
First off, I’d avoid PE because unless you are getting a major player on the space, you likely will end up with clowns and a lack of execution experience/understanding of transactions. Most of PE is passing on deals, so you could end up with an experience where you just pass on everything for a year.
For IB, BB banks will be doing very large deals like IPOs which likely have less relevance to your family business unless you plan on taking your family business through an IPO. Likewise, if not an IPO the transactions might be billion dollar deals and the players in the space and transaction dynamics are often slower and very different than like a 300m deal.
As a result, I think a reputable MM will likely give you the best understanding. You will see more M&A deals, be given more responsibility, and likely be closer to what your family business does.
All that said, it really doesn’t matter. I understand that sounds unlikely, but truthfully as mentioned, the first year in IB is just learning the basics of excel and finance and ppt, and the second year you are just getting the basics of M&A. The real takeaway people get from banking is confidence they can play with the big dogs and a basic high finance skill set
Do you think a two year stint would be enough experience to move back to the family business ie, been through late nights, executed on a few processes etc.
Yes and no from experience.
Yes—you will have some level of confidence and competence working in a professional environment, so it doesn’t look and won’t feel like you are a charity hire.
No—you are a junior analyst still and cannot be taken seriously as a managing member of whatever enterprise you are going to. Likewise, doing banking for 2 years doesn’t make you an expert at M&A, it just means you worked hard for 2 years and had other people agree you are a sharp analyst.
In the scheme of things, I think the more complex question is why you so desperately wish to work for your family’s business as soon as possible vs establishing yourself professionally more and building a network that you can later apply to your family’s business.
Thanks for the response. Personally it’s been a tough two years for me as I’m sure it is for many analysts on the street and just want to take it easy going forward. Spoke to the family and they said they’d love to have me join as an analyst / someone in the finance team. Father’s business is stable 5-10MM EBITDA, fully owned by him with no debt / outside equity. No siblings so no issue with the ownership transfer process. Doesn’t really have a finance team outside the accountant so could do a FP&A type role or business development role for him.
Could be a great reset truthfully. I know many who did that after a stint and it can workout great because you get some overlap where you learn the business from your family before they are too old.
The thing I would warn you on/ caution is a few things:
sorry for formatting, mobile is messed up. My general advice is assume you will do a 2 year stint to get your life together at the family business and be concrete about what you want to work on and what you wish to gain at the end of the 2 years. Then, you can always choose to stay, but based on watching others and seeing the situation play out, often the father/mother has a very hard time releasing control and wants to do things their way even as they age out of being able to really effectively lead a business. This then creates a difficult dynamic and an added complexity is being on a relatives payroll—now not only are they a relative, but they have financial and professional power over you which can get dicey fast.
I took a somewhat different path. My family runs a large company. My grandfather wanted me to be the heir apparent, and it ruffled a lot of feathers amongst a couple of uncles who said their kids dedicated themselves to the family biz while I went and did my own thing in finance.
My grandfather and his brother’s perspective was that I was the only person who proved I can go do it on my own. Most of this came to me through my dad years later. I had no idea at the time, but I guess he pushed my dad pretty hard to have me come back home.
On the flip side they would’t have paid me close to what I was worth, and I didn’t want to deal with my particularly jealous uncle who quite frankly is useless and entitled in my dad’s opinion. I decided to forge my own path. Now I’m dealing with generational transition issues as my grandfather, his brother and my father have all passed away an informed outsider, which is also a pain in the ass. The useless uncle is now sort of in charge by default, and he is in so far over his head because, despite “working there” for 50 years has no idea what to do. My dad said the uncle (his brother) never worked an honest day in his life. It’s still sort of become my problem. They have 1200 employees.
Hey man, can I DM you? On a similar path as you albeit much earlier stage (analyst in IB at the moment) but thinking about next steps (staying in finance vs going home) and would love to hear more about your story
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