Tech MFPE vs Venture - At a Crossroads
Currently a second year analyst at a tech-focused MF / MF tech group (one of SL / KKR TMT / WP / Vista). Have the opportunity to join a pretty well regarded venture fund - one of Addition / Thrive, or stay at my current place as associate.
Not sure which way to go. I don't necessarily dislike PE but find the work pretty boring. I also don't have a burning desire to join venture either but the people I spoke to at the fund were all very sharp and spoke highly of the place. Was also considering recruiting for publics, but I just don't feel ready to take that risk unless it's at one of the 10-15 quality SMs or big multistrats (Farallon, DK, etc), and would like to keep this door open in the future if possible.
I'm guess I'm just pretty unsure of what to do next. I'm primarily solving for future comp upside, longevity, and intellectual stimulation, and don't care too much about WLB / politics. I know I'm fortunate to be in this position so any advice on would be appreciated.
join VC, esp if its Thrive tier, I know ppl who used to work at SL and WP who (were desperate) landed some insane VC jobs and coudn't be happier. Definitely ditch Vista, I would only stay for KKR TMT if I can get promoted to Principal.
Thanks for the comment, the fund is one of WP/SL for context. Do you know why they are happier? Is it just because of the WLB difference or do they genuinely enjoy the job more? Any specifics would be appreciated!
lol i can guess which one you work at
Why ditch Vista? Incoming 1st year BB IB analyst looking to recruit for tech MF (TB SL Vista WP FP etc)
These venture roles can be few and far between. Don’t see any real risk of giving it a shot tbh. Is there a path to promotion at your shop? At the venture shop? Would think more about where your skillsets lie and where you think you would want to be for the next ~5 years
There is mid-level promotion visibility at my current fund, but the path to senior level looks impossible. The people at the VC fund emphasized how flat the team is - which I'm assuming means that there is significant growth potential. Thinking of taking the leap and trying to stay on long-term but unsure how difficult it is to pivot out of venture if I end up disliking it.
Guessing based on these comments and knowing SLP to Addition pipeline is solid that that is the path you are considering. Would take it if so. Fixel is a killer and ive spoken to team there and they are sharp. If Thrive, still unreal fund just getting larger and Kushner, Kareem, Miles are young so be realistic about promo chances
Stay on and build a longer term track record / momentum at a single place to derisk your career
Going from KKR or Warburg or Silver Lake to Thrive or Addition would give you the best possible resume for tech investing and probably just finance in general, I can’t think of a better start out of undergrad. This is a no brainer lol.
Going to that caliber of VC basically allows you to do whatever next, except for the public markets.
These guys r super small teams - wouldn’t be surprised if they hire like a persons every 1-2 years. R u not scared of doxxing urself or smone seeing this?
Exactly what I was thinking lol. I also am an analyst at one of the PE groups/shops OP listed above, and I (nor any of my friends who work in MF PE) would ever make a post like this. If OP actually works at one of those places, there's no way they don't know at least ten people across VC, PE, and HFs who can give them better/more targeted advice than anything here (plus way less risk of getting doxxed).
This whole post seems like someone trying to roleplay lol.
agreed 100%
It’s really not that deep. It’s not like OP said anything noteworthy or bad.
As someone that came through one of these analyst programs and left, seniors know that a small % of the class will ultimately stay, if even given the option. Sure, someone could find out who OP is, so what? They’re getting contacted by the same HHs like everyone else at KKR, SLP, WP, etc.
Addition / Thrive no brainer unless you truly want a shot at public markets later on.
How would you select between the two?
Thrive easily, unless A offers significantly better economics
Which one would you pick between Addition and Thrive? How do they compare in terms of comp / career progression? Thrive has been raising larger funds so perhaps more earnings potential vs a place like Addition which raises smaller funds?
Thrive, especially with Trump being in office.
Not sure it makes sense to select your firm based on a 4-year presidency. I would care more about long term comp progression and how much economics you can get at the firm
Venture is better positioned for the future given its power law dynamics of investing. PE shouldn't even be a consideration. Both, however, are pretty much cooked going forward due to rising rates, lower growth, multiple compression, geopolitical volatility, etc. It was a great thirty years for alternatives but now it's going to be a real problem for a large swathe of finance.
Same dude commenting about how PE is screwed on every single forum on here. chill out bro and go enjoy whatever new non-finance job you have
First off, you’re in a great spot -- but I think the real question here is: What do you actually want to get good at over the next few years?
These chuckleheads are projecting the decision they want to take if they were in your shoes. Unfortunately for them they're not.
Your decision should center less around the brand names and more around the skill sets you want to build since you're relatively early in your career.
Late-stage VC (Addition / Thrive) -- The core skills are around networking, access, and sourcing. Success is about being in the right rooms, knowing the right people, and having judgment on which companies are worth backing. There’s less heavy modeling or execution as you move up, though at the beginning you're mainly going to be doing execution and diligence.
PE Associate Track (stay at MF) -- The skill set here is around deal execution and running processes. You'll get rigorous about underwriting, structuring, diligence, and negotiation as you move up until you're bringing in deals yourself. It’s a lot of process management and risk mitigation. If you want a toolkit for running large deals or pivoting into operational roles later, this path builds that muscle.
Public Markets (eventually) -- Public investing demands signal distillation above all else. You need to undersatnd the difference between a good company and a good stock which means cutting through noise, forming differentiated views, and sizing bets based on probabilities and expected value. It’s deep research and mental flexibility, not transaction volume or deal process. Very different work style and pacing from the former two. If you're not sure you want to be in markets now you're probably too risk averse for it.
I know you said you’re optimizing for future comp, longevity, and intellectual stimulation, so I’d push you to think about:
At the end of the day, rising up in each of these fields requires you to make a lifestyle choice since each of these is a lifestyle at the highest level.
The best VCs I know hang out with founders and other VCs for fun talking about deals and companies. The successful PMs I used to work all spend much of their free time reading about companies and markets. I don't really know what PE people do tbh, they seem to always be working on a deal -- but you get my point.
My $0.02 -- gtfo out of PE and join Thrive but that's just because everyone I've met there is super sharp. Addition is great and I have tremendous respect for Lee but Thrive is on a different level in the late stage game.
I went from tech PE to top VC (one of the top X firms, pretty much any number can be X) and life is chill as fuck man I get to socialize all day, I use a mac, I use the word vibes in IC, I don’t have anyone bothering me all day, for regular (not big $ banner deals but garden variety deals) I can write checks myself. Cash comp is good, I have time to go to tons of weddings and ski trips. I highly highly recommend top VC it is such a sweet gig. All this said I do work all the time but that’s because I love it and I am a type A sicko. When I say all the time I mean it’s flexible. Nobody is telling me what to do or when. I have to show up to like IC and stuff but otherwise I decide how to spend 100% of my time. Paradise.
Thanks a lot for the input, sounds like a great lifestyle. Do you think comp is in line with MF PE across mid as well as partner levels (incl. carry). I get the feeling that VC tends to pay a tad lower especially when you account for carry but maybe it’s in line for top places like Addition/Thrive
I don’t think about it. It’s good enough and life is great. Never have to think about it and I get to travel and live in a nice big apt so all good
Hard to give a blanket answer. Some VC gigs, especially the late-stage/growth ones, will pay in line and even higher than some MF PE firms (also, this is not even talking about the crossover privates teams, which will pay very, very substantially higher than MF PE). Some won't (usually the older middling multi-stage guys). I will say, though, the promotion schedule is way faster in VC than it is in PE, so even if you're making less as an associate than in MF PE, you're going to get promoted earlier and make the same, if not more. Anecdotally, I know two people who both started as analysts at the MF I'm at, like a handful of years ago, and one person left to VC and is already a partner at a top 0.1% shop (and this isn't like a title inflation situation, they're actually a partner), while the other guy stayed on and just made VP. The former makes more in base and is expecting way more in carry...
Don't focus on comp at this stage of your career. All of these careers have exponential comp growth if you're good and rise up. Think about what you like, and what you'll be good at. MF PE will pay better at comparable levels, but if you hit a glass ceiling early does it really matter? If you are great at VC and stick with it, you can make a LOT of money. The best in the business are billionaires.
The nature of the roles are very different. On the buyout side, you can rise pretty far by just doing the work - being thorough with execution. Deals can be more or less handed to you and you just execute on them. Venture is about driving deals forward, including sourcing your own deals, selling them internally, winning on your own, and being a good board member. It's a much more autonomous role even at a junior level. At a venture firm, no one will tell you what to do. You probably won't even get any training. You'll be expected to instantly source great deals and win them on your own. No one cares how well you model or put together invesment memos. All that matters is 1) getting in front of great founders and 2) convincing them to take your money. Do you want to do that and feel passionate about doing that? It's entirely a sales job, where your "quota" is how much returns you have driven for your firm from your deals.
Venture lifestyle can be good, but to make a career you need to invest consistently in great deals. There's a lot of luck and randomness involved. Do you hear about the right deal at the right time? Do you happen to get along with the founder better than investor X and firm Y? It's much more individualistic. You eat what you kill. If that pumps you up, maybe you can be great at it. But it's all up to you.
How would you compare VC and LMM Buyout outside of US, consider the latter shares almost the same level of "eat what you kills" value with VC? Is it only about which type of transaction I enjoyed more? Many thanks!
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