The most common ambitious freshman dillema (Prestige vs Entrepreneurship)
Hello all,
Im a freshman at a non target (has only put less that 100 people in MBB/IB) that one day wants to break into MBB/IB. Im sure youve heard this 1000 times.
As an ambitious person, I hang around people like me in that aspect, and one thing Ive started noticing quite recently is the amount of friends I have that are creating startups (especially integrating AI).
.
As a 19 year old trying to max out my net worth before 40, whats the better path to take? I feel extremely compelled to join their startups as Ive been invited, however, Im afraid I might be wasting precious time where I could learn technicals/modeling or even network.
.
If I do go down the startup path, it might yield great rewards, especially in terms of income, however it might not, and I might not get into MBB/IB because I wasted so much time on it
.
If I do go down the MBB/IB path, I might regret it, seeing some of my friends reach levels of success that will be very hard for me to reach at that age.
.
Any thoughts would be extremely helpful!
Thanks in advance!
I bet your summer grill cleaning company would be a better option than IB
There’s that CVP kid who got an MBB offer and supposedly turned it down to follow the path you’re considering. Maybe it’s worth looking into his blog (archived somewhere on here). That said, there’s always a chance he didn’t actually turn it down, and the offer might’ve been pulled and he’s lying. Anyways, he got the offer due to DEI. But realistically, focusing on IB or MBB is probably your safest bet.
Thats kinda been my reasoning. After 2 years of MBB/IB I can still pivot to the startup world, and the other way around would be harder for sure.
You asked about entrepreneurship on a finance forum. What the fuck do you think the answer is going to be? Yes chase the prestigious job as you will get a safe and predictable path and have all the optionality in the world plus the prestige. Clearly coming on this forum means you don’t have the confidence to be an entrepreneur. The choice has been made grind those technicals and cases and get those internships. GL!
Thanks for the advice!
lol delete this
Thanks for the advice! My friends honestly are really bright and hardworking people, even more than myself. Thats why I thought of joining their ventures
I honestly think social media is a better avenue than both of these options. Check out building your own personal brand on places like instagram and tiktok. It can be very lucrative. People like Andrew Tate are a great example of this. I wouldn’t bother recruiting if I were you and I would put all my time into day trading, creating courses for others to purchase, and participating in podcasts
this might be the most awful advice I have seen on this website. “ Don’t work for the man just do a podcast bro like accused child trafficker Andrew Tate”
Just went straight over your head didn’t it. I can tell why you’re a Midwest analyst and not a NY analyst now
You can do the start up afterwards. Unless you have something already successful, I’d seriously focus on a couple of years of brand name experience. Answer might be different if you already had the brand school and more safety net to fall upon, but it sounds like you don’t here.
Thanks for the advice! That has been my reasoning but sometimes I can’t help but feel like I’m in college right at a moment where there’s gonna be a shift like there was with the implementation of internet (in this case, AI). But I’m still focusing on trying to go to MBB/IB for now.
Had the same dilemma my first two years in college. Long story short, I was (and still am) very interested in entrepreneurship because I believe it is one of the most rewarding (both personally and financially) paths you can pursue. I built two businesses in college. One was a simple clothing business (not sure if this counts) and the other was much more sophisticated and had great market potential. Ended up shelving the second idea because of the risk. The way I see it, you would benefit much more by taking the first ~five years of your career working for a phenomenal firm, whether MBB or IB. You will gain exposure to a variety of businesses, better understand economics, have the opportunity to interact with seniors who have seen it all, etc. If you come up with a great idea, I think in almost all cases (unless we are talking about an Apple or Facebook level idea) it is always better to enter the industry, develop your skills, then try again once you have savings built up, a network built out, and options if it all fails. After all, Bezos worked at a hedge fund before starting Amazon. Most CEO's worked at McKinsey before rising the ranks. There has to be a reason for this. But, if you choose to say screw it and go down the entrepreneurship path, more power to you. You only live once after all.
Thank you a lot for the huge comment! Yeah in this case I’ve gotten invitations to join AI startups which really do seem promising and are run by extremely talented individuals. They might not have Facebook potential, but I believe they might turn into some of the biggest businesses related with AI in my country in 10-20 years, however, I think your reasoning makes sense and it’s the one I’m going to follow for now.
What skills do you have coming from your non target school, studying some subject that provides you with 0 real life business skills, to successfully run a business/start-up.
Zero. I am not saying you shouldn't do it, but the probability you make it first time is under 1%, you will probably need to try 2-4 different models of business till you hit it big. Heck, even Havard biz school kids struggle on their first venture in the world of business.
Doing a couple of years in MBB/IB will give you the training that you don't find in school.
Est adipisci sed eum quia. Et voluptas maiores alias ea laudantium harum. Non similique eligendi magni maxime ut. Quia et maxime quo sed magni. Praesentium quasi iste cupiditate natus repudiandae.
Recusandae et ut labore rem et quibusdam. Officia vero provident cupiditate. Aut et perferendis perspiciatis hic temporibus minus libero. Exercitationem qui unde beatae non animi et.
Placeat est facilis dolor quibusdam. Consequuntur ipsum consequatur pariatur fuga. Natus facilis magnam qui non. Voluptatum qui repellendus unde animi molestiae cumque.
Occaecati magni doloribus sint omnis autem totam. Voluptas id veniam qui qui itaque. Ducimus distinctio nihil dolorem repellat ab. Magnam dolorem impedit dolorum vero repellendus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...