TMT / Tech interview guides?
Currently a Sophomore at semi-target interested in TMT Banking (Qatalyst, LionTree, GS/MS/JPM TMT). Would love to hear about industry-specific recruiting tips or interview study guides. Thank you in advance.
Currently a Sophomore at semi-target interested in TMT Banking (Qatalyst, LionTree, GS/MS/JPM TMT). Would love to hear about industry-specific recruiting tips or interview study guides. Thank you in advance.
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https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/tech-ib-interview-preparation
Check this "old" thread
Matthewball.vc has some info on media that would be more helpful for firms like LionTree
It’s not really that specialized. I think people seem to think IB interviews will be super industry specific and they aren’t anywhere unless you are an experienced professional. Pretty rare you would really get tech specific questions for an entry level position versus interest questions on why tech and general banking questions that are more geared toward the types of companies a tech focused bank would look at. As an example, I used to ask, “Could a company have a negative ebitda? Why?”
From there, I’d get into a discussion about the income statement and you basically can derive the rule of 40 (add growth and ebitda margin) to understand that many tech companies have negative ebitda’s because they are spending a ton on sales & marketing and there is often a pretty direct trade off between growth and profitability (ebitda margin) hence why the rule of 40 makes sense.
Specific buzzwords/ concepts for tech (really the below is all you’d need):
rule of 40, SaaS, retention (net retention, gross retention, logo retention) ARR, MRR, recurring revenue, broadly you would see way more revenue multiples, cohort analyses.
I think undergrads seem to think these companies get valued off like subscriber multiples or some other unique crazy industry specific methodology and that’s not the case—most of tech banking is just subscription businesses with highly recurring revenue growing like a weed that people are willing to pay absurd multiples for.
This is absolutely not true for Q, Liontree, Allen, ftp. If you go into these interviews without knowing the factors that influence and dictate SDEs, MRR/ARR Ratios, and CAC to a high extent I guarantee you will fail. I have personally asked analyst candidates to walk me through valuing different industry startup firms and expected multiples values in diversified revenue buckets (>2M, 2M-5M, <5M+).
What you said is true in regard to BBs since these questions don't matter and group placement is focused as you said on industry interest and fit. Placement is usually after you get into the firm. Top industry boutiques (Healthcare, O&G, Tech, Restructuring) will ask you difficult industry specific questions because that's how they differentiate you in highly selective spots.
For summer analyst/ internship roles you are out of your mind having interviewed candidates for one of them you listed. Lateral it’s very different which wasn’t the question. Be honest: Are you an analyst at liontree trying to overemphasize how hard your interview process was?
Also, as an aside, what sort of looney investment bank would ever touch a company with sub $5m in revenue? Those ranges are absurd considering the size of companies most I-banks would touch. Also, that’s not really a tech specific question as much as a business thinking question.
^ This.
When I was recruiting (albeit out of business school), I had superdays at the majority of the places OP mentioned plus some (SF offices). This basically covers all the "industry-specific" knowledge required to ace the technical interview. But IMO, rather than preparing for curveball questions, you're much better off polishing both your behavorials and standard technicals, understanding tech trends and recent news, preparing recent deals to talk about and understanding the economics (including multiples and what drives them), and all the usual stuff you would do for any other IB interview and coverage group.
In 99% of all cases, the technicals are what keeps you out, not what gets you in. If your interviewer is a dick about it, keep your composure and walk them through your thinking process. To piggyback off of "Associate 2 in IB-M&A's" (IMO, ridiculous) example of multiples for different revenue buckets, you can walk them through your reasoning which multiples you expect to be directionally higher and why. That goes back to my point about polishing your technicals and other standard prep; IMO, the return is much higher than stressing about the off-chance of getting curveball questions.
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