Too ugly for IR

Prior to moving from IB into PE, I did take an interview at a really big shop for their IR department. Wasn't really my vibe as I wanted to be an investor but I thought I would check it out. I'm not great looking or anything, just a normal dude, but kind of short. Anyway, the MD in IR said I was "not masculine enough to sell". I was like wtf? Weirdest comment ever. I asked him to elaborate and he said he thinks LPs will give money more easily to men 6 ft and above that look good in a suit. Was probably the strangest interview I ever took.

19 Comments
 

I’m 5’7 and have done both IR and lp fundraising and am currently in sales. This is subjectively true but not really. Sounds like he didn’t like you or he’s looking for something else.

Now if were we’re talking about pure IR and entertainment not closing but retaining…change the convo from 6ft stud to big tits, flexible, and the ability to fake flirt before your soul gets crushed…beats the bottle service to real estate pipeline any day.

 

when there's isn't much difference between funds from investor's pov then clearly a fund will try to max whatever they can to attract more capital. There's some validity in what he says, between a polished 6ft man with great communication skills and a skinny fat 5.7ft guy with acne, probably investors will trust more the 6ft man.

incentives trumph ethics
 

This is kinda true but not to the extent that the MD has portrayed. For context, worked in Sales at a large AM and now doing IR at an upper market PE firm. I’ve noticed that the women are definitively above average and then men are also good looking - more so than IPs but not all Brad pitts. It’s also super dependant on who you cover in sales, eg; I feel you need that older, wiser, geezer look for those who cover pension funds. A young good looking guy/girl might actually be the opposite of what they’re looking for. Quite a few short guys in IR/sales too. Helps that more and more client meetings are on zoom lol.

 
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He could have just lied and say you weren’t a good cultural fit. But instead he told the truth, which will bring him troubles. You could accuse of him being discriminative. But he’s sacrificing his own reputation for your right to learn the truth. That’s bravery in some ways. Honestly, every time I looked into the sales or any relationship-building teams, they are tall, handsome, and well-shaped dudes in nice suits. I never liked suits until I saw what they were wearing, those clothes were dope, and for one moment I wanna give all my money to them. Appearance do matters and they matter a lot in these type of business. The world is just not fair.

 

Can't matter that much because how do all these ugly nerdly and fat tech founders get so much VC cash thrown at them

 

honestly I'd rather give my money to some nerdy looking; fat dude who clearly lives for his job and isn't concerned with vanity, than a guy wearing 500 dollar perfume 3k suit and inhumanly perfect facial features.

 

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