Wall Street Mastermind - Is it a scam?
If you're a prospective IB analyst on LinkedIn you've probably seen a guy on Linkedin floating around trying to recruit people to his Wall Street Mastermind service which claims to have a 90% success rate in placing kids into IB. The guy has a pretty impressive background and I'm sure he has a lot of good advice to give.
I recently had a call with this guy and am wondering if anyone on here has also spoken to him or worked with him. I get the feeling that, having been out of IB for so long, he doesn't have any more insight into the recruiting process than most 1st year analysts on this forum who have screened resumes at some point and that the premise of his business is to get 1) kids from non targets who are desperate to get into IB and 2) provide value to clients by lighting a fire under their ass and keeping them accountable for taking the right steps to secure interviews. Thought?
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pretty sure this dude is successfully scamming dumb rich kids, what a beast
Did one of his free mentorship calls some time last years. Was alright. He charges $300/hr for individualized prep outside his program thing.
I am pretty sure it is 5k for his program. I remember reading some posts on reddit about how his service was overpriced, and Sam himself actually responded and went on this like huge rant about how each persons definition of "overpriced" is different and there is no set definition but it is instead relative to each individuals percieved value, plus the returns in banking down the road will be worth it blah blah blah... Lil sus how defensive he got which raised some red flags for me. I'm sure his service is useful but unless you've got 5k laying around I am sure he doesn't bring any unique insight that couldn't be found elsewhere for free or a couple hundred bucks (WSO & MI course). That said I am just speculating because I did not sign up for his service.
It sounds just like the MBA admissions consultants. Or if we want to be a little more extreme, the college admissions consultants who charge rich parents a fortune.
All of these services do the same thing. They build up the process as an opaque black box and then offer to help you crack the code. When asked to justify the value, they build up the value of getting into the college/MBA/IB as a life changing outcome that’s worth hundreds of thousands, making their 5-10k fee a bargain by comparison.
Is it total bullshit? No, just mostly bullshit. None of these admissions processes are as mysterious as the consultants make you believe. Especially IB which is the least opaque of all. Tell me any IB hopeful’s school, GPA and major and I’ll tell you if he landed in IB or not. There will be outliers but not many. The consultants want you to believe it’s not predictable when in fact it is.
College admission consultants can be very helpful if they know sports coaches
This is where @Lloyd BIankfein" should be chiming in with "Helpful at getting you to prison where you'll be POUNDED in the ASS"
How can you predict if someone will land in IB simply based on his/her school, GPA and major lol
Not with 100% accuracy. But with enough accuracy that a consultant wont make a big difference.
Take a look at some of our client interviews and you'll see that many of them go to non-target schools and have GPAs below 3.5: www.wallstmastermind.com/testimonials
I would agree they are "outliers"... but that's exactly the point of working with us. So that we can help them get results they wouldn't be able to get normally. Nothing wrong with that.
So how about taking no fee upfront and instead taking a cut of the signing bonus for successful candidates?
Its 6k now, my friend recently had a call with him. If you're on the fence about getting it, then I would say not to. You can get the same advice from upperclassmen, alumni, or whoever you speak with that is knowledgable on recruiting.
I think the biggest difference is that upperclassmen and alumni are typically not going to be that invested in your outcome. Yes you should talk to them, but they're going to give you some quick tips here and there and then go on with their lives.
We have a vested interest in our clients' results, because if they don't get jobs, it hurts our reputation. The amount of time we spend helping our clients is way above and beyond what you would get from anybody else.
Out of my own curiosity had a chat with them, up to $6800 now.
7500 now
Sounds like Invest Like the Street V2
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Am I the only one reading this?
LOL
if this is representative of the typical intelligence of a wssm victim I can understand how the scam has been so successful.
Facts. Take a loan out bc after all that's what ppl do for college smh.
Clearly this is how a college kid talks in conversational tone...
It seems like a lot of people who back this guy give credit to his insider perspective. But he was only in IB for 2 years it looks like. How much can he know about recruiting in 2020 when he went through this process over a decade ago?
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Hey guys. Sam Shiah, founder of Wall Street Mastermind.
Wow it's been a long time since I've posted on Wall Street Oasis (probably since my college days) but someone told me I should come check out this thread... lol.
I understand the concerns that are being tossed around here, so just wanted to come and address any questions you guys may have about my business. Feel free to ask me about anything.
The short answer to the OP is no, my business is not a scam. Scammers don't put their face and name on their businesses. Feel free to go here to hear from my actual clients if you are interested: https://www.wallstmastermind.com/testimonials
I've been doing an AMA on Reddit over the last couple of weeks, where I've already answered a bunch of questions about myself: https://www.reddit.com/r/WallStreetMastermind/comments/ed77vy/ama_exinv…
Otherwise, feel free to drop whatever questions you have below this comment and I'll try to get to them all.
Thanks y'all.
why do you have 2 accounts on LinkedIn? you're charging teenagers half a year of rent for less value than resources easily available through a little digging on WSO.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samshiah-wsmm/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/samshiah/
Say more? How do you know he hasn't helped anyone going to those firms? I don't feel like this is the type of thing someone will disclose/broadcast using, no?
it's not even just WSO, technically in this day and age with the internet you could find any information you could possibly want. but just because everyone has access to the same information, doesn't mean everyone knows how to get the job.
I can assure you every single client who comes to me knows about WSO already. they would not be coming to me if they already had what they needed.
at the end of the day, it's a competitive process and some people are looking for an extra competitive edge. that's all this is.
as for what I charge, I charge according to the level of support I'm providing to my clients. of course, if my service is not up to par, people wouldn't buy. and whether it's too much or not, that's subject to each person's opinion but at the end of the day, the market will decide whether it's a reasonable price or not. if not, we'll just go out of business, plain and simple.
you sure charge a lot for someone who hasn't heard of Bernie Madoff
lol if the point was really to steal people's money... i think there are much easier ways than selling to college students who have no income. so i guess i must be the dumbest scammer ever
this is worse than paying for air or water.
imagine being on ya deathbed and knowing u gave this dude 7k for free info.
do yall need someone to tell u what to wear to class or how to wipe ur ass too?
Would agree. Who do you think his clientele is? Wealthy asians?
his clientele are the chinese students who pay thousands of dollars for opportunities for non-paid internships and grad school applications (plenty of these).
wealthy asians
white males with social ineptitude
females with overprotective parents that bought her a tutor starting in Kindergarden
lol are you really saying getting into IB is as easy as choosing your outfit or wiping your ass?
so you're saying you have a 90% success rate? those are impossible odds, you're lying, just like the muskrat on your face you call facial hair
"imagine being on ya deathbed and knowing u gave this dude 7k for free info."
honestly if you are missing $7k on your deathbed then you've had a pretty sad life.
rather than worrying about whether you spent $7k decades ago, the more likely regret you'll have is that you didn't have the type of career that you wanted and instead spent 40 years working in a job that you had to settle for.
Shut the fuck up sam
If the guy needs to go online and defend against numerous people saying his business is a scam, it's probably a scam. Tbh though, I feel the same way about the WSO mentors that charge money.
If you read through his comments here, all he does is peddle hope and FOMO. He openly admits that the advice he gives is freely available online, but somehow he can give you an "extra edge" through "targeted advice". Suspiciously general terms that leave everything up to the reader's imagination. Back in college and even now, I always tell juniors and sophomores the truth: this industry sucks, the hours suck, the sacrifices are ridiculous, and you have to be mature enough to decide whether the pay trajectory is enough to justify it. The difference is I've never charged a dime, and nobody's ever wondered if I was a scam.
Correlation doesn't equal causation kids. He can cite all the placement stats he wants, but the dead give away is in this comment:
"there are plenty of investment banking clubs on various campuses that have 90-100% placement rates into IB... because they screen the students they let in and only take on people who have a shot. we do the same thing,"
No shit dude, as someone who used to run a school's investment banking club, I can assure you that those orgs are used as screens for our alumni. We literally used to tell prospective kids that the org wasn't going to help you get the job, and that people in the org are the most hard working and motivated students in the school to begin with. At first I thought this guy sold hope to the hopeless, but now I realize that he sells it to kids who don't even need it in the first place.
The guy has in his LinkedIn bio that he's "focused on paying it forward". I've never met someone who said that and then proceeded to charge students for advice, because none of us were ever charged by our mentors while we were students. You can say mentors don't put in as much time, but I've personally put together plans for north of 30 students that made it into IB or S&T, down to literally who to email, how to write emails, how to prep for calls, etc. While most of my peers haven't done the same volume as I have, the advice they give and the time they put in to each individual is the same.
This is just exploiting a vulnerable group that has very little information and power. To the kids, the networking and interview process is opaque and complex. When you combine it with the obvious draws of Wall Street, it's very easy to see an opportunity to profit off hopes and dreams.
How so? Someone asked if I'm a scam, so I came here to respond that I'm not. And therefor that makse me a scam because someone asked a question? What is your definition of scam exactly? Just someone who charges money for their services? That makes no sense.
All I said is all the INFORMATION is online, as in there's this thing called Google. But that's not the point. Just because it's out there doesn't mean you know how to find it or what to look for. And everyone has access to the same information, but doesn't mean they all know what to do with it. The most simple example is behavioral questions: everyone can look up what kind of behavioral questions you'll get in an interview. How you answer it is a whole other matter. A lot of people have crappy answers.
For people who don't know where to get the information, or what to do with the information they already have, having a structured game plan laid out for them step by step, in a way that's easy to follow and execute on is valuable. As is getting personal feedback on your application materials and interview answers. As is having someone you can go to and ask questions to anytime you have one. Not saying everyone wants those things, but some people do.
You see, the difference is I don't only work with students who have high GPAs and the best resumes. If you read the rest of my response to FutureBankteller above, I already addressed this multiple times. Go listen to the client interviews on my testimonials page, and you'll see most of my clients were not already rockstar candidates when they came to me. Kids who are already in the investment banking club at school with 90-100% acceptance rate have no reason to pay for my service. I only used the investment banking club as an example to prove that it is possible for an organization to have that type of success rate.
that's great man, you're a saint for doing that and i'm definitely not as generous with my time as you are. maybe everyone here should just go to you for help instead. in fact i'm guessing your inbox is already flooded as we speak :)
Exploit how? I offer a service and people have the freedom to choose whether they want to pay fo it or not. It's their choice, nobody is forced to do anything. My clients regularly tell me how grateful they are to have me help them through this process. People who feel like they're being exploited don't say stuff like that.
No, it's not because someone asked the question, it's because there's a bunch of people that work in the industry saying you're a scam. It's a scam because the services and knowledge you claim to offer, whether it be structured steps or responsiveness to questions, are actually widely available for free. It's just that the people that do so without charge don't make cringey ads about themselves.
Let's say a doctor prescribed a brand name drug that costs 20x more than the generic because he received speaker fees from the pharma company. Even if the patient's condition improved after using the brand name, wouldn't you still call the doctor a fraud? Most doctors would prescribe the generic, and I wouldn't really call them saints for doing so. It's more like the doctor pocketing the kickbacks is a sinner.
We put hours and hours and hours in for free because back when we didn't have a whole lot, there were people who showed us how to walk the path they paved, and that's something we don't forget easily. If you're a student reading this, trust me when I say this is the industry norm, especially if you go to a non-target.
I would actually love to get some advice from you if that's something that you would be willing to do. If so, please message me, as I really badly want to get into investment banking and I am actively seeking all of the advice and insight I could get. Thanks!
I'm a client. Definitely think it's worth the money. The stuff he teaches isn't just straight out of the 400 Questions Guide/WSO - lots of one-on-one help, mock interviews, etc.
My school is definitely not the best for IB, but I've had friends use the program + also get good results.
Just my two cents.
I used Wall Street Mastermind to give me guidance in going through the investment banking process and I can tell you with 100% certainty this is not a scam. I am extremely grateful that I found someone like Sam Shiah who is honestly the hardest worker I know. He invested countless hours to make sure I knew all the material I needed to know to get into banking. He offered me one-on-one support and provided me with all the resources to kill my interviews for banking. Without him, yes, maybe I could have gotten into banking. Would I have spent a lot more time and probably wasted a lot of hours studying things I didn’t need to know? Yes. With Sam’s help I knew everything he was teaching me was essential because he had so much success with other clients he worked with. He is not shady about it at all. He shares plenty of his success stories on his website. I even listened to some client interviews on there as well. I recommended his program to one of my friends and he got a job in investment banking as well. Overall the return on the investment paid itself over many times from my summer internship alone. In the end of the day, this program might not be for everyone. I am the type of person who likes to invest in myself so I can be better and set my self up for future opportunities so I thought that this gave me the best resources to get into banking, and I was right. Sam was just as invested as me in my recruiting process, maybe even more. Overall, I have no regrets and would use him again if I had to do it over.
jesus christ was this written by a robot
Why are you all using anonymous accounts?
these "testimonials" are either scam shiah himself or paid for by him.
who would find this forum and want to type out a huge response, maybe it's just buyers remorse.
lol i don't need to pay for testimonials, i've got plenty on my website already
www.wallstmastermind.com/testimonials
Because you force your “students” to write them for you
Tobin 2.0
As a member of WSMM, I can assure everyone it is not a scam ! What he says is true, and after the payment, he sticks true to his word. Currently in his program, it is by far the most useful source I could've ever spent money on. Without him, I wouldn't be nearly as strong as I am now. His success stories are true, and I myself am improving so much. He has the credibility, and is the best coach out there that is trying to help you break in to a job where less than 2% get into. From someone who also invested in ILTS, I know my money will come back ten-fold. Recruitment starts soon for 2021 and I'm prepared. I would definetly recommend him.
Sam is that you
Sophomore?
Dude charges around 6000 for a supposedly amazing course but its honestly not even close to worth it. you are insane if you pay that much. I have a rich ass friend who paid for the course and he said you could probably find all the information he offered online somewhere for free. guy is just profiting off of kids with rich parents.
To add my 2 cents, I recently had a call with someone from WSMM and raised the question of if it is really worth what they charge, but also what you fall into that 10% that don’t get offers. The person I spoke to said I could pay after I got into an IBD role rather than upfront as they were that confident I would get an offer. They basically offer what a target school careers team would offer in greater depth and dress it up to sound like much more. In terms of the relative value of the cost, a few grand is less than your pay as a summer analyst, and in a 5y IB career you won’t miss that few grand at all really. So, the real question is how confident are you in being able to put together a competitive application, and do you need to be spoon fed help, or can you do it yourself.
Incase anyone is interested, I decided against using WSMM as I don’t think it’s worth it for me in terms of what they can offer that I can’t already get though some looking online.
He told me either pay 7500 once or 10k in 12 months, lmao
Bump. Needs more laughs from this thread
Also had a call with him after coming across a YouTube ad for Wall Street Mastermind. This dude profits off rich stupidity. He charges a whopping $6800 for access to courses you could find on YouTube/Investopedia for free, resume editing, and a format on how to network. After saying I was hesitant on the price, he asked if I could make a $100 deposit while I think about it to “save my spot”. Call was originally 1 hour and it ended up being 3 due to his persistence or trying to convince me it’s worth it. Didn’t end up joining and he tried to get a hold of me 3 more times and tried to lower the fee. Definitely not worth it, it’s a robbery.
I got bored so went on this guy's testimonials page to see what was up.
All of the people who gave him testimonials would have broken in anyways, as pointed out by others on this thread:
X, Wellesley, PJT: Wellesley already has a huge alum base at PJT
The other non targets could have just used an alum mentor or two
I know this thread is pretty old now but I'm actually a client. I'm not satisfied with the service for the price that it is and I can explain in more depth why if you want to pm me. I'll tell exactly what it does or doesn't prep you for, unfiltered lol.
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