Need Advice HYPSM student interested in tech/investing

Ignore title - currently a student at HYPSM. Have experience at EB, good VC, UMM PE. Have P72 academy this summer but honestly confused about if this is what I want to do.

I enjoy thinking about businesses but didn't fully enjoy the PE bureaucracy and am also very into tech. I like the idea and energy of early/growth (maybe smtimes its too much) as I think companies are interesting + seems like more meaningful work. Also would want to opportunity to work/found a startup later on. But now looking back P72 would seem to funnel me and I wouldn't say publics is my be all and end all. I'm not sure what to index on given my interest in tech (most likely early stage) and don't know if I like publics or not.

Would like advice from anyone that is within the the tech investing sphere (publics + privates) and anyone who might've moved on to startups.

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Work for business development or growth at a Series A/B AI startup. You will learn more about business than working in any form of finance investing whether at PE, HF, growth equity, VC or crossover oriented fund. It will be more intense and less structured and a better unlock of your 10yr forward NPV than any traditional finance role.

 
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thanks, would like to ask why. are these datapoints from friends/colleagues. My perception is that its not worth going to do a bizdev role at a series A/B startup unless its really one of those tippy top places - which many of those companies right now don't need much of a bizdev role? seems to be just sales + engineering. like no foundation model startup, AI application startup, or hardware engineering startup really needs a bizdev until they truly become bloated IMO (which in that point i think theres a justifaction for not even joining)

also how would it unlock more NPV? I like the idea of startups because you get to work with an A+ team (if one of those top 20s) but on the con is that you really have to believe the mission, your equity can go to nothing (not like its that much either compared to finance), and that your cash salary is much lower. Also, once you're done with this startup, what's your next thing that could consistenly compete with a 7 fig yearly comp in finance?  I've thought of good startup -> vc route but also how many good top notch vcs are there? like 10/20? have anecdotally heard that even founders with 8/9 figure exits don't exactly just easily land a vc seat and nonetheless a former employee..

would love to hear your thoughts and trying to learn as much as I can

 

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