The Ultimate Exit Opps

Most people on this site think about careers when thinking about Exit Opps, but I think the best two would be real investing in some capacity (from more passive to buying and holding multi family to more active turnaround strategies) or acquisition entrepreneurship (seems easier to buy revenue than create it, plus lots of levers to pull to create value).

Both of these entrepreneurial exit opps allow you to take economic ownership (assuming you’re using your own capital and don’t have any outside financial sponsors) of the work that you are doing and are more scalable than pretty much any career for the most part.

Wanted to post in here to see if anyone on here has left a career to work in one of these roles and see how it’s going for them.

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Based on the most helpful WSO content, your perspective aligns with a growing trend among professionals considering entrepreneurial exit opportunities. Many individuals are exploring paths like real estate investing and acquisition entrepreneurship as viable alternatives to traditional career trajectories. Here's a breakdown of these two options:

  1. Real Estate Investing:

    • This can range from passive investments, such as buying and holding multifamily properties, to more active strategies like property turnarounds or development.
    • Real estate offers scalability and the potential for significant returns, especially if you can leverage your expertise in sourcing deals, managing assets, and optimizing operations.
    • Success stories on WSO often highlight individuals transitioning from roles like investment sales or asset management into principal investing, where they take ownership of their work and build wealth over time.
  2. Acquisition Entrepreneurship:

    • This involves buying existing businesses, often through search funds or direct acquisitions, and using operational improvements to create value.
    • Many professionals find this path appealing because it allows them to "buy revenue" rather than starting from scratch, reducing some of the risks associated with traditional startups.
    • WSO threads frequently discuss the opportunity to capitalize on the wealth transfer from retiring baby boomers, with trillions of dollars tied up in small businesses ripe for acquisition and consolidation.

Both paths require a willingness to take on entrepreneurial risks and a focus on long-term value creation. They also offer the potential for economic ownership and scalability, which are often limited in traditional career roles. If you're considering these options, engaging with mentors or professionals who have successfully navigated these transitions can provide valuable insights and guidance.

Sources: Career Paths/Exit Opportunities, Any PE people considered leaving to pursue search fund/entrepreneurship paths?, Switching from Big 4 to Acquisitions: My Story, Breakdown of Post-IB Exit Opportunities, Why the focus on exit opps?

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

"I think the best two would be real investing in some capacity"

as opposed to fake investing?

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Really, I've always thought of exit op as being a pure tradeoff of work life balance and intellectual curiousity. A good sweet spot, in my opinion, is S&O work in mid sized companies, or lecturing at the university level for third or fourth year classes since those classes are more specialized, and you can cover topics to a good level of depth.

I think with any career, if you can appreciate and enjoy 80% of it and put up with the world in which you enter, you're in a good spot.

 

The best exit op is to go from finance into politics. Spend 5-10 yrs, don't be an uttrerly foul / dodgy person, try rise up government, realize you can't climb the political ladder any higher, then go back into the corporate world where large finance/corproate companies will pay you handsomely as a lobby into the government... see exhibit George Osborne

 

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