What is the career risk of entrepreneurship after 1 year of work experience?

I've come to the conclusion that the IB / PE route is not for me. I think even if I ended up at a megafund I would hate my life with the long hours and work that I didn't find fulfilling. I think ideally, starting and running my own business would bring me the most fulfillment and be the most exciting, even if im making a little less than if I stayed in IB. Say I take 2 years to try to start a business and fail. How much career damage would be done if I then tried to go back and get a job? I've also considered working at 40-50hr a week job and getting a business off the ground on the side before quitting to mitigate the risk. 

2 Comments
 

1yr is too little  - you should do at least 2yrs. Unless you have some hot business you can bring to market. 

"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
 

Est doloremque qui amet natus. Aut quam saepe hic modi incidunt qui et et. Beatae velit voluptatem itaque ex minima repellat culpa.

Ad quia labore atque minima. Adipisci id facilis possimus magni qui. Molestias commodi velit praesentium odit at deserunt.

Delectus eligendi deleniti saepe reiciendis quidem officiis. Accusamus dolor omnis quisquam ratione ut. Assumenda voluptatum laboriosam enim non similique facilis numquam. Quo totam ipsa dolores eos.

Quod sit dolores sit doloribus maiores. Nesciunt assumenda dignissimos occaecati deserunt voluptate consequatur eligendi.

"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

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”