Do you think PE has actually helped you become a better entrepreneur?

To anyone who’s done a year in PE minimum, do you think the operating experience has actually helped you think like a business owner? I wonder if this part of PE is overblown or it’s true to the core.

In other words, do you think PE will help you become a better entrepreneur later?

7 Comments
 

I'm a serial entrepreneur that runs a small PE firm and IMO...it doesn't help much.

Most of the time it makes you too stupid about risk. You spend too much time calculating things when you should just get in there and know you will find alpha.

I know that sounds retarded to people, but it's the truth.

In a lot of ways, PE/finance guys are huge midwits. Many can not accept risk and try to derisk too much but they don't realize it cuts their upside dramatically. 

That's fine IF you're an employee, nothing wrong with that.

But it doesn't work if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.

And let's define successful entrepreneur as making at least ~4x - 5x what you would have made otherwise in a salaried role.

 

Doing PE today, especially MF PE may actually make you a worse entrepreneur lol. It’s a very hierachal job and corporate. It’s designed to make you a coporate investor. As someone who was an entrepreneur since middle school I was kinda grossed out at the stuff I would have had to spend my time on working in MFPE. The only way it could help is giving you some capital and some network. Maybe you’ll learn a bit. Meet some investors etc. but for those who are going to be the best entrepreneurs, I know a rare few who came out of PE. It happens but it’s rare. More common to find good entrepreneurs out of YC or tech or whatever. Maybe a HF even. Different skill and mindset 

 

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