Wanted to poll some of the experienced board members. How would you think about leaving an UMM (unlikely path to principal given headcount) to join a $1.5-2B first time fund as one of the first VP hires (say you join as SVP/VP3)? Puts and takes vs. joining a vanilla fully staffed MM fund (say $5B) with a lot of headcount and stagnant growth?
What sort of economics would you ask for (NYC/SF)?
| +62 | Firm not transferring me to NYC | 28 | 1h |
| +47 | What are you actually using AI for in PE? | 17 | 14h |
| +41 | Laid off from MM PE - Seeking Help | 16 | 1h |
| +33 | Best industry/job for entrepreneurship? | 11 | 4d |
| +24 | Is there anything that makes you excited about PE in 2026? | 9 | 1h |
| +19 | Burn Out in PE - What Comes Next? | 3 | 5d |
| +14 | Buyside in London with nice WLB and pay | 16 | 9h |
| +13 | Employee co-invest into the fund: fee/carry-free, but vests | 2 | 1h |
| +12 | Value Creation Initiatives (That aren't add-ons) | 3 | 4d |
| +10 | Undergrad summer PE analyst positions | 3 | 6d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Hi I'm about your level. Maybe slightly more principal-ish. I assume at your UMM you have the standard-ish $2.5mm+ carry package, seems like all-in a lot of firms look to be guiding at like $600 cash maybe top end depending on tenure as VP and then similar in equity. So I'd respect that your cash is going to go down to like $400s all in and you want to make up for the risk in growth. And so you have to figure what you think you can actually get and zero in numbers there. Let's say new fund $1.5bn 2x your carry pool is $300mm. So you'd probably be looking for above 1% numbers as a floor. Hope this helps.
Got it.
If you could secure 600 cash base/bonus, what DAW # would you push for? I was hoping 4-6m given career risk?
My UMM was 4 DAW for VP1 and 10 for VP3.
what are typical VP hours at your firm for VP?
Pretty tough but manageable when not live. 50-60 off deal 80+ on deal. Expecting same at this fund given they do pretty big deals for their relative size.
$5 seems fine. Max out whatever you can on cash.
Take the new fund. $1.5b first time fund in this fundraising environment is no joke
Who is raising a 1.5-2b first time fund? That’s wild
Id itaque rem voluptas in suscipit omnis facilis. Quasi tempora sed qui praesentium. Molestiae laboriosam ea reiciendis. Et optio odio occaecati accusamus.
Enim debitis quod numquam illo vel. Vitae totam animi facilis sed. Dolores eveniet officia occaecati. Laborum laboriosam sunt hic accusantium. Dolore sit consequatur corporis illum quo nisi sequi.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...