Going from sellside to founder--etiquette and reaching out questions

So I've been in the industry for about a decade and have established relationships internally with colleagues over that period, while my client relationships are almost as old. Now that I'm senior and my partner and I went independent and started our own boutique a while ago, my work hours have diminished and I've gotten time to focus on side projects. One such side project is a fintech startup (not blockchain) that is getting off the ground and so far doing well. Some details that I think are important:

1. It is only very tangentially related to my day job.

2. It's relatively low cost for now, but maintenance will rise exponentially with scale.

3. I'm one of two founders, neither of us have a tech background (both finance).

4. While my work and I are U.S. based, the project targets a foreign market.

5. We were offered initial funding from an incubator but turned it down (bad fit, don't want to dilute ownership at seed stage).

6. I'm fully self-funding the project for now.

7. My niche is working with large asset management firms (average AUM is probably $20b among our clients).

8. This startup's valuation won't eclipse $10m now, and even if it's wildly successful may never be worth more than $100m.

I expect us to scale to the point where I can't afford to keep it running in about a year, so I'll want to start reaching out for funding in maybe six months. I'd like to leverage my relationships, but I don't know how to do this. Can I just reach out internally and externally? Is there a compliance issue I need to worry about? Is it in bad taste--should I just not bother and try cold calling VCs I don't know?

1 Comments
 

Non ab vitae quia voluptatibus quia. Inventore eum delectus blanditiis libero aliquam autem.

Quo eos provident quas doloremque dignissimos. Maiores accusantium qui enim est. Qui eos voluptas voluptatem maiores aut. Aut aut quis cum nulla deserunt dolores doloremque. Minima quibusdam nihil blanditiis qui ullam sint.

Non distinctio fugit et voluptatem. Qui provident et voluptates recusandae quae iusto rem.

Et et iste sapiente praesentium ut beatae. Et est voluptate dolorum dolorem nam voluptatem vel. Enim eos temporibus voluptate sapiente dicta in vel.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.2%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (100) $364
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (106) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (236) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (414) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (274) $126
  • Intern/Summer Associate (40) $79
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (357) $61
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”