Golden gate vs Charlesbank
Which would you choose and why? Pref for being on the east coast long term but want to choose what is best for my long term career in at this point
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Personally would do Charlesbank especially given geographic preference.
I wouldn’t take Golden Gate offer right now, the place is kind of a mess. Culture supposedly sucks and the entire tech team just left to go start their own fund. Turnover has always been high, even at senior levels (which is not a good thing). Someone else might be more in the loop, but my understanding is the founder is stingy with the carry pool so top talent keeps leaving.
Charlesbank is a solid MM fund, culture is a bit stiff but not terrible.
That said, Golden Gate is probably the more prestigious fund (more of a UMM, Charlesbank more of a true MM). B-school exits are good from both.
If you view it as a 2 and out you can make the case for golden gate, but honestly not a fund I’d want to be at in the long run
Thanks, the color is super helpful! Are there any exits you think would be closed to me from charlesbank vs GGC?
Would go Golden Gate here, viewing it as a 2-and-out.
I have multiple close friends at the firm and can confirm it is not somewhere you want to (or will be able to) stay long term. Culture sucks and constant spin-offs for a reason. Lot of infighting and politics. Founder is not increasing fund size (they only have an evergreen pool right now). They are simply hiring to sustain, not to grow, because the top is completely full right now. Promos hard to get.
With that in mind, go look at former golden gate associates on linkedin. Most of them are at MFs now and I am not exaggerating when I say "most". Look at the success of the funds that have spun off. Look at their placement to GSB. Golden Gate is one of the few non-MF funds that is respected enough for associates to either move to MFs or join spin-offs that raise over $1bn for their first fund. Not many funds out there that can do this.
Charlesbank is a great fund but would go GGC here. If you are dead-set on staying long-term, Charlesbank will probably give you a better chance.
Do you think that this view of GGC would continue to persist throughout an Associate stint?
It’s on a clear decline. If you commit now for a 2023 role and then go to business school, you’re making a bet on what the brand’s deterioration will be in 5 years. Very risky bet to make in my opinion.
GGC’s culture problems are not only legendary but also historic. One ASO was so spiteful of the firm he would spend his whole dinner budget on whole pizzas and then hand them out to homeless people around the building.
Once worked with a principal who was an alum there who described himself as one of the chiller / WLB-prioritizing ASOs at the firm (and I believe him). In practice, this is like being the tallest midget though; he was simply the best-adjusted of the aspie / hardo types they attract. For reference, he, despite despising sports, had an RSS feed (old-school, I know) set to track the news stories surrounding his partner’s sports teams in order to ingratiate himself. Sickening when I look back at it.
A banking guy I worked with ended up going there and safe to say continued the self-selection cycle. Quite an arrogant chap; we had combined training and this man seemed to think he was god’s gift to finance even though he was only working in one of our satellite location offices?! Also couldn’t handle his liquor much. MO was, about thirty minutes deep into any drinks event, he would develop an Asian glow (he was white) and do laps around the crowd, asking everybody from the intern to MD level, unprompted, what their thoughts on Hillary Clinton were.
So yeah, I don’t have a rec here. It’s pretty prestigious and pretty psycho; decide how much you weigh those things. Just wanted to talk some (insightful) trash, which is pretty much what these forums were made for.
I haven’t read anything remotely positive about this firm in years. I imagine the prestige is declining rapidly.
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