I recruited on-cycle too early
Hey everyone. I am finishing up my two years of banking and about to start soon at a well-known PE shop. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to have this offer and appreciative of the opportunity. However, it's my fault in that I recruited too early on-cycle (~2 months into IB) and 100% rushed the decision to jump into PE. I now know that I am much more interested in VC / early-stage investing but feel trapped with my PE commitment.
This switch to VC is because I find VC companies more interesting / cutting-edge and there is more focus on higher-level market strategy / operational growth and improvement rather than squeezing valuations for a marginally better IRR or endless, tedious months of diligence. The work-life balance improvement in VC versus PE is also a large plus. Unfortunately, this is all something I did not realize until my second year in banking. I know I do not want to pursue PE long-term nor do I want to go to b-school so I want to ask for next steps advice. My ideal future job would be either a senior operational role at a company or long-term VC / growth career.
Is the best venue to get into VC via direct networking rather than reaching out through headhunters? How long should I wait before contact (6 months? 1 year? 2 years?). I am worried about being judged if I leave the PE program before two years - would this be a major obstacle? Thank you.
Thank you for this post. Feel like a lot of analysts (myself included) need to step back and really think about what we want in a career rather than jumping into on cycle PE recruiting for no other reason than that everyone else seems to do it... have heard of a lot of people getting depressed and even feel like they got cheated when they found out PE buyouts is nowhere close to something they want
In general, VCs don’t give a shit about your PE experience beyond that you have it and it’s been at a reputable firm. It’s like how BCG doesn’t really care if you went to Northwestern or Yale or Dartmouth - they let in students from each of those three. The nuances of PE programs are probably lost on most VCs. I know some of my peers have recruited from all strategies of PE fund but they don’t know the difference, they just know that folks have seen lots of business model, can quarterback diligence, and are wicked smaht. They want to see that you’ve done some of it (probably 1 year is safe) but you could spin 6 months as “look I’m competent at my job but I am dying to be in VC”.
Look if you’re trying to go to Sequoia early stage it may help to be coming from TB/SL but otherwise what I say holds true. Some recruiters cover VC but it’s more of a wild Wild West. Get in touch with funds you want to work at. Get in touch with the VC headhunters like Glocap (they are miserable to work with) and go from there.