Naval Ravikant Would Tell Finance Majors Trying to Pick A Career Path That Their Mom Has The Answer. Here Are Three Reasons Why My Mom Was Crucial In Helping Me Pick Private Equity

Naval Ravikant (Founder of AngelList) wanted to be an astrophysicist, but his mom said no.

She said “No, son. You’re going into business.”

Every time they’d walk down the street and pass the local pizza place, Naval made comments to his mom about how their business be SO much more profitable if they’d just fix up the ordering process and tweak the menu to include different toppings.

Reason 1: Your Mom Doesn’t Feel The Pressure You Do

If you don’t have your major, internships & dream job figured out freshman year, it’s easy to feel behind the curve.

I came to school knowing I liked $$$ & finance, but had ZERO clue which of the million paths I wanted to choose under the finance umbrella. A quick convo with my mom solved that.

Reason 2: Childhood Tendencies = Personality. Best Job = Best Personality Fit

Naval argues that your mama will know you better than you know yourself after >18yr of observing your behavior. Ask her questions like:

• How did I view the world compared to other kids my age as a kid? What would I comment on?
• Was I quieter / more introspective or a “can’t sit still” ball of energy? Was I a talker?
• What role did I play in friend groups? Did I like to take control / initiative or go with the flow?

Pick a career based on this rather than status & money, or you will be miserable for eternity…

Reason 3: Each Finance Route Attracts Specific Personalities

I narrowed down my interests to the four most common finance paths that interested me: Investment Banking, Private Equity, Hedge Funds & Venture Capital.

• Private Equity: Sports & Band Kid
  • Like to have control / hands-on, Enjoy solving problems in teams.
• Hedge Funds: CompSci / Video Gamer / Bookworm
  • Gamers / Nerdier crowd. For introverts that enjoy diving into research.
• Venture Capital: The Builder / Also Tech Nerd
  • Curious, big picture thinkers that like tech. Great networkers & talkers.
• Investment Banking: “High School Mr. / Mrs. Popular”
  • Perfectionistic / Detail-oriented people managers

My mom said I was definitely not a quieter video-gamer, but I wasn’t a blabber either. I was organized and liked to put a lot of time into my group projects at school & take the lead.

I picked private equity and it couldn’t be a better fit. Every day flies by and I love that I’m surrounded by people that all have similar motivations.