Private Equity to Corporate Strategy / Tech - advice?

Monkeys - 

I'm a first year Associate at a MM PE firm in NY, and previously did two years at a top BB. After spending the last ~8 months getting completely grinded (not to mention 2 years in IB) in an all virtual environment, I find myself constantly thinking about the life experiences I am missing, and want to transition to a job that has more reasonable work life balance. I am specifically interested in pursuing strategy / strat. finance type roles at a high-growth tech company in SF or NY (or remote!). This would include both FAANG+, as well as established "hot" startups (Series B/C/D, etc.).

A quick search here shows tons of forums on switching from corporate roles to PE/IB, but surprisingly few about those that go the other way around. I'm sure many of you have made that transition, and I would be curious to here your thoughts on topics such as the following:

  • Why did you decide to leave PE, and what type of role you pursued 
  • Pros / cons: Do you feel like this job accrued to your life happiness and career satisfaction? Do you feel that there are meaningful growth opportunities (in both comp and responsibility)? Do you regret leaving the finance safety net?
  • When you decided to make the transition (after 2 year associate program, after B School, etc.)
  • Thoughts on someone leaving after one year in PE to pursue such an opportunity?

Thanks!

 

It's mostly the hours. Far worse than what I experienced in banking, and most importantly there are no breaks - they bury you in portfolio / research work when you aren't on a live deal, so you never really get to recover. It's hard to fully assess culture given its all been remote, but everyone seems to get along. That said, all the Partners / Principals are total grinders, and the bad work life balance flows down from them.

 

Reviving a dead post in hopes of finding a new team member.

LMM PE & Direct Lending refugee here - joined a Series C (~$85M; top tier lead VC) tech startup in the emergency response / public safety space to take a CorpDev / Strategy role.

We are currently hiring for a Strategic Finance Associate (2 to 4 years experience / direct report to Head of Finance) - in case you're somehow still on the market. Happy hunting buddy - and best of luck.

 
Most Helpful
  • Why did you decide to leave PE, and what type of role you pursued Like yourself, was getting burnt out and also did not envision things getting better at the VP level. Friend once told me that a good way to gauge long term fit is to look at the next level up and see if you want to occupy your manager's life. That answer was definitively no for me. I made the switch over to Corp Strat at a large cap software Company once my two year upper MMPE program was finished.
  • Pros / cons: Do you feel like this job accrued to your life happiness and career satisfaction? Do you feel that there are meaningful growth opportunities (in both comp and responsibility)? Do you regret leaving the finance safety net? I'm only a few months in so I can provide a better perspective down the road, but overall I am really happy with the move. I have always prioritized quality time with friends/family over career, but still make good compensation to have fun vacations while save fruitfully for retirement, and I think the role has really afforded that package so far. Contrary to the popular stereotype about corporate, I think there is actually a lot of growth at the right types of organization (particularly in more agile / higher growth sectors). In my group specifically, strong performers get promoted fairly quickly/regularly or move to senior strategy/operating roles on other teams/subsidiaries. w/r/t safety net, I actually felt like there wasn't much of one in my (or most of my friends) MMPE shops - a lot of people typically got bounced out for a variety of political reasons or often topped out at the VP level with not much room for further development. Not to say this isn't a commonplace thing in corporate, but the whole "professional ceiling" trope gets overplayed a bit and is very prevalent in PE as well.
  • When you decided to make the transition After my associate program
  • Thoughts on someone leaving after one year in PE to pursue such an opportunity? Like the above poster mentioned, would advise doing the two years if anything for optical reasons. Recruiters / hiring managers generally like seeing candidates that demonstrate consistent staying power, and I found most of the goodwill I developed with my PE firm occurred through year 2, which helped a lot with references.
 

Super helpful. Can I ask what industry you were focusing on in PE? If you weren't coming from a TMT / software investor, did you find that was a barrier to getting a job in that industry? I do some work in software, but am largely a generalist.

Also completely agree with your assessment re: looking at the next level. The VPs and above arguably work more than the Associates and bare significantly more stress / responsibility (Managing the expectations of the Partners, managing port co day-to-day, overseeing their Associates). Not a life I want to live at all, even though we do promote from within. 

 

Qui eveniet est sint autem est inventore. Quia qui quod atque voluptatibus aperiam suscipit omnis consequuntur. Ea quia rerum quam quis aut. Facere occaecati eligendi corporis error tempore at accusamus aut. Fuga facilis sint et tempora eos ipsam.

Quidem earum repellendus consequatur cupiditate labore sapiente et quia. Adipisci iste quia omnis sapiente quidem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (21) $586
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (89) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (204) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (386) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (28) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (313) $59
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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”