Really want to quit IB & start a consumer tech company

I’m currently a second year investment banking analyst at a BB in NYC & I’ve thought about quitting to launch a startup everyday for the past year and half. Im the type of person that would be happy doing anything, but i really think i have something special & no exit opps excite me anymore.

For further context, i kinda fell into this IB role & i discovered a love for coding as a senior in college. I actually enjoy writing code to automate some analyst tasks.

In terms of my startup - I’d need a technical cofounder (I’m still very amateur), but I’ve built out everything in my head 1000x times. My concept works, even though I’ve tried so hard to prove otherwise.

Not sure what i should do anymore, any thoughts / advice are much appreciated.

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Then do it. You’ll find this forum is largely filled with optionality-seeking career optimizers. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that, but those are the personalities that generally enter this (sometimes merit-ably dysfunctional) world of finance.

If you’re up the learning curve enough in your current role, why not put pedal to the metal? Find industry events or opportunities to get in touch with more technical folks in your silo of consumer technology. This could manifest itself in many different ways. Hit up a few buddies from school that are now SWEs in the valley and tap into their network. Find industry events that indicate a large attendance of hungry technical talent and see what boils up. Hell, if you’re comfortable sharing ideas in public, make a Twitter account and blast some unique thoughts on the vertical you’re tackling. As with anything worth doing, it’ll take time - and come with a heft of uncertainty. But, if you can be methodical about this type of exploration for a few months while still on payroll in IB, what’s the risk?

Life’s too short. Have the balls to go after what you want and make it happen.

 

Thank you so much for all the encouragement!

The thing I struggle with, though, is whether it’s really possible to make progress on the startup while working IB hours …

Do you know of any ways to at least start attending events / networking in NYC?

 

Before you quit:

  • Try to see if you can find some folks who are a step ahead of you (guys that have left finance to set up their own startup) and talk to them
  • I think it makes sense to line up that technical co founder. You don't want to quit, spend a few months looking for someone, only to realize what you're looking for doesn't exist (or isn't interested in what you're doing)
  • Consumer tech is honestly kinda difficult because it ends up being a winner(s) take all type of end game (Uber, Venmo, Twitter, etc.). User adoption is a massive pain in the ass to solve - this isn't field of dreams where if you build a good product, people will just come. Sometimes you can get totally head faked too like Clubhouse, House Party. Sorry, not trying to be a negative nancy here
 

I am currently working for a consumer tech company as a data scientist (ignore my job title). I am open to the idea of launching something of my own in this space, happy to talk and sign any non-disclosure/non-compete agreements if you like.

 

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