Thompson Street Capital
Anybody have any insight on Thompson Street Capital out of STL? Have a super day for their 2024 Associate program.
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Hi Analyst 1 in IB - Cov, no, I never sleep and so I can respond to any lonely threads (like this one) at all hours of the night. Impressive, I know ;-)
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Hope that helps.
How did the super day go/overall experience? Have an interview coming up for them so curious what your thoughts were.
Solid shop, fairly active. Two and out program. Comp: 175 base, 25 bonus.
Is this serious
Yeah. They do give deal bonuses of $5-10k as well so that helps
I don’t think it’s worse than other LMM shops - I’ve seen anywhere from $200-$250K all-in especially in MCOL cities.
I know them decently well, did a research project for them many years ago when I was in B-School.
Solid MM shop, people seemed generally pretty nice, they work pretty hard, but I hear it isn't crazy. Pretty southern feel, as in a little white/waspy, a higher proportion of southern school graduates, etc. Which isn't a bad thing, that's just more of the feel of the firm.
Big thing is that it's in St Louis, so cost of living is low which is great, but it's St Louis...so if you don't have some ties to the area, it's probably going to be less fun. I haven't spent extensive time in St Louis, but it's polarizing, some thing it's a great value, others say it's pretty bleak and crime ridden. Probably depends on where you're coming from.
Not a huge track record of internal promote to VPs, not to say it's impossible, but I know they hire post-MBA VPs, and if you look at the site, seems like a lot of Associates and not great direct to VP promotion track record. Given the size of the firm, it's probably year dependent.
If you're coming from a smaller bank, have some ties to St Louis or the South, and think you'll fit into the vibe of the firm, then it's not a bad option. You'll live well in St Louis, be able to save money (or spend it if that's your thing) and you'll learn a decent amount about PE. If you've got a strong background, are coming from a NYC/SF/LA banking job, and this is just one of your PE options, I'd be more skeptical. Thompson is unlikely a feeder to Harvard/Stanford, Wharton/Booth are more likely and those would be top end outcomes. You might even slip down one more tier depending on the strength of your application. Again, not a bad thing and maybe even a great thing based on your background, but just wanted to point that out.
Hope this helps.
Pretty much everything mentioned here is true, will attempt to add here where I can.
Solid shop, with nice, white/waspy people - 100%. Pretty much every senior guy here grew up in/around STL and was born into money. You'd think it'd make this sorta "nepo-hire-y" culture where everyone sucks from a personality and competence standpoint, but pretty much everyone here is genuinely nice and talented. Hours aren't crazy, hearing ~60 hours a week as an associate is the norm. Also not overly wfh friendly, but not super anti either. All in all, pretty middle of the road wrt to this sort of stuff.
I think the Southern school thing is just a happenstance point, they generally look for people with ties to the area above all else. Which makes sense... Saint Louis is certainly an acquired taste as mentioned. Fwiw, there are very, very few other reputable, $1B+ fund shops you can work at in a genuinely LCOL city - I think that's the main selling point of the firm. Thinking maybe NCP in Minne, Ridgemont / Pamlico in Charlotte, couple Dallas / Houston firms... and you could argue those aren't really LCOL cities anymore (I would). I personally don't think STL is much if any more crime ridden / bleak than any other T3 Midwest city (KC, Indianapolis, any of the Ohio cities, Milwaukee etc) (Also this is just vibes I don't have any stats to back this up). I think it genuinely gets a bad rap and is probably in line with the rest of the Midwest.
To date, they have had 0 direct associate -> VP promotions. It's a belief of the founder that you absolutely, unquestionably, need an MBA to become a VP. Times are changing here and everywhere though, so we will see how long that holds. AFAIK, they have also had 0 people follow the TSCP associate -> MBA -> TSCP VP path. Most people who've left and gotten their MBA move up-market from my understanding. Their first real "associate class" started in ~2019, so simply not much of a precedent one way or the other. They still only take 2 associates per class. At associate level, they only hire into their investment team. You're pretty much a diligence monkey, as they have separate teams for DCM / Ops / Sourcing. Associates still have portcos tho, so probably not that different from other firms around this size.
MBA placement is decent, but H/S would be pretty hard. They generally take white guys with Midwest, semi/non target school backgrounds from MM banks, so H/S was going to be a stretch anyways. They've placed at Wharton and especially Booth frequently, I wouldn't even call those "top end" outcomes for their associates. They've never sent anyone outside of a "Top 5" (H/S/W + Booth/Kellogg).
Their thesis is pretty much "only invest in good shit" - they are frequently high bidders in very competitive auction processes. They've never had a loss on an investment, but they probably don't get a lot of 10-baggers either.
Also would echo the takeaway at the bottom - If you have Midwest ties, are coming from a solid MM bank, and have what some in this industry might crazily call "tempered expectations" wrt your professional career (ie not MF PE or bust), this is a great spot to learn about PE. If you aren't from the Midwest / upper South, you probably wouldn't like it. If you are the aforementioned MF or bust, you probably wouldn't like it either.
Excellent added details, appreciate the updates to my more general post.
I am a STL native and want to clear up some of the "crime ridden" commentary here. St. Louis has a weird setup where the city and county areas are separate municipalities but each called "St. Louis" and this results in odd per capita statistics coming out of St. Louis City. Additionally, right across the river is the city of East St. Louis which is technically in Illinois, not Missouri, and is a much more dangerous area than the City of St. Louis. Crime statistics for East St. Louis are often lumped in with Greater St. Louis and further distorts the picture. So there is some nuance to the statistics here but as others have said the city is really no more dangerous than any other major city. I guarantee you will not spend any time in East St. Louis and people really only go into St. Louis City for Cardinals/Blues games, festivities like St. Patrick's Day, some other attractions, or to hit bars...and the downtown bar scene is not "deep" in the city and there are many other options anyway.
Thompson Street's office is in Downtown Clayton which is a metro area about 10 miles outside St. Louis City and most of the other STL private equity firms are in this area as well. Its a nice area and if you want to live here there are luxury apartments or condos nearby, good food options, and the location makes going to the city or venturing further into the country very easy. Another 10-20 miles into the county you get towns like Ladue, Town and Country, Wildwood, Manchester, Chesterfield, and Ellisville. There is a significant amount of wealth in this area and middle/upper middle class life is very, very good. On an NYC salary, even the numbers thrown around here, you would live an extremely good life. Also note that the mileage here is Midwest highway which ex. rush hour is like 5-15 minute rides. Most people have nice houses deeper in St. Louis County and commute 20-45 minutes at most to work which is pretty easy. The public school districts are very good and there's at least four or five private school options that should be relatively affordable if you want. Easy to find golf memberships at various country clubs as well. I'd also add the people are all nice and welcoming...St. Louis tends to get people from all over, and historically the city was an immigration target for various cultures, so I don't think anyone should have any concern about feeling like an outsider.
I don't have direct knowledge on Thompson Street MBA placement, and I agree that Harvard / Stanford probably tough but no one has mentioned Wash U which is right down the road, likely very achievable, and perfectly fine for Post-MBA roles at other Midwest LMM/MM PE. There are several up and coming LMM PE shops in the area as well that likely don't require an MBA for VPs, some cool corp dev opportunities, several hedge funds / asset managers, and as mentioned there is a lot of wealth / quiet money in the area and probably some family offices I'm unaware of too.
Personally, if I had different personal circumstances I'd be all over setting up a long-term career / family here.
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