RE Career Path
I interned for an vertically integrated developer in a Tier 1 city and will have the chance to be an acquisitions analyst next summer. Would be first job out of undergrad.
Not a brand name firm but they are in growth mode; have a lot of capital and have closed some 9 figure deals. Deal flow is good. Small team. I feel I’d be very hands on and would learn a lot.
I am legitimately passionate about real estate and it would be great to get to a Starwood/Blackstone/KKR one day. (Obviously so does everyone else).
So basically what are exit opps like from a role like this and what does my career path look like?
(My concern is that I will not have a top school or a top company on my CV. My lone alternatives at this juncture that are realistic are RE brokerage or public accounting+CPA)
Your Exit Ops will be harder without a top Firm or School. But it's what you make of your networking since you are in a Tier 1 City/Market. Go to events and learn from others. Just learn all you can, when you decide to leave you might have more interviews but hopefully at some point a person will see your value.
OP... you have an interesting world view.... You have a chance at a legit analyst role with a buyside firm able to close "some 9 figure deals" (fyi... 9 figure deals are huge, not tons of firms play in that space) and you are worrying about "exit ops" because of a perception "brand name"........
Here is the takeaway..... this job is the "exit op"..... it is exactly what people want to go for when they go for the "brand name" type gigs which often are shitty gigs at the junior level. Clearly, no harm in hitting the job market this fall as you should (at least until you get a real offer), but I think this is likely your top option and the one to fight for.
As to "exit ops" from such a role/firm........ you will have been an acq. analyst for what sounds like a legit buyside operator.... your career path is literally the CRE buyside industry (or sell side if you want to jump). Unless there is some detail I'm missing or you haven't given... I can't see how you don't see this as a major win better than what most get out of UG.
Also, as an FYI most of us who are into a career (like beyond the 5 year mark) don't give two fucks about joining Starwood/Blackstone/KKR one day. Literally that is the opposite of what happens, those people want to leave and join firms like the one you are describing. This is clearly a personal opinion, and as they say, YMMV, but name/clout chasing is not the goal for most in real estate once they get out of school and actually see how the world/industry works.
This. Working for a a small-mid sized development shop or PE fund is the end goal for many. Climbing the ranks of a Starwood or kkr sounds miserable.
Yes, agreed. I, like many, wanted to get my feet wet with these top firms when I first started, and now find myself wanting the least institutional shop possible. The only real benefit these shops have is there ability to fundraise, if you are on the investments side, I would argue that it might be the worst place to start out your career.
Thanks for the reply. Great insight. Exactly the reason I posted.
I partially agree, but the executive level people make or break a firm. I've been apart of a 3 person acquisition team with 6 FT employees total acquiring buildings for $100-$200M and my pay was way below market and the structure of the company was extremely unorganized as the founder made every decision, and was only working PT.
It is great experience, more experience than I could have hoped for in my first role. I even sourced a deal we closed for $130M, but the dysfunction at a small company and pay can really take away from the company just like any big fund. The difference is, with smaller funds you don't have any insight from forums like this.
Seems like OP enjoyed his time though, and if I enjoyed my time I 100% would have stayed as it is a good gig to get a ton of responsibility early on.
I agree. Btw- OP could you give me the name of the firm you work for? I’d love to throw in my resume lol.
The only thing better than working for the Big Brand, is making it a Big Brand.
I'm in OP's exact position but in SoFlo market. Thinking I should take the opportunity.
Think of it this way, if you try to go to a big name firm you'll take home a nice enough pay check for your career but you'll get burned out within 5 years and just be looking to get that "big money" which is the carry at the end of the day. At that point you'll look to go to a firm like the one you could go to right now, hoping to get in at a VP or senior associate role and work to get carry points and decision making ability.
The only reason they are big names is because they have a ton of investors, not because they are getting returns exponentially higher than a middle market firm getting 18-25% IRR. So take my 2 cents and start at a place that you'd end up anyways and get a head start on that carry. Plus, think of it as a challenge to make your firm a big name by doing your job and have deal after deal perform and you'll be able to grow fast. People invest with winners and the more you prove that you're good at your job the more they want to invest and grow.
If you're legitimately passionate about real estate, then a Blackstone/Starwood/etc will not fuel your passions any further. Just an FYI. Seems like the place you're at now is a good one.
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