Seeking Advice: Trading Startup vs. Investment Company – Which Path Is Best for IB/PE or should I continue in Sales & Trading?
I'm currently in my second year of university and doing a summer internship at an investment company / industrial serial acquirer with €160M in annual revenue and around 40 subsidiaries. While most of my work is in business development, I’ve recently started getting exposure to M&A – supporting due diligence and strategic assessments. They've offered me a 75% part-time position during my final year, with the potential to transition into a full-time role thereafter.
Before this internship, I worked part-time as a Junior Sales Trader at a trading startup focused on environmental commodities – primarily Guarantees of Origin, EU ETS, and Carbon Credits. We're a small three-person team, and during our first 8 months we've generated €6.7M in revenue with a 15% net margin. I’ve currently paused that role during the summer.
Now I’m a bit torn on what path to choose for my long-term career in Investment Banking or Private Equity – which was my initial goal. Should I continue pursuing that path via the investment company, or just double down on the trading startup where I’m already seeing strong commercial traction and the potential to make serious money early on?
At the same time, I'm aware of the regulatory risk in the environmental certificates market – part of me worries that “Ursula von der Leyen wakes up one day and decides to replace the entire system.” That uncertainty makes me question whether this is just short-term upside or something sustainable long-term.
Would really appreciate any input from those who’ve faced similar decisions or taken alternative paths into IB/PE or works within Sales & Trading today.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s how you can approach your decision:
1. Investment Banking/Private Equity Path
2. Sales & Trading Path
3. Key Considerations for Your Decision
4. Suggested Path Forward
Ultimately, your decision should be based on your long-term career goals, risk tolerance, and personal interests. Both paths have their merits, but the investment company role offers a more direct route to IB/PE, while the trading startup provides entrepreneurial experience and potential for early financial success.
Sources: Why choose Sales and Trading over Investment Banking?, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/qa-consulting-pe-early-stage-startup-b-school?customgpt=1, Startup PE Shop - Self Funded, Staying a third year as a PE associate vs. doing something nontraditional, Rising Junior Losing Hope and In Need of Advice
They're 2 different paths. Trading is less stable, but longer tails. I'd say it's likely that PE and Trading have the same expected value, very different variance.
Why PE? Is there something intrinsic to it that trading doesn't provide? Or is it just the "classic, stable" path many pick because they can't figure out what they actually like?
If it was ordinary trading (stocks, futures, and so on) I would not be as worried. But as I said earlier, environmental certificates as Guarantees of Origin, I am not so sure that this will be around forever and I need to make a decision. What would you do if you were in my shoes and what do you do today?
That was a first internship very early on. No need to go back there if you don't want, you can very easily try to use that experience + network to go for something that has more staying power and demand. You have the experience likely needed to end up in an IB or S&T desk at a bank if you network and such.
When you're still a student, it's best to find out what path you tolerate the most, because at the entry level pretty much all jobs are not the best. If you can tolerate IB for 2 years, you can go to firms where you might eventually end up doing really interesting work. If you can tolerate and like trading, then S&T is still a good path(but pick up some DS if you're doing this path. While not strictly needed, it helps a lot and could lead to roles in prop shops)
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