Hi all, right out of undergrad and would really really appreciate information. I have an offer to be an analyst at one of these firms.
First: Am I right in saying these firms are relatively in the same "tier" in terms of exit opps, prestige, compensation etc? Are certain ones looked upon more favorably than others? Any idea what compensation looks like going up the ladder?
Second: Does anyone have any information on whether the analyst role is completely sourcing based (like a Summit model) at these places? Will I get any skills that are transferable to other jobs? Do these places have enough name recognition for me to lateral to more well-known firms later, or will I be pigeonholed by taking an analyst role at one of these firms?
I turned down a few other traditional offers (IB/Consulting) for this role because of my interest in technology investing, and am having a bit of a panic attack as I'm seeing a lot of people talk about how transitioning into GE after IB/Consulting is a better bet than going right into it. Would appreciate ANY thoughts people have.
They're all decently solid shops. Would rank them Spectrum > Stripes > SGE.
Sure, banking would probably give you more optionality and the ability to interview more easily at top growth places (TA, Summit, etc.), but honestly, growth is pretty cool no matter where you go.
Thank you for the info. Would others agree with this ranking? Just trying to get some sense of the GE world.
bumping to follow
No point in stressing about it now that youve already signed. Be glad you have a job lined up
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If youre going to spectrum for an analyst role, I think you are in good hands. Very reputable growth equity shop and ppl have left from there to KKR NGT and other MF. SIG is newer and playing similar model as Point72 and Citadel - not their main focus.
I will add I think it is hard to judge SGE with these other two firms since SGE is permanent capital. All of the firms mentioned will have sourcing as a majority of your time, but you will be involved in deal work for any companies your source and the diligence involved. I will also mention I have seen people move from similar firms to the TAs and Summits of the world too if that’s what you’re after.
don't have any helpful info here but wondering if you could share a bit about how you recruited for that type of role. Also super interested in tech investing
Yeah absolutely. I legitimately google "Growth Equity Analyst" during my senior year of college, and did resume/cover letter drops at a bunch of places. I did ZERO networking in this space, and truthfully appreciated the fact that it seemed like that wasn't important (was a huge turn off in banking as I encountered some real dumb dumb's getting GS TMT positions purely through connections).
appreciate it, I know what you mean. what kind of background did you have before that?
.
I have interacted with and competed against Susquehanna Growth Equity on several growth equity and LBO transactions. They were thoughtful, rational investors (a trait that is not always commonplace). They have purchased some very attractive businesses that I am familiar with and I would expect their returns to be at or above mean. It appears to be a shop where you would be taught to be a good investor. I can't opine on their Analyst role nor can I say anything on the other shops as I only know of them through reputation, not direct interaction. Good luck.
Appreciate your insight. Thank you!
Going to bump this once in case anyone has more info. Would really appreciate it - thank you!
I’m pretty interested in this route too - would you mind sharing your long term plan/potential exits? and how comparable is the comp to other industries you were considering?
^ interested as well. incoming SA at BB but considering GE out of college too. also what are your expectations for hours.
Coming from a target feel like there's so much groupthink about IB, now that I'm a bit older reconsidering it.
Yeah exactly. IB just seemed like hell to me even if it gave me some optionality. Expecting 50 hours on light weeks, 70 on bad ones. Comp is similar to consulting, probably less than BB analyst when considering bonus.
Others who have worked at these type of firms, please feel free to chime in if your experience was different.
is your goal to stay in growth equity long term or exit to another industry? what kinds of exits would there be?
I think the coolest exit to me would be transitioning to director/VP level position in a portfolio company. Looked at a lot of the Stripes/SGE associates, and seems like they got super cool jobs at some of the high growth portfolio companies after a few years. That would be awesome - as would staying in GE.
any advice for networking or recruiting for these firms out of undergrad as a semi-target? I go to a top 20 school that places decently into Ib/consulting but these growth equity firms don’t seem to actively recruit on campus
I go to a "target" school and none of these shops did campus recruiting here. I actually just found these positions through Google and applied with ZERO connections. I think they're all very specific as to which schools they recruit at. Stripes seems to like Cornell and Harvard. SGE seems like they heavily favor Penn/Princeton kids looking at their LinkedIn page. Think all of these firms put less emphasis. However, I do not go to any of the four schools I just mentioned and got interviews without any networking - think it is just about resume strength and interview performance.
Curious - why are you more interested in growth than traditional IB/consulting?
I'm still interested in consulting and planning to recruit in the fall. For IB, I really just find the analyst level work too mind-numbing and I think I'd generally be able to pursue the same exit opps that I'm interested in through consulting and probably a solid GE firm. Mainly I find tech investing really interesting - I'm studying CS in school and did a couple internships doing corp strat at tech companies.
hey, great job! GE seems like such a cool space and a lot more interesting than banking tbh. Ik that you've mentioned that you didn't really have to network for interviews, and I was just wondering what types of questions you were asked. Like where they super technical, about portfolio companies, etc.? thanks
thanks :)
They were not technical heavy at all. Way more about what technology trends and companies I kept up with, and how I would analyze different portfolio companies. My advice would be to become a mini expert in the industry the firm invests in, and be prepared to talk about different players/trends in the space.
Bump
I'm curious, what did you do junior summer?
Strategy consulting
did you have investing or finance experience? I’m in a pretty similar situation w consulting and interest in GE and I was worried my lack of investing work experience might be a dealbreaker
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