Yes, I already used the search bar and couldn't find anything on the topic. All I found was compensation comparison between VC and PE.
I recently jumped into the interview process at a Midwest VC shop, but I know I want to do IB. Is the VC analyst --> MBA --> IB Associate route common?
Definitely very doable with an MBA. In the midwest you could maybe even network and lateral to IB after a year or two. Why do you want IB over VC?
Does the size of the fund matter? Its a smaller fund with 25 employees. They've got a few solid investments under their belts though. I've got a good friend that just started at the fund as a project manager. I'm in the interview for a financial analyst, but my friend said they might try to get me to go for the market analyst position instead. Thoughts on that?
A few reasons I would rather do IB than VC:
ya editing powerpoints until 2 am is more interesting work than investing in startups
Is it in Chicago?
It's not. It's in a smaller city than Chicago, but one of the larger cities in the midwest. Growing quickly.
It's certainly a very plausible route. In terms of how common: it may appear uncommon but that's only because there are very few pre-MBA VCs to begin with. Then among those, most want to go back into VC or go to a startup or a more entrepreneurially-minded corporate. Most VCs have the entrepreneur goal in one flavor or another.
For the few pre-MBA VC's who would rather do banking, it makes a ton of sense and you're really well positioned for it.
Thanks, that helps a lot.
In terms of position, they want me to go for market analyst rather than financial analyst. How much of a difference does that make? It seems slightly less modeling-intensive.
Not sure what market analyst role is. If it's what it sounds like - analyzing markets - it sounds plenty relevant for transitioning to IB later.
Step 1: become legendary sourcer in VC Step 2: take your relationships and jump to director Step 3: profit
Definitely try and stick with the Financial Analyst role over market analyst. Much much more relevant for what you want to do. Also, why go IB if you're already in a direct investing role? If you plan on doing the MBA route, going from VC to PE is definitely a possibility. This is especially true if its later institutional VC. What's the funds AUM?
Financial analyst over market analyst was definitely my goal, but they're looking for someone with more experience for the financial analyst (they weren't really clear in the job description). MBA is definitely an option for me. PE would be a good fit for the same reasons I listed above about IB.
AUM $50 mm
Ah, it may be difficult to go directly --> MBA --> PE, depending on what size fund you're targeting. It's great out of school experience that I won't knock, but if you can, I'd try to trade up in size for a bit before hitting your MBA.This also depends on your current funds trajectory. Are these ex-KP partners who started a lifestyle fund for funsies? Or are they non-institutional grade investors trying their hand at something new?
To answer OP, no it is not very common for the main reasons stated above that 1) there aren't many VC analysts/associates to begin with and 2) most people go from sellside to buyside and not the other way around.
That said, it really depends on the quality of the fund. 25 people at a regional midwest city with a small fund size is very different than working at NEA, Sequoia, etc.
You can probably compare comp to get a sense of where your current fund falls on the prestige scale. As an analyst you would expect to get $150-$200K all-in at a reputable bank. Is that in line with your current comp? If yours looks more like $55K base with a 20% bonus than you are more likely at a bucket shop and a move to a higher level firm probably makes complete sense.
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