BB VC vs Boutique Investment Bank

I have the opportunity to intern at either the VC division of a Bulge Bracket or at a small M&A boutique bank. My role at the BB VC will include modeling, analyzing cap tables, etc. If I were planning on trying to get a BB IB Summer Analyst position in the future, which do you think would be more beneficial? Thanks!

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

How small is this M&A boutique? Is it a no name or do they have a lot of quality bankers from past BB / EB backgrounds?

Your mileage may vary with VC from an internship experience. There's probably less in the way of 'modeling', but it'll likely be quite interesting, particularly from the perspective of getting exposure to a world outside of IB. I would also suspect that since it's a VC arm of a BB, there's a good chance some of the folks you'll work with will have come from an IB background and may have ties and relationships with the IB side of the BB. They can provide you with perspective on their career paths, and maybe even connect you to the IB side during your summer. While you're summering at the BB, you could use that as an opportunity to reach out to IB professionals for coffee.

Unless the M&A shop is a very notable one, I'd take the BB VC spot for the following reasons: (1) BB name and network - You can network with bankers within the BB during your summer, and a BB VC position is an attractive one that's unique, and will get you some looks for IB SA/FT (2) Exposure to something different - You really don't know if you'll like or dislike something until you've actually tried it. And VC's not something most people get exposure to so early on in their careers. This will be a great chance to see a career path people consider after a few years of IB/MC/startups/MBA/maybe PE.
(3) Exciting time to be in tech - A lot of banks are getting involved in startups, whether its through partnerships, in-house development, or via investment. There's a lot of activity, so you could potentially see a lot during your summer, or at least gain some perspective on it. (4) You have more than one summer - You mentioned you're trying to set yourself up for IB SA in the future, meaning you have more than one summer internship before FT. In that case, there's less onus to do IB this summer before trying to secure FT. In that case, I'd use the opportunity to do something different (that also doesn't disadvantage you from a positioning perspective). BB VC checks those boxes.

 

Quis aut et molestias consequatur dolorem ut. Dolores sequi aliquid autem dolore. Quis quia aperiam hic quo eligendi asperiores ipsa fugit.

Natus et explicabo recusandae culpa dolores cupiditate quo. Dolorum quos expedita quam nulla nemo possimus ea. Blanditiis illo itaque qui sequi id assumenda. Voluptas odio aut aut. Non sit exercitationem pariatur ut.

Dolorem laudantium molestiae minus dolores dolores aut voluptatem. Quis ut architecto mollitia quia. Inventore vitae assumenda consequatur ut. Eveniet fuga asperiores ullam ut.

Dolores esse vero aut aut sit quia. Debitis aperiam repudiandae eos. Amet impedit est iusto provident. Consequatur enim exercitationem optio nihil ipsum asperiores commodi quo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”