Ive seen some posts on this from a few years back, but wanted to see if I could get some updated info on it.
Their are a number of PE Shops looking to hire 'Business Development Associates" to source / cold call 80% of the time. From someone with a non traditional background, would a job like this be beneficial at all for breaking into PE?
Any idea on the hours / comp for this? Most of these firms seem to be 10 man shops.
I have no issues cold calling, but I dont want this to be a dead end / worthless position. Worth sending a resume in for them?
I was in this EXACT same situation, once upon a time. I ended up interviewing for two such positions. One straight up said "we want you for two years to cold-call, but then we'll turn you lose. Go to B School or do something else, we don't care." Translation=dead end job.
The other said it was USUALLY a dead-end job, but for certain candidates they feel possess the academic and intellectual pedigree and ability to transition to the deal team, they make an offer and it's NOT a dead end job.
To answer your question, if you impress someone enough, it might be a way to break in. But most of these are, as you say, dead-end and worthless positions. Send in resumes, interview, see if there is a chance to move into execution long term, and go from there.
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There is a lot of value in learning how to deal source, but if it's primarily from cold calling and you spend the vast majority of your time doing it, then it's not a great opportunity. If it's 50% sourcing (combo of cold calling, networking, conferences, warm calling firm contacts, etc.) and 50% execution, then it's a great opportunity in my opinion because you should begin building a rolodex, learn how to find deals (very important), and learn the execution work. If they just want to use you for 2 years and then spit you out at the end, they clearly do not value you.
It depends. Business Development Associate means you'll spend 80% of your time sourcing and the other 20%... executing? If such is the case, it sounds like a pretty typical growth equity spot. If it's a ten person shop and your title is "Business Development Associate," you'll likely be pounding the phone all day, every day, maybe spend some time traveling to trade shows, but you'll be building a network and selling.
Growth equity associate roles on here get a pretty bad rap. Everyone knocks on sourcing, but I think it ends up being a great skill set to have, because it's really about networking and building relationships... and you're doing it with executives in your mid-20s. Places like TA and Summit suck because you're expected to make XXX calls per month, regardless of how many deals you're staffed on. That means if you got staffed on a live deal and sourced another, you still have to fit in your calls while maintaining your work load. Basically, you have to dial from 8am to 7-8pm and then do execution work. Most other places place deal execution above sourcing, so when you're busy working on a deal, you're not still expected to make the same amount of calls.
Hours also tend to be pretty solid for business dev/growth equity because think about it... you can only be calling for a period of about 12 hours a day as is. Most growth equity places in the east work about 8-8:30am until 7-7:30pm. That can of course vary.
wannabebeachbum, good post, I agree with that. If it's chew and spew, place sucks. You'll build great sales skills, so if you want to go to business school/move into sales in a corporation, great place. If not... you won't learn much except for smiling and dialing.
A lot of places will place a heavy emphasis on sourcing in the beginning to (1) get you comfortable to being on the phones and interacting with senior guys, and (2) get your name out there. Once you make contact one or twice with your coverage, maintaining that relationship becomes much easier (especially if you're affiliated with a top fund). At that point, hopefully you've sourced a deal or two and you're getting staffed on ad hoc deals that partners are bringing in. I've heard lots of "sourcing" models say 80% sourcing first six months, and phases down to 50% or less during year two.
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bump
Here's a perspective; You'll be getting lots of reps in the most valuable skill. It all depends what you do from there, If you're an entrepreneurial hustler, you'll turn the experience into gold. Otherwise you might not.
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