Consulting or Banking for Venture Capital
I am currently a sophomore at a semi-target with a BB ib internship this summer. Assuming this opens me up to opportunities at elite boutiques and MBB consulting next summer, which do you think could better prepare me for a career in venture capital or growth equity? I would like to enter the industry out of undergrad and would prefer not to get an MBA.
Way too much unknown here to answer that. Depends on the actual company, the group you're in, your performance, whether you actually get hired, etc. Congrats on the interview though. Dominate it.
I recommend MBB (and especially Bain, then McKinsey) if you are interested in VC. More relevant work experience and training. I would recommend IB only if you are keen on very large ticket growth stage shops as the work then becomes more banking-like. As EBs may not be as well known outside of the high finance community, you may want to pick a strong BB to bring a recognisable brand. After all, ten years down the line you may be working in a tech firm and not a lot of people will have come across Evercore there, but GS probably.
Just to clear anything up. I have already accepted a SA offer at a low tier BB bank (DB, BarCap, BAML, Citi, UBS) working with debt. Last summer I worked at a tech start-up in the transportation industry. I like the smaller company feel, which is why I am looking at elite boutiques and MBB moving forward. m2, could you explain why the training of MBB would be better?
If you are interested in a typical, seed-stage fund I would think that MBB would prepare you much much better than banking would for that role. Bankers get hired into VC, but it is typically very late stage funds that are more growth equity than VC. Venture Capital funds want associates who can 1) Understand how a tech start-up works, and articulate what differentiates their product 2) Understands strategy and competitive landscapes 3) Knows a lot about tech
This is why their preferred background is successful tech entrepreneurs, but you'll notice that the description alligns much closer with MBB than banking - where your skillset is almost entirely useless as seed stage funds dont rely on excel the same way PE funds do.
@"CRR", essentially @"jss09" is making very good points here. Examples across the portfolio company lifecycle from areas I worked on recently:
Yes, there is certainly a lot of process management work (coordination of external due diligence as well as commercial advisors, managing your own investment committee) and some financial modelling indeed, however focus is clearly on the points I mentioned above. I have absolutely seen ex IBD guys getting good at looking at all these points as well, however I feel you develop an edge in these areas if you see how professionals do this - and after all, this forms a part of the bread and butter business of MBB.
There is certainly also M&A-type work - I have helped our management teams with a few bolt-ons - but mostly you look at organic initiatives and again, you will work on organic growth (or restructuring) initiatives in consulting. I led a portfolio review and right-sizing (meaning we killed products) and restructuring exercise (where we let go of about 1/3 of the portco) around 8 weeks after joining my VC firm and found it useful to have that functional experience (albeit absolutely not in that sector) from my previous job in consulting.
Certainly nothing here is rocket science but I find having done this before - and most importantly, knowing how to attack the unknown in a structured manner - gives you a lot of confidence in this job.
Laboriosam minus vitae culpa vitae id in. Non qui sed asperiores. Aut ratione voluptas dolore necessitatibus iste.
Sit fugiat rerum laborum molestias quas similique repellat similique. Omnis dolore incidunt hic et id. Aut nobis nam animi mollitia incidunt reprehenderit. Officia esse nobis omnis tempore optio sit explicabo.
Voluptatem et minima excepturi ut pariatur occaecati. Ut natus et sed in sed. Quasi corporis rem labore explicabo quo magni. Reiciendis sint omnis omnis.
Voluptas iusto sint beatae enim. Perferendis fugit quia qui ut. Necessitatibus tempora maiores laborum incidunt ullam voluptatum qui qui. Voluptatem a a nam quia. Animi quis non repudiandae hic vero dolorem sint. Voluptas et aut libero.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...