Exit Options from New Fund

Posting from a new account. Curious to get thoughts from people who have either been in my situation, seen people in similar situations, or are very familiar with the PE recruiting process post entry-level.

I came from a fairly strong coverage team at a BB in NYC. As an analyst, I was interviewing at a handful of Megafunds and MM funds when I bailed and took my current role at a new fund. I should note that the fund had already raised capital and clsoed one deal when I joined, so it wasn't a total start-up.

The fund is pretty small (~$300mm) and without going into too much detail, operates in a fairly niche space. I took the role because I had the opportunity to join a very lean team, play a fairly big role in our deals, and do something a bit entrepreneurial. I should also add that I was offered some pretty meaningful carry economics for an Associate (mid to high single digits), but took a meaningful pay cut relative to what I would have earned in cash elsewhere (about ~$150k all in for my first year). If things go well, my carry should make up for / surpass what I would have made at a more established fund.

I've largely enjoyed my experience so far (about two years in). It's hard to draw comparisons, as most of my friends landed at much larger funds, but I feel like I play a large role in our deals relative to my friends at large funds. I'm fairly regularly meeting solo with management teams, negotiating high-level terms, etc., and I have pretty good visibility into being promoted to VP this year.

That being said, I have some pretty material concerns. Operating in a niche space, we have struggled to source quality deals and haven't deployed capital at the rate I would have hoped for. We have a line of sight into closing some pretty large deals over the next ~3 months, but there's still always a high level of uncertainty. To add to that, our partners are from operating backgrounds and don't have PE investing experience prior to raising the fund. Lastly, I don't like the deal that was closed prior to my joining the firm, and I'm worried it's going to be a drag on the fund.

I really am enjoying what I'm doing, and I'm naturally hesitant to forfeit my carry, which could be worth a ton for someone in their 20s. However, I do want to be conscious of what my options are if I would be forced to leave. I obviously understand that at this point, I'm not going to go work at a Megafund. But do any of you have any thoughts on how well my experience could transfer to a more traditional, established MM fund (again considering that I've been doing small deals in a very specific space)?

Would really appreciate any input.

 

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