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They love to hire out of undergrad and groom their people for career track roles. They also have a very large team (relative to fund size) committed to a unique sourcing strategy. I hear the sourcing stuff is actually pretty legit. I also hear they drastically, painfully underpay their people: probably worse than 50% under market. 

 

It's good that they hire out of undergrad, but wow that underpayment is massive. Do you know how exits are from there/could potentially be?

 

Having spent a couple of years there, I would say this is pretty accurate. The sourcing engine is genuinely one of the best in the game, and they only continue to improve. 

As for the pay, that comment is accurate at least for my time there.

However, in the time since, I know that some of the critical reviews here and on Glassdoor have made it all the way up the chain. As such, I wouldn't be shocked if pay has improved, though I can't personally speak to it.

 

The dedicated sourcing team is definitely attractive. However, regarding the pay, are you sure? As the user above mentioned they underpay a lot. Also, curious regarding exit opps. Thanks nonetheless!

 

Those were not HR cover ups. I know with certainty that those positive posts were actual former employees who thought that the initial scathing review was a cheap-shot that painted an unfair picture of Five Elms. Consequently, they jumped into defend their former employer (read: friends who still work there) with authentic positive reviews. As an aside, everyone should take caution to avoid cynical interpretations of everything in life -- it can lead you astray at best or down the road to ruin at worst. As proof that cynicism is often just flat wrongheaded, I am one of the former employees who wrote one of those positive Glassdoor reviews. And I did so on my own volition. Why? (a) I still have friends there. (b) All the folks there are genuinely good people. (c) A lot of folks put a ton of blood, toil, tears and sweat into building Five Elms into something unique and special even if imperfect, and their hard work doesn't deserve to be torn down by cynics. Build bridges, don't burn them.

 

Here's the candid review from one of their former employees, no wonder HR/mgmt tried to conceal it:

The firm management talks a lot about culture, but their idea of culture is more happy hours and one firm trip a year, not things that actually make culture like seeking and actioning on feedback, respecting employees, or trying to improve management skills. They take advantage of the fact that they are in Kansas City (less competitive job market for growth equity) to pay below market salaries and give no bonuses (unheard of). The whole idea of the firm seems to be, “how can we pay people as little as possible to get the most out of them”.

The firm is run in a very old school/hierarchical boys club way where the three original team members and founder are more concerned about looking good to eachother and want things to be run like it’s 15 years ago. They have no tolerance for working from home (ironic given the founder doesn’t actually come to the office much) and insist on overly formal work attire. I wouldn’t work with them or for them unless forced to.

 

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