IB Analyst to CF at a Startup

At a MM tech IB in in the M&A group and looking to jump to a startup, preferably very early stage, one of the first couple finance hires in the company

What stage do startups hire a finance role after the CFO? Whats that work like? Is there a clear connection from IB to this type of role?

 

Currently working as a strategic finance (title says corp dev because sometimes corp dev = strategic finance @ these startups + WSO doesnt have strategic finance). My background was not in banking, but my org is Series C (completing rn) and I was hire #3 on the strategic finance team. Other team members are from IB + Consulting. Happy to answer more questions.

 
Most Helpful

A lot of responsibilities. Responsible for execution of all sorts (ppt building, model building, forecasting / budgeting, capital allocation). You get your hands on everything and the entire organization is relying on us to develop strategic initiatives and facilitate that decision making process. Get exposure to execs as well (IE: had a project of building a slightly augmented rev model to highlight what would change if X variable was Y not Z). I think it teaches you a lot about the operational drivers of actual financial performance of an organization. We are responsible for all exhibits + analyses pertaining to BoD meetings / fundraising purposes as well. 

Day to day is usually working on a series of projects (chipping away based on relative priority) / running and preparing for business unit meetings. Work flow varies a lot as you can imagine. Always the opportunity to derive novel projects that you believe is value add (for me, I want to introduce some form of market pulse by conducting industry analysis and research). Also, other divisions of the org will ask for random requests (IE: what are the financial implications of this product changing). Overall, a truly diverse exposure with very few mundane projects. 

WLB on the whole is good. My team is pretty autonomous and trustworthy of one another so I can kinda work when I want, so long as the work products are good. Of course, this goes out the window with meetings, for example. Team is very open to sit and chat to game plan about the tactical approach to handling projects or laying out what we want in a deck (have heard in IB sometimes analysts have no clue what to do and have no clue where to start). Hours can also vary. Right now, given a quarterly BoD meeting + fundraising we were swamped (~90ish hour weeks + weekend work) but on the whole I would say that figure is more like ~65 (I also do like to work on weekends just for my own mental sanity so YMMV). Definitely feel like I have visibility at all times and, like I was saying above, my team is super transparent and more than happy to Zoom to layout literally steps to success. I've communicated that I need logical progressions in workflow, so we literally have a system of "order of operations" for projects, which makes my life SO much easier and efficient. I would hate to have to just guess at what the next step (or first step) is. 

 

What did the Case study entail? How did you (if applicable) prepare for it? Always curious how these case studies play out. What kind of questions did you ask to gauge the success of the start up?

 

Autem labore nulla quis et sint. Quo sit ut ut natus praesentium. Est est veniam quos eos consequatur non debitis. Illo dicta nisi nihil. Tempora sed ullam qui occaecati repellat consectetur tempore. Autem libero molestiae ipsam voluptas eius hic. Earum quo dolorem et eaque enim.

Blanditiis blanditiis rerum enim nisi aut in. Illum alias vel rerum molestiae.

Et in molestiae voluptas occaecati nam omnis. Sed quos laudantium qui. Natus perferendis et harum quibusdam pariatur quibusdam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”