Is it possible for me to break into PE/VC from undergrad with my background?

So I managed to land a PE internship this summer at a boutique shop. We've been working on one deal in the Lower Middle market. I've also worked on an equity financing raise ( they also do some IB stuff). They have let me get pretty involved in the deals.

GPA is 3.7 Cumulative, 3.8 Major from a ~top 10 state school that has decent placement in high finance.

Also had a previous internship in Wealth Management, and other non finance-related work experience.

Anyway, would this be enough to be competitive for MM/Lower MM/Growth Equity/VC?

Also, what firms recruit from UG?

10 Comments
 
"Make Piper Jaffray Great Again"

Pretty damn hard to go to a decent PE/VC out of undergrad unless you are top at Wharton or similar.

I dont even care if its decent. Below average is fine. I just want to skip the 100 hour work weeks if possible.
 
"jnijnijn"
Make //www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/piper-jaffray rel=nofollow>Piper Jaffray Great Again:

Pretty damn hard to go to a decent PE/VC out of undergrad unless you are top at Wharton or similar.

I dont even care if its decent. Below average is fine. I just want to skip the 100 hour work weeks if possible.

Grow up. You still have to work hard in PE... Especially if you have dry powder and are doing deals. You can knock it all you want but IB is valuable experience at the Analyst level. I would rather do BB/EB IB for 2 years and attempt going to PE than go to whatever podunk $200mm fund is dumb enough to hire an undergrad.

That said there are exceptions.. aka. MFs that now take undergrads.

 
"HugLife"
jnijnijn:

Make //www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/piper-jaffray rel=nofollow>Piper Jaffray Great Again:Pretty damn hard to go to a decent PE/VC out of undergrad unless you are top at Wharton or similar.I dont even care if its decent. Below average is fine. I just want to skip the 100 hour work weeks if possible.

Grow up. You still have to work hard in PE... Especially if you have dry powder and are doing deals. You can knock it all you want but IB is valuable experience at the Analyst level. I would rather do BB/EB IB for 2 years and attempt going to PE than go to whatever podunk $200mm fund is dumb enough to hire an undergrad.

That said there are exceptions.. aka. MFs that now take undergrads.

Lol. Grow up because I want to skip being a slave if I can?
 
"jnijnijn"
HugLife:

jnijnijn: Make //www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/piper-jaffray rel=nofollow>Piper Jaffray Great Again:Pretty damn hard to go to a decent PE/VC out of undergrad unless you are top at Wharton or similar.I dont even care if its decent. Below average is fine. I just want to skip the 100 hour work weeks if possible.Grow up. You still have to work hard in PE... Especially if you have dry powder and are doing deals. You can knock it all you want but IB is valuable experience at the Analyst level. I would rather do BB/EB IB for 2 years and attempt going to PE than go to whatever podunk $200mm fund is dumb enough to hire an undergrad.That said there are exceptions.. aka. MFs that now take undergrads.

Lol. Grow up because I want to skip being a slave if I can?

Banking gives you the tool kit you need in PE. Yes you spend a ton of BS time on process oriented BS and PowerPoint. BUT that is part of paying your dues and learning the process and learning how shit works.

You will never get the same training in PE at some LMM shop out of undergrad. ALSO you have one LMM PE internship in undergrad and 1 PWM internship. No IB and you have no clue how to functionally do any of the analysis one is expected to do on a deal.

Lazy FUCKING kids these days all try cheating the system cuz they wanna work at KKR/Apollo/Third Point but they don't want to actually put in real work to get there.

 
Best Response

@jnijnijn A couple of your comments show that you haven't thought all of this through, you just "don't want to work 100 hour work weeks" and you really "don't even care if it's decent. Below average is fine."

I understand the mentality, of why work hard if I can just skip to the end goal. The world is that simple when you are in college, if I have to do (a) to get to (b), why not see if I can just skip (a) and go right to (b). I jumped right to a lower MM PE firm after college and quickly regretted it. It seems like you are pretty smart and have a bright future ahead of you. However, you made no effort to not sound like a college kid whose parents have told them that they are special and unique, like a snowflake. It's a lesson you would learn in IBD, if you want someone to help you, don't just be a dick and expect them to, ask with sincerity and respect. Also, you'd learn to check your grammar before sending something.

"I dont even care if its decent. Below average is fine. I just want to skip the 100 hour work weeks if possible." "Lol. Grow up because I want to skip being a slave if I can?"

These comments reflect that you don't know what you are getting into, and that's ok. I doubt many of us on this board knew in college exactly which investment strategy, geography, industry, and size range we wanted to get into. Many college students come on this forum and ask how do I get to PE, but don't even consider, why should I do PE or what type of PE do I want; they've all typically just read "Barbarians at the Gate". It shows a lack of understanding of the industry, and that you don't truly want it, you want it for other reasons (e.g., money, prestige). One of the benefits of working at an Investment Bank is you have time to figure out what you really want to pursue in life, because at some point, it goes from being about money and prestige to being about happiness.

Best of luck!

EightAceTres

Play the long game - give back, help out, mentor - just don't ever forget where you came from. #Bootstrapped
 

i'm not really sure what a top 10 state school is but there's a big drop between ucla/cal/uva/mich/unc and the rest and i'm assuming you're not at one of the schools mentioned. going to be tough but not impossible. network a ton and figure out which firms hire undergrads and try to build connections there

 

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