Making the switch from Biz Dev -> PE investment role but in a sector I'm less interested in. How hard is it to switch later?

  • 2nd year Analyst in corp dev (sourcing focus)
  • Non-target school with a lukewarm GPA
  • Dream long-term goal is to end up at a tech-focused buyout/late-stage growth shop

Current role is mostly (90%) sourcing, with some light execution work on deals that I bring in. It's a tough gig because my firm has a very tight mandate that they stick to and how we price knocks us out of >95% of the deals we get to IOI on. Of the 4 I've gotten to the table they've all fallen through due to legal DD problems/Covid apocalypse at or before the LOI stage, which is a little disheartening.

I love talking to founders and the social aspect of the job, but know that I want to be in an investment role for the longer term stability and optionality it offers vs coming from a BD role. I've spent a large chunk of my spare time over the last year studying guides and prepping for interviews at LMM/MM PE funds and have finally made it to the last step in a process. It's a solid LMM fund that's focused on more old school markets (Automotive, Food & Bev, Infra, etc).

I understand that any chance to jump from Corp Dev (especially a BD function) to PE investing is a huge opportunity that shouldn't be taken lightly. But, does moving away from tech to more brick & mortar-style businesses in order to get my foot into PE going to hurt me if I try to switch sectors later?

Does it make sense for me to all-in this role to make the change to principal investing side first or should I hold out and keep recruiting till something in tech opens up?

 

Im only here to say that it gets hard af to switch industries as you move up and further out from your undergrad graduation year. Some ppl have done it but most struggle to switch..

If I were you, I would take the LMM/MM PE role as it is only a step away from what you want to do eventually (industry switch) vs two step away from your BD role (career/industry switch)

 

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