New PE Associate - should I help with fundraising?
Hi all - just joined a boutique LMM PE firm as a 2nd year Associate. Has a couple of portfolio companies. We don't have a fund yet, just a couple of HNW guys that back us on a deal-by-deal basis. But the goal is to raise a fund this Fall and the process to get that going has started.
I'm up for Senior (post-mba) Associate at the end of the year. My question is: should I offer to the partners to spend a lot of time helping them to fundraise? While obviously it will be good for me to say I helped raise our fund, it will also take a lot of time away from my doing and leading deals, which is what I should focus on to prove (and improve) myself as an investment professional to get the promotion to Senior Associate. I'm worried that if I spend, say 50%, of my time on fundraising this summer and Fall, I'll set myself up as the fundraising guy and my value will drop by 50% after the fund is raised.
I want to be as value add as possible, and being a key part of raising the first fund will be very impactful, but I also want to make sure there are no outstanding questions on my deal experience and acumen when the promotion discussion comes up. What do you guys think?
bump
You should be able to work on both sides, most of your work will be related to transactions but you cannot completely avoid the fundraising side, specially given the current situation of your firm.
It can't hurt, especially at a smaller firm. I'd definitely prioritize sourcing and doing deals, but all small firms have an all hands on deck type of mentality so I'd offer to help out as much as possible.
Truthfully, fundraising is an important skill if you want to have a long-term career in PE/VC so it wouldn't be the worst to have get some exposure at the junior level. It can also be a great learning experience if your partners are good at fundraising.
Helping out on fundraising is a quick way to get up to speed on the portfolio quickly, the firm's "story" and the pitch that you can subsequently use to drive discussions with management teams / sellers down the road
Being able to raise capital is one of the most important skills...
I don't mean being a fucking monkey but actually leading and executing raises. I know several guys that do nothing but cobble money together for deals and make 7 figures. Not sure how it's not "value add".
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