Path to Private Equity Post-MBA without Pre-MBA Banking Experience

Currently I'm working in valuations with a plan to apply to MBA programs next fall (2015).

One thing that I have not seen much discussion of on this site has been on the topic of breaking into PE post-MBA without pre-MBA banking experience. I would love to hear anecdotes, experiences, opinions, etc. If location plays any sort of factor, in my case it would be Chicago.

How to Break Into PE without Pre-MBA Experience

Our users shared that it will be difficult to break into Private Equity after getting an MBA if you don't have experience working in private equity before going to business school. However, another user shared that it can be done if you focus on a specific industry.

CountryUnderdog:
It's pretty hard to do even with IB pre-mba experience. In most cases you already need to have worked in PE pre-mba in order to get it post (i.e. the typical IB-->PE-->MBA-->PE path). PE industry hiring models are very particular, and they can afford to be given the small number of openings every year. I personally spoke to a partner last week at a MM PE fund and they literally screen resumes for PE Associate and if it isn't there the resume is tossed out unless they have a contact at the firm who speaks up for them.

That said, I can name a few people who made it into PE post-mba without prior IB or PE experience. But they are the exception, not the rule. The most common ones were guys who worked in Corp Dev prior to b-school and were able to spin their experience to be semi IB/PE like.

That said there's a few smaller PE funds that hire straight out of MBA programs without looking for pre-MBA PE experience. Comp/prestige right out of the gate aren't the same but from what I hear it's a pretty fun time.

While it is difficult - user @initialandrew", a corporate finance associate, shared a success story.

initialandrew - Corporate Finance Associate:
As someone that went into PE Post-MBA without Pre-MBA banking I can tell you it isn't easy but if you know the operations in a specific sector (i.e. tech, oil&gas, infrastructure, healthcare, etc) then it is completely doable. You will always be the long shot but especially MM PE they want you to know the operations of the sector for strategic purposes since they run such small teams.

If I was you I would network hard during school, be involved in anything finance/VC/PE related on campus and really know a sector then target firms/funds that do that.

On another note if you have valuation experience and don't plan to enter school until next year you have time to network now and try to score a pre-mba internship that will boost the resume.

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It's pretty hard to do even with IB pre-mba experience. In most cases you already need to have worked in PE pre-mba in order to get it post (i.e. the typical IB-->PE-->MBA-->PE path). PE industry hiring models are very particular, and they can afford to be given the small number of openings every year. I personally spoke to a partner last week at a MM PE fund and they literally screen resumes for PE Associate and if it isn't there the resume is tossed out unless they have a contact at the firm who speaks up for them.

That said, I can name a few people who made it into PE post-mba without prior IB or PE experience. But they are the exception, not the rule. The most common ones were guys who worked in Corp Dev prior to b-school and were able to spin their experience to be semi IB/PE like.

"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
 
CountryUnderdog:

It's pretty hard to do even with IB pre-mba experience. In most cases you already need to have worked in PE pre-mba in order to get it post (i.e. the typical IB-->PE-->MBA-->PE path). PE industry hiring models are very particular, and they can afford to be given the small number of openings every year. I personally spoke to a partner last week at a MM PE fund and they literally screen resumes for PE Associate and if it isn't there the resume is tossed out unless they have a contact at the firm who speaks up for them.

That said, I can name a few people who made it into PE post-mba without prior IB or PE experience. But they are the exception, not the rule. The most common ones were guys who worked in Corp Dev prior to b-school and were able to spin their experience to be semi IB/PE like.

This confirms what I've gotten the sense of from my own research. I appreciate the response!

 
CountryUnderdog:

It's pretty hard to do even with IB pre-mba experience. In most cases you already need to have worked in PE pre-mba in order to get it post (i.e. the typical IB-->PE-->MBA-->PE path). PE industry hiring models are very particular, and they can afford to be given the small number of openings every year. I personally spoke to a partner last week at a MM PE fund and they literally screen resumes for PE Associate and if it isn't there the resume is tossed out unless they have a contact at the firm who speaks up for them.

That said, I can name a few people who made it into PE post-mba without prior IB or PE experience. But they are the exception, not the rule. The most common ones were guys who worked in Corp Dev prior to b-school and were able to spin their experience to be semi IB/PE like.

Notice the important part:

unless they have a contact at the firm who speaks up for them

Doesn't mean you're getting in, and there are a few people that slip in (like he said there's a few ex corp-dev, military vets, from industry hires, etc) but they're the exception.

That said there's a few smaller PE funds that hire straight out of MBA programs without looking for pre-MBA PE experience. Comp/prestige right out of the gate aren't the same but from what I hear it's a pretty fun time.

 

As someone that went into PE Post-MBA without Pre-MBA banking I can tell you it isn't easy but if you know the operations in a specific sector (i.e. tech, oil&gas, infrastructure, healthcare, etc) then it is completely doable. You will always be the long shot but especially MM PE they want you to know the operations of the sector for strategic purposes since they run such small teams.

If I was you I would network hard during school, be involved in anything finance/VC/PE related on campus and really know a sector then target firms/funds that do that.

On another note if you have valuation experience and don't plan to enter school until next year you have time to network now and try to score a pre-mba internship that will boost the resume.

Good Luck OP

 
initialandrew:

As someone that went into PE Post-MBA without Pre-MBA banking I can tell you it isn't easy but if you know the operations in a specific sector (i.e. tech, oil&gas, infrastructure, healthcare, etc) then it is completely doable. You will always be the long shot but especially MM PE they want you to know the operations of the sector for strategic purposes since they run such small teams.

If I was you I would network hard during school, be involved in anything finance/VC/PE related on campus and really know a sector then target firms/funds that do that.

On another note if you have valuation experience and don't plan to enter school until next year you have time to network now and try to score a pre-mba internship that will boost the resume.

Good Luck OP

Thanks for the insight! I appreciate it.

 

As of late, I have seen quite a few JD/MBA students take the following path via summer internships: Corporate Law (M&A) --> IB --> MF PE

Is this fairly common? Any additional thoughts?

 

I'm a JD/MBA at a T6 Law MBA business schools ">M7 Business (pretty easy to figure out where from that statement) and have never seen that happen. So my thought would be very rare. Of course, that is barring them having at least an IB analyst stint prior to JD/MBA. With IB experience then maybe.

Also, it is rare for desirable employers to recruit JD/MBAs until their final year so really surprised you know of people that were able to make that happen. Specifically, top law firms only bring on interns in their final summer of study, with the exception of internships designed for minority applicants.

"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
 

Thanks for the insight. I am thinking about pursuing a JD/MBA here in a few years, so I have been sifting through the employment opportunities available to those who have taken the JD/MBA route and where they have ended up 10-15 years down the line. I have found a few examples which I have linked to below. Obviously these guys are few and far between, but just found it interesting.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/neal-sangal/13/690/3aa https://www.linkedin.com/pub/walker-brumskine/82/171/a32

I was unaware of your note regarding recruiting given the few examples I have seen.

On a side note, do you mind if I PM you down the line when I start thinking more about a JD/MBA. Also, would be great to hear your perspective on the JD/MBA via a thread when you finish the program.

 
snakeoil:

What about the MBA > Bain Consulting > PE route?

There are a few PE funds that like consultants and the larger ones are Bain Capital and guys who started funds out of Bain (Golden Gate, etc). There are a few other MM funds that are full of consultants (I can't think of them off the top of my head because there's a limited number of them) but most PE tends, pre or post MBA, to be ex-IB guys. PE likes people who know how to do transactions, especially because the lower level employees process the transactions.

And while there's an operational aspect to PE, it's widely overblown. Most of it is about doing deals. And when you're doing a deal you hire a consultant to really look at the operations of the company if you, as the PE fund, don't know the industry well enough to do it yourself (and you hire consultants throughout the process anyway). Then you hire operational guys at the portfolio company level to actually operate the company and the PE guys sit at the board level. Funds may also have some operational guys in the company or as an advisory function (who are willing to step into companies, this is especially true of funds who concentrate in restructuring and turn arounds) but they tend to be pretty seasoned operating execs (ex-C level guys). If you as a fund have to step into a more operational role something has most likely gone wrong at the portfolio company, or it's a unique situation where a fund employee wants to get some operational chops for a couple of years (I did this because I was interested in the industry, there was a unique situation that I had experience in and it got me to a geographic location I wanted to check out).

But OP, it's not to say your situation is impossible, but you'll really have to work hard to break in. I would say, and this isn't from experience but just a sense I get, that Chicago is slightly less rigid than NYC.

 
Dingdong08:
snakeoil:

What about the MBA > Bain Consulting > PE route?

There are a few PE funds that like consultants and the larger ones are Bain Capital and guys who started funds out of Bain (Golden Gate, etc). There are a few other MM funds that are full of consultants (I can't think of them off the top of my head because there's a limited number of them) but most PE tends, pre or post MBA, to be ex-IB guys. PE likes people who know how to do transactions, especially because the lower level employees process the transactions.

And while there's an operational aspect to PE, it's widely overblown. Most of it is about doing deals. And when you're doing a deal you hire a consultant to really look at the operations of the company if you, as the PE fund, don't know the industry well enough to do it yourself (and you hire consultants throughout the process anyway). Then you hire operational guys at the portfolio company level to actually operate the company and the PE guys sit at the board level. Funds may also have some operational guys in the company or as an advisory function (who are willing to step into companies, this is especially true of funds who concentrate in restructuring and turn arounds) but they tend to be pretty seasoned operating execs (ex-C level guys). If you as a fund have to step into a more operational role something has most likely gone wrong at the portfolio company, or it's a unique situation where a fund employee wants to get some operational chops for a couple of years (I did this because I was interested in the industry, there was a unique situation that I had experience in and it got me to a geographic location I wanted to check out).

But OP, it's not to say your situation is impossible, but you'll really have to work hard to break in. I would say, and this isn't from experience but just a sense I get, that Chicago is slightly less rigid than NYC.

Thanks! I really appreciate this!

 

Found two guys via LinkedIn who did JD/MBA at Kellogg/Northwestern and are now in PE/VC: Ram Jagannath Gabe Greenbaum

I also know at least one person who didn't have pre-MBA PE or IB experience and got a PE job at a small-to-MM fund. He was going against all odds and knew it and he tried exceptionally hard the full 2yrs in b-school. He's also brilliant and very sociable. He did two or three internships during b-school (including during-school internships for class credit).

Just gotta try very hard and know that it still may not work out in the end and be ok with that.

 

...before my MBA, and found it quite easy to move into ibd at a bb firm. Very common transation. I guess IT consulting is a bit harder to pull off, but you can still argue that you have strong analytics, know how to deal with clients and work under pressure, etc. The core skillset for consulting and banking is largely the same.

 

In fact, I know of at least one bank that prefers MBAs without banking experience.

That way they can mold them however they want.

I worked in Supply Chain and Operations at multinational and then as a consultant. Had no trouble transitioning to banking.

In my associate class out roughly 25-30, there were a handful with even finance experience. We even had a doctor.

 

For the bulge bracket banks, not having prior banking experience is not a problem. For some of the smaller elite boutiques (Lazard, Blackstone) supposively they prefer associates with banking experience. This is just what I've heard from MBA friends though, so anyone can correct me if I'm wrong.

You won't be able to move into PE after business school though without prior banking experience.

 

What did you do at the IB? A lot of those (read: pretty much all of them) that break into PE pre-MBA have M&A or LevFin experience OR know a lot of people with very deep pockets.

In the event you have M&A or LevFin experience, fit is a huge deal because MM PE shops are so small.

The above may be inaccurate in terms of necessary experience, though, as some firms are hiring out of undergrad now. I'd wait for someone to corroborate what I've said.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
mas1987:
What did you do at the IB? A lot of those (read: pretty much all of them) that break into PE pre-MBA have M&A or LevFin experience OR know a lot of people with very deep pockets.

In the event you have M&A or LevFin experience, fit is a huge deal because MM PE shops are so small.

The above may be inaccurate in terms of necessary experience, though, as some firms are hiring out of undergrad now. I'd wait for someone to corroborate what I've said.

So basically you're saying that you don't really know. Cool, dude. Way to go around giving "advice" by regurgitating what you've read here and there.

 

D M

What did you do at the IB? A lot of those (read: pretty much all of them) that break into PE pre-MBA have M&A or LevFin experience OR know a lot of people with very deep pockets.

What precisely do you mean by "knowing people with deep pockets" (I'm not in America)

 

Yea, well, turns out I had a change of heart after I typed that out and the Post button was closer then the back button :/ I'm sure you'll get over it someday.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
mas1987:
Yea, well, turns out I had a change of heart after I typed that out and the Post button was closer then the back button :/ I'm sure you'll get over it someday.

Thank you for the sarcastic admission, douche bag. Sorry but I just can't stand ignorant people giving advice. At least you said you weren't sure about your comments, and I'm not even saying you were wrong, but still. And if you insist on advising, get a username without your birth year in it, or one that's a few years before '87.

 

2.5 yrs M&A experience in a sector team - however, based outside the US

Also would it make sense to postpone the MBA by 1-2 years to gain some additional IBD experience - would this be valuable to PE firms in terms of comparing me to other candidates (who might have 2 IB + 2 PE exp.)?

 

^^Why say something so obvious; what value is added when you regurgitate the common knowledge that people say ad nauseum on this site (like "m&a and LevFin are best for PE" and "fit is more important at smaller shops" - no one with this guys experience needs to know that stuff...its like telling him that the sky is blue, and on top of it you add the fact that you don't really know anything in the first place) But enough of this bickering, it is stupid and irrelevant to this thread. I'm done, peace out.

 

I currently work in MM PE and from the conversations I've had with my boss (HBS grad), the competition for PE slots is fierce even at the top schools. According to him, the only ones who end up getting PE jobs are those with prior PE experience and even prior PE experience doesn't guarantee you a position, even at MM shops.

You've got to also realize that the skills learned as an analyst at a BB IBD are LESS transferable to MM PE than the skills learned as an analyst at a MM IBD shop. Now, this doesn't mean you are destined to failure if you're trying to land a PE job with only 2.5 years of BB experience, but I promise you that it will be a massive uphill battle.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Thanks for the comment CompBanker and quite consistent with what I've heard from the experience of other H / W MBA students. That brings me to my next question: does it make sense to get an additional 1-1.5 yrs of BB IBD experience and also give the market a bit of time to pick up before doing an MBA?

 

If you're going to try to get an additional 1 to 1.5 years of BB IBD experience, why wouldn't you just spend it in PE instead? It's recruiting season as we speak. Rather than extend your time in IBD, I'd advise that you transition to PE pre-MBA and get the experience now rather than risk missing out post-MBA. I'd say that if you can't be successful landing a pre-MBA associate position, you will have equal or greater trouble post-MBA.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Based in Australia so we have very few MM PE firms here that actually hire bankers (most seem to prefer consultants as they have a portfolio of small companies and are generally not looking to make new investments in the current environment).

The megafunds are mostly run out of HK / Singapore with regional offices in Australia and generally have very limited need for junior hires as they outsource to IB's heavily, and also because they have a lot of choice they hire at the 3-5yr experience bracket, substantially different to the US model, where a lot of hiring decisions are made around the MBA cycle.

 

Yep, they generally look to hire at the Associate 1 or 2 level

Remember also that the associates here are much younger as they've done the analyst program straight after their bachelor's and typically don't do an MBA

 

Still very, very hard. Outside of large cap funds, very few funds run a formal process. Most rely on their networks and old Associates who want to come back.

Glocap visits ~5-7 MBA programs each fall to provide a state of the market presentation. The deck I saw showed that there were something like 350-400 kids with pre-MBA PE experience in the class of 2013 at top 7 schools. They estimated somewhere around 100-150 available post-MBA spots.

Beyond that data, I can tell you from my recruiting process that fundraising and succession issues are weighing on the post-MBA hiring environment for MM funds. And most funds don't run a formal process. Rough numbers here, but HBS and Wharton each had fewer than 20 PE funds post on-campus and most of them were not huge names.

 
BananaStand:
Still very, very hard. Outside of large cap funds, very few funds run a formal process. Most rely on their networks and old Associates who want to come back.

Glocap visits ~5-7 MBA programs each fall to provide a state of the market presentation. The deck I saw showed that there were something like 350-400 kids with pre-MBA PE experience in the class of 2013 at top 7 schools. They estimated somewhere around 100-150 available post-MBA spots.

Beyond that data, I can tell you from my recruiting process that fundraising and succession issues are weighing on the post-MBA hiring environment for MM funds. And most funds don't run a formal process. Rough numbers here, but HBS and Wharton each had fewer than 20 PE funds post on-campus and most of them were not huge names.

Thanks for the great info. Sounds like for a career in MM PE, it might be beneficial to aim for a top MM like William Blair, and Harris Williams that do a LOT of business with MM PE's and utilize that network after MBA. Sat in an info session at Blair and they explicitly said more than 50% of their analysts go to PE firms and that they help them. I feel like that network will be helpful especially if you're from non-target undergrad. Your thoughts?

 

banana is spot on with his assessment. I've seen the data, and it seems that in past years ~60% of people with pre-MBA experience stayed in the industry. It may be lower currently and may skew up in the future depending on what happens with the industry.

 

It's basically all done via networking. If you have operational experience, I think getting the hard finance skills that IB offers would make you more well rounded.

Also, Long, Long term I want to own planet earth. Just saying

"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
 

I have pre-MBA PE experience but didn't pursue it during MBA. One of my classmates did not have a pre-MBA finance background but got into a great fund post MBA. He networked his a** off, starting 1st year. I'm sure you know, PE firms don't actively recruit on campus, even at the very top MBAs. I happen to think he's a very smart guy but he was networking/recruiting for PE almost non-stop.

I think your immediate plan should be thinking about where to intern between year 1 and 2. IB recruiting for summers tends to start early in the year. From what I recall, consulting was pretty much right after IB recruiting but very few people successfully interviewed/prepped for both.

I don't mean to be a d*ck but a lot of people on WSO tend to say "i'll do banking or consulting". If you're at a top program, most of your classmates will be attractive to both IB and MBB and are also talented, motivated, etc. so you have to put a lot of energy into recruiting for either role and the sooner you decide which to focus on, the more successful you will be for the summer.

 

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