Lately I've been thinking about starting my own business. I have an idea. It would be a bricks-and-mortar business, so it would require some funding. I don't come from a rich family, nor do I have a substantial amount of money (IB after college, but if I could I'd rather go the startup route.
Two things worry me:
1. I don't have money and it's a b&m business. Would I be screwed?
| +69 | Ex Apollo Associate Q&A (But I Actually Answer) | 113 | 2m | |
| +56 | Q&A - Anything about PE / MBA / Life | 62 | 2s | |
| +45 | How to Model SaaS Projections for Interviews | 49 | 1d | |
| +36 | [Technical doubt]: Cash sweep and mandatory amortization | 9 | 12h | |
| +23 | European Megafunds (based on PEI 2023) | 17 | 2d | |
| +22 | Partners Group Long Term | 8 | 1d | |
| +22 | Is internal reporting at most funds really so Excel & PPT heavy still? | 8 | 8h | |
| +19 | Advent NYC Culture/WLB - 2024 update | 9 | 48m | |
| +18 | How much thematic work / industry research do you guys do? | 0 | 2h | |
| +18 | How is your life in PE? | 12 | 27m |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Why not do the start up after a 2 year analyst stint?
or during? not much to lose. if your start-up fails you will still have a very marketable resume for bschool/buyside/f500
I'd try and get into IB. Gut out the 2 year analyst part so you've got some money and some networking. Then re-evaluate your start up and career path/goals. Doing so would allow you to 1) Obtain some money 2) Meet potential investors/customers/partners and 3) Allow you to really think about starting a business (many of them fail, with the owners far worse off than before). Not saying yours will, just saying it will give you ample time to decide if that is what you want to do.
would it be possible to get into vc after the ib(2 years)->Entrepreneurship if it fails?
or would I have to go get an MBA?
I see a lot of people defending their career choices. I also see a lot an OP who wants to do something but lacks resources for it. B&M has significant sunken costs. I can't stress how much you should avoid these if you are using 100% own capital.
I started my business while i was doing big 4 audit hours. It took all the money i had, and all the free time i had too. Was incredibly draining, but i wasnt going to lose the house if it didnt work.
Let nothing stand in the way of you going about what you want to do, but remember its the real world, and make sure you can live with your consequences.
Also, some more info: I have 3 years left of university. I go to a regional target with a business school. Majoring in business.
This is a real hurdle. As I'm sure you know, launching and running a brick and mortar business is extremely time consuming. I suspect that being in school (full-time I assume) would be a real limitation when trying to secure funding.
Sorry, I know this probably doesn't help you much. As graduation approaches though, I don't see why you couldn't make it happen.
is it just an idea, or is it a burning passion, something in your head and heart that you have to do, or is it just an idea?
Is there any way of spinning it away from B&M (mine is an online one). Look up shop rental, shopfitting costs, rates, and inventory costs, you will never get change out of 30k for even a shoebox after a year.
Pm me the basic concept of the idea and maybe we can figure something out.
Get a job though, lots of bankers have gone on to start their own thing. Doesnt have to be IB, but having a salary and someone to talk to is useful. Also, you can probably afford a lot of outsourced people if you have a good income. odesk ftw :)
Also, I would not assume this to be a likely scenario. While it certainly could happen, chances are your opportunities would be limited to starting another business or working in a small business setting somewhere.
The business world, for better or worse, does not reward failure.
Maybe others will have had different experiences though...
Frankly I would encourage you to look into doing this while in college. If you fail at this venture during the next three years you've still got the IB backup plan. As Trazer said, try to minimize your sunk costs as much as possible. I think entrepreneurship is a great learning experience so long as you're not bankrupting yourself personally. Yea you might lose some money, but you'll make it back should you go the IB analyst route and you'll gain an awesome story to tell b-school adcoms.
Why would you be screwed?
I would be starting a b&m business which requires a lot of money. How would I get funding? I don't come from an affluent family, nor do I have that much money myself.
Sorry, I mean, why does it necessarily have to be expensive to start up? Isn't there a way to save some money in the early years, such as running it out of your house, or starting on the internet before B&M? I feel like usually, there are some ways to economize early on, but maybe I'm wrong...
Nobody is going to give you 100% funding. Find another business. There are way too many start up costs that you are not prepared to handle financially. I've started a few businesses of my own and you need capital whether through friends or family.
Your exit ops will be any job to pay back all the debt you are going to incur.
Depends on the business but more than likely your local bank or credit union. Unless you have some new state of the art technology/product/service you can find angel investors. You can also try the Small Business Administration. Bank is almost out of the question with only 2k. Anyone needs to see some sort of commitment on your part. You need to put up money or some sort of collateral. Do you have any assets?
I actually did this last year for my tech venture and went on to raise some capital.
PM me with specific questions.
Where do you go to school? Are you in an undergrad business school specifically?
Lots of schools have Entre type programs - you can at the very least talk to a knowledgeable advisor at your Uni, and he will likely have funding ideas / be able to point you in the right direction
^^^^ Fail.
Et qui quibusdam pariatur sequi et nihil. Enim natus ut maiores unde. Molestiae nostrum vitae incidunt. Perspiciatis molestiae dolor ex cum non magnam laboriosam.
Voluptatibus temporibus cumque quia voluptatem quia sit sit placeat. Qui consequatur optio alias voluptatem in dolor. Nobis quae amet veritatis omnis optio.
Repudiandae autem et aut quasi ut. Veniam consequuntur eius est rem aut voluptatibus. Architecto sunt repellat quae aut voluptate. Id dolor ex porro facilis exercitationem quis.
Libero architecto corporis reprehenderit vel et quo debitis. Aut ut perferendis sapiente veritatis enim eaque a. Aut possimus perspiciatis optio dolorem placeat. Voluptate quia non iusto omnis.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Ut omnis repellendus aperiam aut rerum corrupti. Doloribus voluptate qui occaecati. Culpa rerum laboriosam eveniet alias.
Reiciendis non tempore in et et aut aut. Adipisci sunt ut velit architecto omnis et voluptates. At dolor praesentium iure sint doloribus saepe. Dolorum repudiandae qui eum eius est.