Thoughts on DBO Partners
Can someone provide some insights into DBO Partners? Would love to hear about their culture, reputation, deals, etc.
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Better than UBS
.
good deal flow, super lean team, but brutal culture. friend who worked there mentioned regular 100-hour weeks. really small group so facetime is huge and it's pretty difficult to slip out of the office.
Not sure about exits but the people there are all really smart so you're sure to learn a lot.
Interesting to hear about the 100 hour work weeks. As someone currently recruiting, they seemed to advocate work-life balance.
Lol every firm advocates work life balance till you get there
makes sense
GS info session at my school had a powerpoint that said "work-life balance: it really exists!" This was after the GS news broke
Really smart group of people with pretty good exits - really need to hear about culture though.
Where have analysts exited to?
They take like 2 analysts a year - look them up on LinkedIn, a lot of PE with 1 even going to KKR.
Had a buddy there - good pay and strong deal flow. Long hours and maybe the worst thing of all - You have to live in SF
Heard that DBO has a solid group of senior bankers w/ good connections and has been able to work on several $1B+ deals.
Anyone know how DBO stacks up against other boutiques?
Bump
is there any other firm that u have an offer to? or what other firms r u looking to recruit for?? having that baseline will make a better baseline as to is this a good choice
Looking at everything tbh
Ik someone who worked there and can say DBO is a solid shop. I'd say underrated, largely b/c they don't seem to care much about getting their name out.
The firm was founded by 3 MS guys who have strong relationships with ppl in the industry. They've added other top-notch partners too. They have a small team but work on solid deals, so I'm sure you'll get lots of hands-on work. Maybe even too much work as others have mentioned although you will be compensated. Not sure what else you're looking at, but I'd say this is a good opportunity.
really good, top notch comp but you will work hard, would sign over mid tier bb
Agree that you'd probably get a more meaningful experience than at many other firms. Small group of smart folks. If you like the boutique env and don't care to work for the biggest name, I'd sign
Really interested in DBO. Does anyone know if they are still recruiting? Seems like most bankers are from Berkeley, Notre Dame, Stanford, so do they just do OCR?
Go to one of the schools you mentioned, and you'd just apply on handshake. Couldn't imagine you wouldn't get an interview with some networking. They do move fast though so reach out ASAP.
As said above, they do move really fast. Interviews are fit and background based, not very technical. You should have your story down, why you want to work in IB, why DBO, why boutique. It seemed more like a conversation to me. They have a few rounds before Superday.
Mostly agree with above but I didn't have multiple rounds before Sday. It was a phone screen and virtual Sday.
Do you know if they are still recruiting then?
I've heard hours are pretty intense but I think you'll definitely get very good IB experience. That being said, I would also consider the fact that you won't be having a traditional analyst experience in which you have a class of peers to build out a network with.
Brian White who heads DBO's cybersecurity practice was recently appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council by the secretary of DHS. As others have mentioned above, they've got some really smart people on the team.
DBO has many partners/analysts while very few people in the middle. This should give you plenty of access to these experienced vets. Fyi, friend of mine worked there until recently.
Just adding on, what others have said about long hours is true but comp is well-above street. Friend was making ~20% more than me, and I'm paid above street.
lack of middle mgmt would appear to be a common trend across any new boutique - why would associates / vps worth their money at top BBs or EBs want to lateral to a new shop? better to stay put unless they got hosed on bonus but even then they have so many other options than lateraling to a brand new shop
Very lean group of smart people. Senior leadership were group/division heads at Morgan Stanley.
how do you think FT Partners compares to DBO?
I summered at FTP and know a friend who works at DBO, so I can touch on a few points.
Reputation: FTP has been around for twice as long as DBO, so FTP has a bigger name. This is especially true as you get closer to the FinTech space.
Coverage: FTP only does FinTech deals. While mainly working on tech deals, DBO sees itself as a generalist. Friend recently worked on some NASCAR deal last yr.
Services: Both DBO and FTP primarily work on M&As/cap raises. DBO has a ton of people with MS Financial Sponsors background, so they also focus on GP advisory.
Comp: Comp is good at both places. Don't know how much my buddy made, but looking at some of the posts above, DBO probably pays better. FTP not bad though.
Culture: FTP's culture is notoriously bad and was one of the reasons why I didn't go back for FT. DBO guys seem to get along great. Friend goes on vacations with the entire firm every yr and tells me stories lol
Exit Opps: Just browse LinkedIn, but you'll find good opportunities either way. Depends on what you want to do tbh.
did you summer at FTP this past summer? my friend who interned there this past summer said hours werent as bad as he envisioned.
DBO > FTP > USA
Where did USA come from in this discussion lol But agree - would take DBO/FTP over USA. Knowing FTP's brutal culture/manamgent issues, I'd probably take DBO too.
Interviewed with both firms last year for their SA positions (offer from FTP/ no offer from DBO). I would've taken DBO if I could. The people there are wicked smart as many have already pointed out. The interviews at DBO are almost entirely behavioral, so you get to really learn about each person. If you want a solid generalist experience at a boutique, this is it.
Friend works there. The pay is phenomenal and you get crazy direct exposure to the dope MS guys at the top but he was seriously thinking about reneging on his return because the hours are insane. Consistent 100+ hour weeks, analysts have to be in at 7:00am at times, and (as you can expect with super lean deal teams) a lot of responsibility goes hand in hand with a lot of culpability if you fuck up. The people there are apparently sharp and great to work with, though.
A lot of people have been talking about DBO having great pay. I'm curious...any numbers for Analyst comp? How great is the pay really?
Old housemate worked there and brought home 175k his first year (90k base). He says the pay is in line with EBs. Ended up leaving the firm soon after though because of the hours.
Where did your old housemate go from DBO?
Can confirm this. First years typically get 90k base + solid bonus.
How does it compare to M. Klein & Co?
I'd say there are a ton of similarities between the two firms. M Klein was just starting out when I entered the industry several years ago. It used to be a one-man-shop before expanding in recent years.
Both DBO and M Klein have dealmakers from BBs leading the way. The junior people at both firms seem very well-educated as well. DBO (as someone else mentioned above) has a core group of Cal Berkeley, Notre Dame, and Stanford graduates. M Klein has its own group of Wharton and UChicago grads.
They're also similar in that both firms work on impressive deals without making much noise. It doesn't seem like either firm cares much about building a huge reputation for themselves, likely because people who know about the firms already have great reviews anyway.
If you are a junior person trying to get a quality IB experience, working at these smaller shops with reputable partners makes a lot of sense. I assume it's competitive to get in though.
M Klein does a lot more mega deals and also has a huge SPAC focus. Analysts there regularly work on Churchill Capital stuff from what I understood speaking with an analyst.
Just started my internship a few weeks ago. DBO's been great -- lmk if you want to PM and chat.
How many SA did they take?
Really great firm, amazing culture with Analyst bullpen and firm trips, direct access to the industry's best partners, pay very well. DBO is not known well in undergrad schools in the East Coast, but is known among every PE sponsor for exit ops. Partners will place you if you do a good job. Without question pick DBO over any other offer.
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