Top paying growth equity firms

You don’t go into this field for the compensation as an Associate. Top of the street comp as a PE associate is like $400k. Bottom is like $250k. That’s a $150k delta. That’s less than a weeks pay (cash+carry) for a tenured partner at a sizable PE firm.

So you’re doing middle class math, which will keep you tethered to earth. Think bigger.

Your calculus should be: is growth equity the right place to be in terms of industry growth and investor demand? It’s hot and in demand now, what’s the total opportunity? Where will it be 10-15 years from now? What firms are the best in the space, what does the investment team pyramid look like, can I see a path to making partner there.

Junior people think they just plug into a machine and if they grind they’ll get there. That’s how you succeed as a junior person. As a senior person you have to be aligned with where the industry is going and where your firm is going. AND you need to find some reason to exist, ie what is my product, what narrow slice of our business can I take ownership of and make my own. The worthwhile slices of a mature business are already spoken for and no one is giving them up… so this is much harder than it sounds.