What I learned
Partner at a multi-billion fund here. My 2 cents.
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People skills > Technical skills
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Smart assholes > smart nice guy ...career/money wise and banging hot chicks wise
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Smart assholes Introvert (I'm introvert, but some extraversion can be trained and practiced)
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Talking ≠ communicating
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Failure, criticism and rejection = information
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Brand names > doing cool stuff you like ... early in 20s and early 30s (career wise)
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Average performer at growing organisation > being a star at a stagnating place
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Being ruthlessly organised and leaving early > doing face time and stay in the office all day and night
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30min focused meetings > 1 hour meetings
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Side passive business + day job > focusing only on your day job [selling stuff online, real estate, long term investment, whatever builds passive income]. Start early.
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Details/facts/practical steps + excitement> "strategic" sales pitch
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Learning how to learn (check out Art of Learning book by Waitzkin) > rote memorisation and practice
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real life experience, talking to experienced people, being on the ground, getting your hands dirty > education, study, academia, theory, models, strategic pitchbooks
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networking = waste of time
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building meaningful relationships / bonding over time with very smart people = goldmine
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Learning = cycles of fast growth, plateau (work your ass off)/failure (learn from it), fast growth, plateau (work your ass off)/failure (learn from it), etc. etc. Iterate.
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Being very good at something = 10 years of practice. Start early
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You dont make real money in finance until you are an MD/Partner and that takes a lot of time, and increasingly a lot of time. So you better love what you do or just do a stint for the brand and get out.
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Marrying in your 30s > Marrying in your 20s
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In your 20s - dating nerdy types, artsy types, foreigners and anything that takes you out of your comfort zone > dating only people from same background and industry. And pay attention to what they do. That'll make you grow as an individual and sharpen your self-awareness
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2 year stint in an emerging market in your 20s > staying in US/Western Europe. Date a local and learn the language.
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Learning how to cook, play an instrument very well, basic dancing and singing skills / fashion / staying fit > reading about finance / trying to ace that exam / practicing modelling / going out clubbing / drinking
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weights and exercise 10 min in the morning when you wake up and 10 min before you go to bed > trying to make it to the gym
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fat you eat = fat you wear
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Giving up sugar > going for a run now and then
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back or knee problems, recurring headaches = try taichi with a top teacher
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after 25-27 yo...cheater = cheater, asshole/bitch = asshole/bitch, irresponsible = lost cause [unless they get a major slap in the face or major life lesson ]
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Finally,
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for all of you doing startups or thinking about it. For god sake, please think about your addressable market size, how much it costs to get a customer and how much you get from them, and how long it takes to get that money back before starting. You're not Elon Musk.
** Past the CV screen stage / first meeting nobody gives a f* anymore where you went to school so stop mentioning your HSW degree (from a HSW alum)
"Networking= waste of time" couldn't be further from the truth
"Smart assholes > smart nice guy ...career/money wise and banging hot chicks wise" Disagree here too. Being an asshole when you pull girls is something like an "on and off switch" It works but you have to balance it out. Being unimpressed and unemotional drives girls crazy so they'll call you an asshole. But in reality they're just mad because they have to chase you and qualify themselves. You can be a nice guy and do this 100%.
Just about everything else rings true.
"2 year stint in an emerging market in your 20s > staying in US/Western Europe"
Wouldn't leaving the US for an emerging market hurt exit ops? Lots of great opportunities in NYC.
Conflicts with "Brand names > doing cool stuff you like ... early in 20s and early 30s (career wise)"
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