Where to start career: Startup PE firm vs. Cambridge Associates
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anyone? advice is much appreciated!
uhhh offer 1, it's not even close.
Yeah Agree
No brainer mate
Thanks for the replies everyone! I guess my primary concern is the youth of the PE fund and the inherent risk of joining. If I look to jump to a larger fund in a couple years, how will this experience be viewed?
Experience 1 will be obviously be viewed much better than experience 2.
I think some of these comments are a bit biased/misguided. It would be helpful to get some more color on the startup fund (ie track record of the founders, your responsibilities, etc). The work you'll be doing at Cambridge is different from direct PE investing, that's for sure, and that's also why many of these comments are veering you away from that, as I'm assuming direct investing is what most people on this forum want to do.
While different from direct investing, Cambridge has a very strong name in the industry and, should you seek them, you'll have very solid exit ops in the FoF, asset allocation, investor relations, fundraising space (potentially public equity investing if you get your CFA). Also, historically good placement to top B schools. Again, all of these options are different than direct PE investing, and if that's your absolute passion then the startup fund (provided it's credible, this is important) would be the move. If you find that the opportunity is not that credible, and if a top MBA is a main goal and you're open to other areas of finance, I'd go with Cambridge. I'd ask for others to chime in on the following, but I'd argue you would potentially have a better shot at a lower MM PE firm out of a stint at Cambridge and top (H/S/W) b school, vs. a no name fund that might not get you anywhere in regards to lateral opps or credibility for your B school application. It's important to acknowledge that PE is a long shot even for those in top B schools because slots are limited and most are taken up by previous associates at their respective firms, but I'd imagine with all the relationships you're developing on the buyside at Cambridge you'd be able to leverage at least one of them to intern during your summer before/during b school and jump ship.
Good luck
This is pretty bad advice, probably stemming from your own position in investment consulting (judging from your post history). It will be exceedingly tough to get a post-MBA PE role without pre-MBA experience, even coming from a top b-school. The argument could be made if you were comparing no-name PE to brand name IBD, but the skill gap is just too wide without direct investing/transaction experience.
Agree that it's a large gap, which is why I emphasized how unlikely it is and mentioned lower MM PE at best.
Investment consulting, including at Cambridge and a FoF, were offers I was considering a few months ago, ultimately ended up at a MM IB in the south (feel free to PM me if you'd like more info).
The reason why I said the jump is at least plausible is because I have seen at least 2 lower MM firms (again, pm me for names) that have taken associates from FoF, presumably from FoFs that have invested in their firms and know the strategy and portfolio companies well. Again, the transition from FoF to PE is also highly unlikely given the wide discrepancy in skill sets. The very rare exceptions that seem to be made are if you can get in a co-invest position at one of these FoFs or at Cambridge. Ultimately, a credible investment bank or PE firm will provide better experience and exit opps, which is why I'd recommend going that route if you have a banking or credible PE offer on the table.
However, the situation of the op isn't clear, and it's hard to gauge how legit his other offer is, which is why I wouldn't blindly commit to it.
I think my post was pretty clear in iterating the fact that the transition from a place like Cambridge to PE is by no means seamless. But I guess I'll mention again that, I at least seem to think, if you can get staffed on a co-investment role at Cambridge or a fof, maintain a strong network with the PE firms you're working alongside with, get a top MBA, you would have a comparatively better shot at one of the lower MM PE firms you have been investing in/alongside with via co-investments vs. a no-name startup fund. Again, op or others, shoot me a pm for the name of a firm as an example.
Last tidbit- I'm operating under the assumption here that this startup fund offer isn't too legit in regards to founders, their track record, etc. There ARE, however, several occasions where a first time fund can be a very legit opportunity (ie ex mega-fund partners, very dedicated strategy, already coming in with a list of LPs/investors). If your offer sounds similar to that, then I'd agree with other posters to take it as it can actually be a really awesome experience and you may well be the only analyst at the firm, so you'll learn straight from the horse's mouth.
Would be curious as to which opportunity OP chose. Recently had a final round with Cambridge myself and am anxiously waiting to hear back.
Hi, I'm interning at a startup PE firm, have been doing a fair amount of biz. dev. Wondering if someone would provide new advice regarding CA...?The role I'm considering at CA sounds like Excel data manipulation for portfolio management and use of proprietary software. I have been really hoping to get in with a boutique IB. I was a medical student. Any transition advice from CA to IB in my case also?
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