Growth Equity Hours
What are hours like for associates at the big GE firms (TA, Summit, GA)? Particularly interested in non-sourcing roles, so I guess that eliminates quite a few.
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Bump!
I do a fuck ton of sourcing (as would anyone in the firms you listed, FYI) but generally work 55-65 hours a week when there’s no deal signed up and closer to 80-85 when we have something in exclusivity.
Thanks, mind if I pm you some follow up questions?
Ask them here for public benefit
What does sourcing mean at the top GE shops (GA/Insight/TA)? Is it straight up cold-calling or are you more relationship building, attending conferences, etc.
Bit of both, depends where you are
The best investments are the ones that are off market or (better yet) don't need any capital. If you source the way everybody sources (conferences, etc.)... you are going to end up looking at the same deals every firm looks at. It's still worth doing, but if you don't cold-call and be aggressive / proactive, your ceiling may be a B/B+ portfolio
Bump, would love to hear more about hours
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bump, is 60ish accurate?
maybe unless you're on a live deal.
Following
Bump
what others have said. 40 - 60 hours when no live deals...although you have free time the expectation is that you are out sourcing. 70 - 90 during a live deal.
How often would you say you're on a live deal? Trying to gauge the frequency of those 70-90 hour work weeks. I know its shop/group dependent
I get about 1-2 new, preliminary data rooms a week in which I rip through. I lay out my high level view of the market, product, investment merits, risks, KPIs, and rough valuation and pitch it to my Partner to see if they find it interesting. If my Partner agrees its interesting, we'll pitch our valuation range to the company and see if it hunts. If the company agrees, we'll rush for 1 - 2 weeks to get materials in front of our IC, which goes deeper into the before-mentioned items. I typically bring 6 - 12 deals to IC in a year. Of the ones I take to IC, maybe half will get approved, so let's say 5 deals approved at the IC level. Of the 5 deals approved, maybe 2 -3 will get to the finish line because the company moves forward with our term sheet or something happens in confirmatory diligence that tanks the deal (i.e., company misses plan, we find out the CEO has serious red flags, customer calls are bad, etc.)
What exactly does sourcing look like at a GE shop? Where are you getting a database of companies to reach out to? Is it through a third party like Crunchbase or Pitchbook? Do banks send you inbounds of late stage companies that are looking for capital raises? Are you on twitter actively involved in the tech world like other VC's?
I'm interested in the space but I come from a non target school and I'm currently at a bank in a non Tech coverage group. Trying to gauge if I'd be good in a GE role or if my lack of an existing late stage company network 3 years post grad will have me at a severe disadvantage.
All of the above. It takes about a year to really plug in. Nobody expects you to find a deal month 0 - 6. 6-12, if you're good, then maybe. That's generally why *more often than not* sourcing Associate programs prefer / are more receptive to three year programs / taking a third year as an Associate
Are there still ways to be a high performing Associate in GE in the first year or two without sourcing? Or is your skill / performance amongst other associates dependent on the sourcing side?
Any insight on firms like silversmith, lead edge capital, level equity, etc? They seem good given fund size and team size (comp), but wanted to know more about the job and what one would expect as an analyst/associate.
Bump on this
Bump
Bump on hours these days
2nd yr at tier 1 GE firm, about 50-60 hrs if you're efficient, more if you're not
it's all self-driven (very rare to have someone ping me to do stuff)
live deal = mild banking hours
Appreciate it! What the breakdown of % live deal vs not? Weekend work?
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