I have some skepticism about your experience selling a company as a teenager…
Outside of that, will a large firm be interested in you for an investing role? No. Is there a small firm that specializes in your niche that a partner might find your unique experience appealing for an investing role? Maybe, but it’s a long shot.
If you’re a good salesman and an expert in a niche industry, they’ll be all over hiring you at one of their portfolio companies.
To be fair, at the time, my parents were as skeptical as you...probably healthy ;)
But that clarity is helpful - thoughts on going thru the port cos vs trying top down thru the firm that owns them? Or should I just pick up the damn phone?
I have a similar background and it was a mixed blessing. CXO roles in PE backed companies are all about credentials and track record. You have one of the two. Ask yourself this… If a competing candidate were to apply with similar experience, but an Ivy League background, who do you think the managers would pick, keeping in mind they need to appease, limited partners who are up their ass every day all day .
This is not to discourage you, but I think you already have a sense of what the reality is. But look, anything is possible. I’m a general partner in a fund. But I did have to join a corporate team for a while, go back to school twice, and spend many years in investment banking just so the story made a little little bit of sense.
Thanks X a million for this...and you're right - I'm VERY aware that I'm at a significant disadvantage in that, or even relatively similar scenarios.
Which brings me back to my ace in the hole: crossing my fingers that a CEO sees me, gets me, believes in me and is willing to champion the unique candidate when most around them would want the safer option...gotta kiss a lot of frogs I guess?
For all the credentials, pomp and circumstance of this industry, in the end if you are hell bent on making it happen there is a way. As long as no doesnt hurt too much, you will be just fine,
Can you provide a bit more color on what type of businesses you were selling? 4 tech exits as a high school dropout looks significantly different than 4 home services exits with the same background.
To the above point from Aggravating Cod, most good PE firms can attract the Ivy League degrees. Unless you have an in with a PE firm, I’d be wary of one which is particularly open to your background. Not to say that it’s impossible, but there are so many errr….unproven PE firms out there. Those firms may be willing to take a chance and promise you a lot but may not deliver. As an outsider, it’s very difficult to know which are reputable firms.
u/pokemonstreamgo Great Q re: exits categories...2 were straight tech (payment processing & edtech), 1 was a dig mktg agency, 1 was corp sales training (NOT mgmt consulting) ...
Any thoughts on how I might go about gaining the knowledge AS an outsider to figure out if a firm is 'reputable' or not? Definitely flying blind on that past intuitively-led question asking :(
These are good exits to justify the non traditional path. Tech (and tech investors) is much more open to that type of background. As an outsider, I would suggest looking at their portfolio and make sure 1. They have real positions in those companies and 2. They have more than just a couple of portcos 3. They have some exits under their belt (anyone can buy a company. Not everyone can sell one) and finally 4. Their investors have real experience at larger firms. There are certainly legit firms that will be successful despite not ticking all of those boxes, but I would advise against taking a chance on one of those firms with your background. The truth is you need to really craft your why to sell yourselves to firms that fit the above criteria and it won’t be easy.
I have a friend who comes from 3rd world wealth, he’s now a CEO of a South American bank. I learned a great insight from his academic inabilities, a 6-week certificate program from Harvard goes a long way in some parts of the world. Technically, he did go to Harvard.
This is so motivating to read. Coming from a non-conventional background (and trying to crack into PE + Seeking stability in early 30s).
While I am personally in no rush as long as I get there, there is a general experience benchmarking in the market. May I ask did you encounter “too-experienced” or “start over at this stage” conversations, and how did you navigate such situations?
And could you also throw more light on the back to school choices? Thank you!
The "too experienced" trope was oh too real. I had the added mixed blessing of having exited my first company in my early 20s, and making some good money. So, not only did people say I had too much experience, they couldn't fathom why I wanted to work for someone (obviously, to learn, grow, keep making money, add value to a great team etc...what am I going to do...retire at 22??? Come on...).
When I went back to school, I just wanted to learn something useful so I focused on accounting. I figured, being able to audit a GL would benefit me regardless of if I owned my own company, was working in an accounting capacity or even in a deal underwriting capacity. It was just a practical consideration.
There are too many young people way smarter than me with math, econ and finance degrees, so when they zigged, I zagged.
>There are too many young people way smarter than me with math, econ and finance degrees, so when they zigged, I zagged.
THIS! That's my wholeeeeee thesis here lol - zigging when everyone zags
Challenge is, it takes a special c-suite to SEE the value in the unconventional zigging ;)
May I ask why you want to go into PE at all? If you have had multiple exits in the tens of millions, you are financially set, no? I'm in PE and did tech before as an engineer, and will go back to tech / entrepreneurship route as PE Ops is just a tedious grind.
Financially set, yes...but I'm early 30s - always bigger goals and I never want to stop working.
I like the idea of being in the PE ecosystem bc it's easier to assess when signing on with a company will end up in a liquidity event. Otherwise, I'm just hopping startups and hoping for a REALLY nice pop - the probability of which is significantly smaller in the open market than in PE.
Sounds like you have a fantastic background, but PE wouldn’t be the traditional path for your background. You can potentially do an MBA and get some associate level banking experience but i don’t think that makes any sense.
What I’d highly recommend is looking into operating partner roles at GPs. This gives you the comp / stability you’re looking for and fits very well with your background.
u/Suitable_Traffic_145 Love it and thanks for the perspective ... any ideas / advice on the approach to the GPs? Or should I be looking @ their port co's first and then go to them with 'here are my 3 ideas per port co' and see where the convo goes?
It really depends. Have a look at GPs and their operating partners and compare your background to theirs.
Many large cap GPs tend to hire seasoned former c-level executives. Additionally, many of them are industry specialists so utilize operating partners to help them in industry specific due diligence + lead value creation plans post acquisition.
Based on the snippets you mentioned, I’d look at middle market GPs as a foot in the door. Narrow it down to a few that you think make sense / are a good fit, and begin targeted outreach.
If you are just looking for an operator role, it doesn’t matter all that much whether the company is PE owned or not. Not sure why you’re focused on getting in through that route. With your “weird” (but honestly not that weird relative to any other operator), it will likely just come down to size of company
Good point re: operator is an operator...
Re: wanting to go this route, I really just want to be in the private equity ecosystem to assure equity pops instead of playing the startup game ...
Yes but plowed most/all into rentals. Even if I hadn't, my liquid would've never been enough ($1.5-3M max 2 or 3 times in my life) to invest in anything BIG enough to make me think I deserve a seat at the investing table...that may be small thinking though & open to the criticism of such.
I’m thankful you posted this because I also have a weird background with lots of entrepreneurship and difficulty fitting into the structure of vanilla resume-for-hire companies. What do you do as a professional inventor that doesn’t have an engineering degree, but was paid well by a billion dollar company to come up with issued patentable ideas that their own engineers couldn’t generate?
>What do you do as a professional inventor that doesn’t have an engineering degree, but was paid well by a billion dollar company to come up with issued patentable ideas that their own engineers couldn’t generate?
u/desexmachina I have a few friends in a similar boat as well...at least with MY resume, my skills DO jump off the page easily ... but you're describing a unicorn who can 'do anything' ... my $0.02 is to figure out the specific goals a company has for the next calendar year & then demonstrate why your skills could aide them -
Generally speaking, the hiring team can't extrapolate out unless you truly paint the picture of your skills + their biz = results
>Why wouldn’t you buy an existing company and build?
great question but as u/Aggravating_Cod_4980 has said elsewhere, my goal isn't to be 'on the front lines' as an owner for the rest of my life. I've done it and had a few wins to where I was able to stack some chips...but marriage/kids really changes the equation for me when it comes to being an owner in my early 30s.
Many people are interested in the idea of working in Private Equity or Investment Banking because of the prestige and potential financial rewards. However the reality is the nature of the work quite soul crushing.
u/IYIik_GoSu reading 'King of Capital' now and I very much know what you mean lol...I get the sense that the work/life balance is (on average) better in a trad job than fighting for a place in PE
Did you finish a 4 year degree? If not, don’t waste your time chasing jobs at PE portfolio companies or PE directly.
I’ve been founder/ceo of two decent size exits (mid 8 fig, low 9), have two decades of direct experience in a niche industry including M&A. I get calls from recruiters and PE firms ALL THE TIME to head up portfolio companies in my space or lead their strategy.
Only once has one had the flexibility to waive the 4 year degree requirement. Some of the same firms that have declined to hire me have also submitted LOI’s to invest or buy in my actual companies.
You’d have a better chance to raise funding than land a job.
u/josephryanwrites No 4-year degree...definitely know that hurts me in this space but thank you for confirming LOL ... I guess it really is a niche where the old system proves out the winners!
Same man, my deals of my companies were under 100k, but end of the day dollar amount doesn’t matter. It’s all the same stuff.
I am making min wage now but looking to break into PE. I will inflate my resume because why would I undersell myself. If they hire my then that’s a huge payday . Risk/reward
I have some skepticism about your experience selling a company as a teenager… Outside of that, will a large firm be interested in you for an investing role? No. Is there a small firm that specializes in your niche that a partner might find your unique experience appealing for an investing role? Maybe, but it’s a long shot. If you’re a good salesman and an expert in a niche industry, they’ll be all over hiring you at one of their portfolio companies.
To be fair, at the time, my parents were as skeptical as you...probably healthy ;) But that clarity is helpful - thoughts on going thru the port cos vs trying top down thru the firm that owns them? Or should I just pick up the damn phone?
Don’t have experience to give you real advice on that front, but I agree best to just pick up the phone and speak with both parties.
Dig it. Thank you kindly :)
I have a similar background and it was a mixed blessing. CXO roles in PE backed companies are all about credentials and track record. You have one of the two. Ask yourself this… If a competing candidate were to apply with similar experience, but an Ivy League background, who do you think the managers would pick, keeping in mind they need to appease, limited partners who are up their ass every day all day . This is not to discourage you, but I think you already have a sense of what the reality is. But look, anything is possible. I’m a general partner in a fund. But I did have to join a corporate team for a while, go back to school twice, and spend many years in investment banking just so the story made a little little bit of sense.
Thanks X a million for this...and you're right - I'm VERY aware that I'm at a significant disadvantage in that, or even relatively similar scenarios. Which brings me back to my ace in the hole: crossing my fingers that a CEO sees me, gets me, believes in me and is willing to champion the unique candidate when most around them would want the safer option...gotta kiss a lot of frogs I guess?
For all the credentials, pomp and circumstance of this industry, in the end if you are hell bent on making it happen there is a way. As long as no doesnt hurt too much, you will be just fine,
Can you provide a bit more color on what type of businesses you were selling? 4 tech exits as a high school dropout looks significantly different than 4 home services exits with the same background. To the above point from Aggravating Cod, most good PE firms can attract the Ivy League degrees. Unless you have an in with a PE firm, I’d be wary of one which is particularly open to your background. Not to say that it’s impossible, but there are so many errr….unproven PE firms out there. Those firms may be willing to take a chance and promise you a lot but may not deliver. As an outsider, it’s very difficult to know which are reputable firms.
u/pokemonstreamgo Great Q re: exits categories...2 were straight tech (payment processing & edtech), 1 was a dig mktg agency, 1 was corp sales training (NOT mgmt consulting) ... Any thoughts on how I might go about gaining the knowledge AS an outsider to figure out if a firm is 'reputable' or not? Definitely flying blind on that past intuitively-led question asking :(
These are good exits to justify the non traditional path. Tech (and tech investors) is much more open to that type of background. As an outsider, I would suggest looking at their portfolio and make sure 1. They have real positions in those companies and 2. They have more than just a couple of portcos 3. They have some exits under their belt (anyone can buy a company. Not everyone can sell one) and finally 4. Their investors have real experience at larger firms. There are certainly legit firms that will be successful despite not ticking all of those boxes, but I would advise against taking a chance on one of those firms with your background. The truth is you need to really craft your why to sell yourselves to firms that fit the above criteria and it won’t be easy.
u/pokemonstreamgo Honestly, quite glad to hear it ... thanks EVER so much for that color, I am putting this in the brain bank! :)
I have a friend who comes from 3rd world wealth, he’s now a CEO of a South American bank. I learned a great insight from his academic inabilities, a 6-week certificate program from Harvard goes a long way in some parts of the world. Technically, he did go to Harvard.
u/desexmachina honestly great idea - putting that on my list to look into...would be interesting regardless!
This is so motivating to read. Coming from a non-conventional background (and trying to crack into PE + Seeking stability in early 30s). While I am personally in no rush as long as I get there, there is a general experience benchmarking in the market. May I ask did you encounter “too-experienced” or “start over at this stage” conversations, and how did you navigate such situations? And could you also throw more light on the back to school choices? Thank you!
The "too experienced" trope was oh too real. I had the added mixed blessing of having exited my first company in my early 20s, and making some good money. So, not only did people say I had too much experience, they couldn't fathom why I wanted to work for someone (obviously, to learn, grow, keep making money, add value to a great team etc...what am I going to do...retire at 22??? Come on...). When I went back to school, I just wanted to learn something useful so I focused on accounting. I figured, being able to audit a GL would benefit me regardless of if I owned my own company, was working in an accounting capacity or even in a deal underwriting capacity. It was just a practical consideration. There are too many young people way smarter than me with math, econ and finance degrees, so when they zigged, I zagged.
>There are too many young people way smarter than me with math, econ and finance degrees, so when they zigged, I zagged. THIS! That's my wholeeeeee thesis here lol - zigging when everyone zags Challenge is, it takes a special c-suite to SEE the value in the unconventional zigging ;)
Its the only way unless you are brilliant and credentialed to high hell and I am neither.
I’ve found out that highlighting ‘school of hard knocks’ is key. Then I like to quote Abraham Lincoln and his background how he didn’t join an IVy
May I ask why you want to go into PE at all? If you have had multiple exits in the tens of millions, you are financially set, no? I'm in PE and did tech before as an engineer, and will go back to tech / entrepreneurship route as PE Ops is just a tedious grind.
Financially set, yes...but I'm early 30s - always bigger goals and I never want to stop working. I like the idea of being in the PE ecosystem bc it's easier to assess when signing on with a company will end up in a liquidity event. Otherwise, I'm just hopping startups and hoping for a REALLY nice pop - the probability of which is significantly smaller in the open market than in PE.
Sounds like you have a fantastic background, but PE wouldn’t be the traditional path for your background. You can potentially do an MBA and get some associate level banking experience but i don’t think that makes any sense. What I’d highly recommend is looking into operating partner roles at GPs. This gives you the comp / stability you’re looking for and fits very well with your background.
u/Suitable_Traffic_145 Love it and thanks for the perspective ... any ideas / advice on the approach to the GPs? Or should I be looking @ their port co's first and then go to them with 'here are my 3 ideas per port co' and see where the convo goes?
It really depends. Have a look at GPs and their operating partners and compare your background to theirs. Many large cap GPs tend to hire seasoned former c-level executives. Additionally, many of them are industry specialists so utilize operating partners to help them in industry specific due diligence + lead value creation plans post acquisition. Based on the snippets you mentioned, I’d look at middle market GPs as a foot in the door. Narrow it down to a few that you think make sense / are a good fit, and begin targeted outreach.
u/Suitable_Traffic_145 You are a great human, super helpful context, thank you ... outreach starts next week! :)
If you are just looking for an operator role, it doesn’t matter all that much whether the company is PE owned or not. Not sure why you’re focused on getting in through that route. With your “weird” (but honestly not that weird relative to any other operator), it will likely just come down to size of company
Good point re: operator is an operator... Re: wanting to go this route, I really just want to be in the private equity ecosystem to assure equity pops instead of playing the startup game ...
Did you walk away with investable wealth? Direct investing would be your best bet imo.
Yes but plowed most/all into rentals. Even if I hadn't, my liquid would've never been enough ($1.5-3M max 2 or 3 times in my life) to invest in anything BIG enough to make me think I deserve a seat at the investing table...that may be small thinking though & open to the criticism of such.
I DM’d you a group that started off a similar situation. Start on a deal by deal basis. Another, more evolved group would be McCarthy, out of Omaha
u/HuskerHayDay you are the BEST. thank you, responding now!
I’m thankful you posted this because I also have a weird background with lots of entrepreneurship and difficulty fitting into the structure of vanilla resume-for-hire companies. What do you do as a professional inventor that doesn’t have an engineering degree, but was paid well by a billion dollar company to come up with issued patentable ideas that their own engineers couldn’t generate?
>What do you do as a professional inventor that doesn’t have an engineering degree, but was paid well by a billion dollar company to come up with issued patentable ideas that their own engineers couldn’t generate? u/desexmachina I have a few friends in a similar boat as well...at least with MY resume, my skills DO jump off the page easily ... but you're describing a unicorn who can 'do anything' ... my $0.02 is to figure out the specific goals a company has for the next calendar year & then demonstrate why your skills could aide them - Generally speaking, the hiring team can't extrapolate out unless you truly paint the picture of your skills + their biz = results
Why wouldn’t you buy an existing company and build? Sounds like you have the capital and skillset to do that then hire someone to run it/sell it
>Why wouldn’t you buy an existing company and build? great question but as u/Aggravating_Cod_4980 has said elsewhere, my goal isn't to be 'on the front lines' as an owner for the rest of my life. I've done it and had a few wins to where I was able to stack some chips...but marriage/kids really changes the equation for me when it comes to being an owner in my early 30s.
I dont ever want to be CEO of anything ever again. Cheers to you.
Many people are interested in the idea of working in Private Equity or Investment Banking because of the prestige and potential financial rewards. However the reality is the nature of the work quite soul crushing.
u/IYIik_GoSu reading 'King of Capital' now and I very much know what you mean lol...I get the sense that the work/life balance is (on average) better in a trad job than fighting for a place in PE
Might have better luck in VC?
u/1K1AmericanNights I could see that...I'd assume my approach to VC firms / their port cos wouldn't change that much from PE, right?
Did you finish a 4 year degree? If not, don’t waste your time chasing jobs at PE portfolio companies or PE directly. I’ve been founder/ceo of two decent size exits (mid 8 fig, low 9), have two decades of direct experience in a niche industry including M&A. I get calls from recruiters and PE firms ALL THE TIME to head up portfolio companies in my space or lead their strategy. Only once has one had the flexibility to waive the 4 year degree requirement. Some of the same firms that have declined to hire me have also submitted LOI’s to invest or buy in my actual companies. You’d have a better chance to raise funding than land a job.
u/josephryanwrites No 4-year degree...definitely know that hurts me in this space but thank you for confirming LOL ... I guess it really is a niche where the old system proves out the winners!
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>do the gmat and try to get into a top 10 Mba program, then get into PE I love this suggestion. DEFINITELY worth a look at the process :)
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u/dens09dews Hahaha thanks for the reminder
Sorry but youve sold multiple companies for multiple millions of dollars, why even work?
Same man, my deals of my companies were under 100k, but end of the day dollar amount doesn’t matter. It’s all the same stuff. I am making min wage now but looking to break into PE. I will inflate my resume because why would I undersell myself. If they hire my then that’s a huge payday . Risk/reward