Anyone out there in the Private Equity or Venture Capital Space?

Hi, ‘m here working with an advisory firm for PE/VC.

Tony, I also work in VC on the west coast (CA). The work load for VC/PE associates is more tailored to ex-IB analysts/associates and potentially mgmt. consultants (this is less prevalent) than CFA types; as such, less value is assigned to the charter than other industries. Without the above attributes, one potential strategy would be to develop expertise in one of the focus verticals for a given firm. Also, many firms are now trying add value to their portfolio companies above and beyond investment capital (example: GoogleVentures has its own design staff among other things) so anything that you can leverage on that front would be an added benefit.

PE is more of an MBA play, is my understanding. As the PE business is looking at businesses rather than stock valuation, an MBA, or a history in leading/building businesses would be much more relevant.

Are you looking to go into PE @tonypetrunin?

Definitely MBA and work experience would be key in a PE and VC. I would say MBA is more important for PE. VC guys (senior ones) tend to be business owners rather than analysts.

@tonypetrunin that’s an interesting observation. If many of the associates have CFAs it stands to reason that the firms value them. I’d try networking with them and asking them – you can also try and angle for interviews!

I had only 1 year in a PE role where my company invested in a few business and they had to be managed for eventual sale (but it’s no longer active in the sector since 2008 happened), so this may not be definitive. But it’s a nice to have qualification which still has relevance in terms of valuation, financial analysis etc. But @zee is also right in that the business/sector strategy aspect becomes more important (vs. a pure M&A role).

@Tonypetrunin, go for it then! Never try, never know. By talking to them itself you’ll know what you’re looking for.