Exits After Corporate Strategy (Tech)

Question

Hello,

I recently graduated now work in tech, encountered unforeseen circumstances and am feeling very lost and demotivated. I would really appreciate any advice on where to go from here, thank you so much.

Background:

I've been working on the Corporate Strategy team at a tech company for 1.5 year now ($1B ARR), I joined this firm right after undergrad, and previously have internship experiences in both public and private market investing.

Unfortunately our team experienced some significant changes which led me to look for external opportunities.

I've tried to get back into finance & investing but had no luck landing interviews, didn't network at all but still quite discouraging - apparently 1-2 years in Corp Strat as the first job is enough to pigeonhole oneself, despite relevant internship experiences.

My end goals are (in no particular order):

Private Equity (deals & ops)
Big Tech (strategy, bizops, PM, corp dev, etc.)
Entrepreneurship

I'm open to getting a MBA in a few years and I don't mind spending a few years in Consulting or Investment Banking to get to where I want to be.

What would be the logical next steps for me given my end goals and current circumstances? All inputs are welcome, thank you!!!

Answer 1

Hi there,

You’re in a solid spot—corp strat at a $1B ARR tech company plus investing internships is strong, even if it feels limiting. At ~1.5 years, you’re between entry-level and the 3–4 years of experience that open up MBA or buy-side recruiting, so positioning is key.

End goals fit with these bridges:

PE (deals/ops): Direct deals are tough now—usually requires banking/consulting first or an MBA. PE ops is more accessible later via consulting/tech strategy
Big Tech (strat, bizops, corp dev, PM): Very attainable by lateraling to a stronger brand or deal-focused role
Entrepreneurship: Always possible, but most build skills, networks, and capital via consulting, tech, or MBA first

Logical next steps:

Consulting (MBB, Tier 2, boutiques): Cleanest pivot, builds PE/MBA optionality
Investment Banking: Harder without networking, but some firms take corp dev/strat laterals
Lateral within Tech: Move into corp dev/bizops at a bigger platform—great optionality
MBA in 2–3 years: Use consulting or a brand-name lateral to strengthen profile first

What to do now:

Network actively: Alumni, ex-consultants, peers who moved into IB/consulting. Applications alone won’t work
Sharpen skills: Valuation, modeling, case prep
Reframe your story: Position corp strat as “internal consulting” for the C-suite with exposure to growth, M&A, ops

Suggested sequence:

6–12 months: Network + target consulting or corp dev. IB as a stretch
2–3 years: MBA or lateral to a stronger tech brand
Long term: MBA → PE/VC, or entrepreneurship from a stronger launchpad

Best,
Evelina