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Exit Opps for Post-MBA MBB that AREN'T Fortune 500 Corporate Strategy

Bain BCG Corporate Strategy exit options fortune500 MBB McKinsey Post-MBA Private Equity Venture Capital
New answer on Nov 08, 2022
6 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Nov 07, 2022

Hi everyone!

I am currently enrolled in a top 3 law school (Yale, Harvard, or Stanford) in the United States, and I recently accepted an offer to join MBB in a mid-sized North American city as a post-MBA level consultant following graduation.

I am very excited about my job offer and my MBB firm, but I'm also not 100% sure that I want to do consulting for the rest of my career. If I leave MBB after two to four years, what exit opps are available to me as a post-MBA hire other than internal corporate strategy at a Fortune 500 company?

I have an older cousin who used to work at MBB and now works in corporate strategy at a Fortune 500 company, and candidly, I don't have much interest in this kind of role.

I've done a little bit of research about potential exit opps for post-MBA level consultants, and I've found the following information. Could you tell me if this information is correct, and let me know if there are other potential exit opps to consider? Thank you!

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1. Internal corporate strategy at a Fortune 500 company seems like the most common exit opp by far.

2. One could join a corporate development team at a Fortune 500 company and do strategic acquisitions. I would imagine that it would probably be best to do lots of commercial due diligence cases and post-merger integration cases in a relevant industry to obtain this exit option.

3. Joining a private equity investing team at a megafund seems very difficult if not impossible. Joining an upper middle market or middle market private equity investing team also appears to be very difficult. Joining an operations-focused lower middle market private equity investing team is more doable but still unlikely, at least in North America. Additionally, it might be doable (but still very difficult) to join a private equity investing team that does primaries, secondaries, co-investments, and/or GP stakes, such as Goldman Sachs AIMS, Adams Street, or Partners Capital. This situation might be different outside North America, but I'm not sure.

4. Joining a private equity operations team at a megafund (eg. KKR Capstone) or upper middle market private equity firm is more feasible but still very competitive. Lower middle market private equity firms are usually too small to have full-fledged operations teams, so they aren't really a viable option.

5. Going into venture capital and growth equity is very competitive, no matter what one's background is. It might help to have (i) big picture strategic thinking learned at MBB and (ii) an understanding of legal concepts relevant to VC and growth equity investing learned at law school (eg. convertible vs. non convertible preferred equity, liquidation preferences, participation rights, ect.); however, even with these skills, breaking into VC or growth equity investing is still very difficult.

6. Becoming a bigtech product manager isn't easy, especially in this economy when bigtech companies have initiated hiring freezes and are even laying people off.

7. While it's not an exit opp, one could stay at MBB and try to become a partner. Becoming a partner is far from guaranteed, but it's not impossible, especially since MBB firms are growing 10-15% year on year. Nevertheless, it's not a safe bet to expect this outcome.

8. If one fails at making partner and gets counseled to leave at MBB, one could join another consulting firm and try to make partner there. It might be feasible to trade down for a T2 firm (eg. EY Parthenon, LEK, OW, ect.), join a boutique, or start a small consulting shop with some former colleagues.

9. One could also potentially join a startup in a mid-level to senior role. However, one might need to take a paycut, and some startups might consider post-MBA MBB consultants as too expensive to hire.

10. Finally, one could become an entrepreneur and try to raise some VC cash to launch a venture. Becoming an entrepreneur appears to be a high risk, high reward career path that could lead to either stunning success or failure. Having MBB on one's resume might help with raising cash, but it won't automatically guarantee success as an entrepreneur.

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Thank you for your help!

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Best answer
Florian
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replied on Nov 07, 2022
Highest-rated McKinsey coach (ratings, offers, sessions) | 500+ offers | Author of The 1% & Consulting Career Secrets

Hey there,

Well researched!

This is a highly personal choice. At the end of the day, you should pursue what you are passionate about or what allows you to live the lifestyle you desire.

An MBB exit after 2 years+ gives you two things:

  1. Skills to solve problems and communicate
  2. Credibility in the business world

With those two you can do almost anything you want (disclaimer: you can also do this without MBB but it sure does help)

All the best,

Florian

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Francesco
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replied on Nov 07, 2022
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offer! In terms of your question:

Q: What exit opps are available to me as a post-MBA hire other than internal corporate strategy at a Fortune 500 company?

I think you have done a great job summarizing the common exits. In my case I have done 5 (VC) and 10 (entrepreneurship), in case you are interested in that please feel free to drop me a message.

Another option with increasing popularity is freelancing, sometimes as a first step before founding a company.

Besides looking at the common options, consider also what you really enjoy to see if that could be an option. I had colleagues who did that and, when they left, choose very unique career paths (such as a PhD and then a teaching career at university).

Best,

Francesco

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Ian
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replied on Nov 07, 2022
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

This is a phenomenal list!

I agree with Francesco - freelancing is not one to be written off! You'll find after the 1.5/2 year mark you'll start getting LinkedIn messages for ex-MBB projects (paying very good daily rates).

Remember that you are ultimately training a certain skillset. Even if MBB opens a million doors, it doesn't open every door….it opens doors that require strategic thinking, good communication skills, stakeholder management skills, powerpoint creation, etc.

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Cristian
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replied on Nov 07, 2022
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Hi there, 

From my point of view, that's quite a comprehensive list of options (save from considering things like exploring the world for a year or becoming an inventor :) ). 

Also, judging your list from the outside-in, it looks like you have a certain inclination towards VC/PE topics, so perhaps this should be your focus beyond MBB. You could already pave the path for that once you're in MBB by joining a rotation within the PE practice. 

However, it might be worth also making the most of the moment rather than planning so much in advance. MBB is an exciting place and you stand to gain most from it if you approach it with an open mind. You might run into some topics or people that you find very interesting and which might change your professional course. You might also receive some attractive offers in this time that you had never considered. 

Lastly, the most important thing is that you reflect on what sort of work you're good at and also brings you joy. That's usually a good sign that you should pursue something related to that. 

Best of luck on the new adventure!

Cristian

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Udayan
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Content Creator
replied on Nov 07, 2022
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /6 years McKinsey recruiting experience

Great list!

I would add the following as ones to consider

  • Under stay at MBB - 
    • Move to a leadership role for a functional area (e.g., leading a product at McKinsey)
    • Head a back office function in a new country (or same country if that is your preference)
  • Under consulting
    • Freelance consulting
    • Small Business/Startup consulting (either on your own or by joining firms that specialize in this)
  • Investment Banking - has happened a lot more than one may imagine
  • Working in a senior role in a non profit - many non profits are starved for talend
  • Working at a private school or university in an admin role - someone I know from McK is now a CFO of a very large private school and loves his job
  • Re-skill to leverage McKinsey and other knowledge - for example working in the legal team of large companies with the aim of helping businesses accomplish their goals vs being told no continuously by the compliance function

 

Hope these give you some new ones to ponder and all the best with your new role!

 

Udayan

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Benjamin
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replied on Nov 08, 2022
Ex-BCG Principal | 8+ years consulting experience in SEA | BCG top interviewer & top performer

Lots of good options already covered by you and the other coaches. I’ll just add 2 more: 

  1. Government / politics: not very typical but I have seen/known people to make the transition 
  2. Or you could be like John Legend ;) but jest aside, like Florian mentioned, working at MBB gives you a really great toolkit and skill set, and in many ways, the world is your oyster (for what it’s worth, John Legend does credit and speak positively of his experience at BCG)
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