Investment Banking or Corporate Finance for long-term entrepreneurship?

Question

Hi everyone,
I’m currently a Master's student at a European business school and previously co-founded two small ventures. Before that, I worked for around a year and a half in a mix of operations and financial analysis roles. My long-term plan is to start my own company again, but in the meantime I want to build a strong foundation in finance, ideally in either Investment Banking or Corporate Finance (UK or Middle East).

Initially, I was planning to apply to both areas at the same time, but that felt a bit unfocused and probably lowers my chances in each. Since I want experience that actually helps me when I return to entrepreneurship, I want to narrow down my direction before I start applying.

For someone with my background, which path tends to offer more relevant experience and better learning? Should I prioritize IB for the technical depth, or corporate finance for broader operational exposure?

Answer 1

Both investment banking and corporate finance can be excellent foundations for a future in entrepreneurship, but they develop slightly different skill sets and perspectives.

Investment banking gives you very strong training in valuation, deal execution, financial modeling and transaction thinking. You learn how to analyse businesses deeply, how buyers and sellers think, and how capital markets interact with corporate strategy. That experience is especially valuable if your future entrepreneurial path involves raising capital, negotiating with investors, or structuring strategic partnerships. Many founders who successfully raised funding or built scalable ventures credit their IB training for helping them understand investors’ logic and market dynamics.

Corporate finance, on the other hand, tends to be more operationally focused and strategic in the context of an existing business. You get exposure to budgeting, forecasting, performance management, long-term planning and internal decision-making. That role often teaches you how the finance function supports business execution, prioritises initiatives and balances short-term performance with long-term objectives. For future founders who want to lead a business and manage cross-functional teams day-to-day, this perspective can be very beneficial.

Neither path is objectively “better” for entrepreneurship; they develop complementary strengths. If your entrepreneurial goals involve early-stage fundraising, investor communication and exit planning, investment banking experience tends to be more directly aligned. If your goals focus more on running and scaling a business, understanding internal performance drivers and resource allocation, then corporate finance experience could be a stronger fit.

In interviews and on your CV, you can articulate this by linking your long-term goals to the specific skills you’re building. That way, whichever path you choose looks like a thoughtful step toward your entrepreneurial aspirations rather than a default choice.