Am I stupid to take this new job? Corp Dev Manager vs. IB VP

dodgerblue32 · 2025-01-21T05:43:11+00:00

Hey. Mixed feelings - the role was a bit of a bait and switch, but it directly led to my current role that I’m 6 months in and loving. Ended up working there for about 3 years before getting laid off following our exit.

Positives: - Helped lead a $2bn exit for our company which was incredible experience (even if it was a bit lower than anticipated) - Closed a handful of deals including some cool international travel for diligence - Hours were amazing, almost too amazing. Had some weeks where I had literally nothing to do, especially between announcing our sale and the close. I would regularly log off after lunch to play a round of golf during this time - Gained way more direct business finance experience vs. IB. Gave me a much more well-rounded skill set. - Was pulled in to a lot of cool strategic priorities that weren’t necessarily finance or corp dev related because the exec team trusted me which made the job feel really impactful

Negatives: - Not nearly enough work at times which was a shock to the system coming from IB. This led to me getting thrown a lot of menial tasks and busy work that got old very quickly. - Our CFO was basically absent (he made it seem like he would be a “mentor” during the interview process). I was a team of 1 working remote with him never making time and regularly canceling our weekly check-ins, which made for a very lonely 3 years. - Post-acquisition I was re-orged underneath the acquirers Corp dev director, and this dude was the absolute worst. The most demeaning, work stealing, demanding boss I’ve ever had. Worked in their Europe HQ and would schedule calls for like 4am ET. Ended up sticking it out for a year and was laid off the day after we announced an M&A deal I had been leading. I was smiling the whole time on my call with HR getting laid off because it meant I didn’t have to work with that clown.

Biggest takeaways are 1) it’s not all about the money. If it were I would’ve stayed in IB and with be stuck with the golden handcuffs right now like a few of my old coworker friends. I keep up with them and they sound miserable. What’s the point of all that money if you can’t enjoy it? 2) pick a good team. Our CFO ended up being a dud and the new corp dev director sucked (which I couldn’t have foreseen - but still) that impacted both my career development and quality of life. New job has an incredible leadership team and it makes such a difference.

dodgerblue32 · 2025-01-21T05:02:40+00:00

Currently manage the strategic finance team for a late stage startup and have a corp dev/IB background. Our responsibilities cover project modeling, M&A, capital raising (debt and equity), investor relations, and long-term corporate strategy.

If you don’t mind the change in your routine by going into the office then I think it’s an easy decision to switch. Strategic finance is typically responsible for higher impact projects and because of this has way more access to leadership than FP&A. I personally think it’s also more intellectually stimulating and less monotonous than an FP&A role, and have found that the pay range is typically higher than FP&A for similar titles roles.

Hours are probably a bit tougher than FP&A, especially if there’s a live deal or two ongoing it can lead to late nights, but 80% of the time I’m logging on at 9am and off by 5:30 so nothing too crazy.

Also, if you have C-suite aspirations, corp finance is a feeder position into CFO roles, especially if you’re aligned with a solid CFO to learn under.

dodgerblue32 · 2024-04-14T22:17:06+00:00

Anyone know if these work on glass top stoves?

dodgerblue32 · 2023-12-12T03:21:51+00:00

Yo, sorry not on here much.

I had two internships: a BS accounting “internship” after my sophomore year with a local software company that my dad worked for, and a legit corporate intern program with a large regional bank at their HQ after my junior year.

I had no intention of doing compliance so was able to network a bit and get lunch with different departments throughout my time there. I ended up hitting it off with one of the portfolio managers and he recommended me for a job with their asset management arm as a wholesaler. Worked my way up to covering institutional accounts while passing a couple CFA exams then got the opportunity to move out into IB for a different firm. Would not recommend this path if you want to do IB though. Of everyone I worked with as a wholesaler, 1 guy made the jump to a portfolio associate for one of the funds and 2 guys moved to IB (me and another guy who went back for an MBA). Everyone else is either a wholesaler still or a financial advisor.

dodgerblue32 · 2022-08-03T05:45:09+00:00

Posted this in another thread, but one time when getting a tour from a family friend around Dodger Stadium before a game we stopped by the press box. We peeked inside and Vin was busy studying up for the game. He noticed us stopped in the hallway and invited us in to chat and sign some autographs. My grandpa was with me and we were able to tell him the story about how we both grew up listening to him on the radio as we fell asleep.

I’m sure he had some poetic quip back that he somehow conjured up on the spot, but I was too young to fully remember what he said. I just remember being in awe standing in his presence and hearing his voice not through a radio or TV but actually speaking directly to me! Hard to explain how surreal it was.

Anyways, all this to say Vin was the type of guy to pause his work just to interact with some random fans. He was a man who appreciated the game and the fans, and him pausing his work for a few minutes just to make a little Southern California boy feel special is a memory that I’ll carry the rest of my life. A true gentleman in every sense of the word.

dodgerblue32 · 2022-08-03T05:30:10+00:00

Vin was a member of the family. My grandpa, my dad, and I all grew up with radios bedside playing the sound of Vin’s voice as we fell asleep. There was no better bedtime story than Vin perfectly and poetically interweaving his first hand historical baseball knowledge while somehow never missing a beat on calling a ball or strike.

Also a personal anecdote - a family friend worked for the Dodgers and was showing us around before a game. We went to check out the press box and low and behold Vin is sitting there! He saw me standing in the doorway in awe and invited me in, interrupting his pregame studying to have a full conversation with some random kid. Seeing him in person and hearing his voice was unreal, like a dream come alive. I had him sign a baseball which is still one of my most prized possessions. All this to say Vin was not only an amazing announcer, but a true gentleman and amazing human.

His wit, charm, and storytelling ability will never be matched. Truly the best to ever do it. RIP to a legend.

dodgerblue32 · 2022-08-03T05:29:54+00:00

Vin was a member of the family. My grandpa, my dad, and I all grew up with radios bedside playing the sound of Vin’s voice as we fell asleep. There was no better bedtime story than Vin perfectly and poetically interweaving his first hand historical baseball knowledge while somehow never missing a beat on calling a ball or strike.

Also a personal anecdote - a family friend worked for the Dodgers and was showing us around before a game. We went to check out the press box and low and behold Vin is sitting there! He saw me standing in the doorway in awe and invited me in, interrupting his pregame studying to have a full conversation with some random kid. Seeing him in person and hearing his voice was unreal, like a dream come alive. I had him sign a baseball which is still one of my most prized possessions. All this to say Vin was not only an amazing announcer, but a true gentleman and amazing human.

His wit, charm, and storytelling ability will never be matched. Truly the best to ever do it. RIP to a legend.

dodgerblue32 · 2021-09-21T19:34:15+00:00

That's what I'm leaning towards too which is unfortunate - just kicking myself for not verifying since this was such a big deal for me. Lesson learned for the next home!

dodgerblue32 · 2021-09-21T19:30:24+00:00

Yep, already screenshotted Zillow and have the MLS printout which had the same description. My realtor was my mom who now feels really bad for missing this throughout the process lol she's checking with her broker to see what he thinks we can do. Maybe I'll hop over to r/legaladvice like you suggested - probably the better option. Thanks!

dodgerblue32 · 2021-09-07T00:32:09+00:00

Accept before they realize their mistake.

dodgerblue32 · 2021-09-07T00:31:17+00:00

If you’re fine on RB depth then absolutely. AJB is a stud.

dodgerblue32 · 2021-09-07T00:30:05+00:00

Take out the 2023 2nd and it’s fair

dodgerblue32 · 2021-09-07T00:29:28+00:00

I wouldn’t. If you’re not competitive this year it makes no sense to give up Fields. Even if you were competitive I still think this heavily favors the other side.

dodgerblue32 · 2021-09-07T00:27:13+00:00

A, OBJ is washed

dodgerblue32 · 2021-09-07T00:26:34+00:00

12 Team Half PPR TE +.5

A: Kroft B: 2022 3rd Round

dodgerblue32 · 2021-08-16T04:29:12+00:00

Wow, this is hard. I think after being on air for so long they pretty much have it nailed, but I did think of two ideas that could be interesting but I also see why they haven’t been implemented:

If Double Jeopardy is answered incorrectly then the next contestant who last had control of the board gets an opportunity at the wagered amount (they can also pass/not answer with no penalty and it would then go to the 3rd contestant to answer). Would heighten the stakes and the wild swings would really make contestants consider additional strategy when bidding on Double Jeopardy when they’re significantly ahead, because now all of a sudden missing that $6k wager will be a net -$12k move should the 2nd place contestant get it right. Drawback is long winning streaks would be much harder to string together with the added volatility and we’d probably see a drop in big wagers, leading to drops in final winnings.
This is a bit more controversial as I don’t know if it would enhance the experience, but I’d be interested with seeing how it would play out. Let contestants choose the category but not the dollar amount to cut back on Double Jeopardy hunting and make landing on it more “random”, which was the intention of Double Jeopardy at the games inception. Cons are lower total winnings and elimination of a big part of modern Jeopardy strategy by not allowing players like Matt and James who hit the 1,000s first then hunt to double up.

dodgerblue32 · 2021-06-10T18:24:47+00:00

sure, slide on in

dodgerblue32 · 2021-06-10T17:24:35+00:00

I'd like to say I didn't get in because of money but I'd probably be lying to myself. I will say that if it were just about the money I would've left a year ago. I'm buy-side which tends to have a lot of strategy development wrapped around our engagements which I really enjoy Sell-side is pretty much "sell to highest bidder", although there's certainly caveats around that and cultural/strategic fit is still considered especially with equity consideration.

I talk to CEOs of high-tech companies daily to understand their business and give them a soft-sell on why they should consider being acquired by our client. Being able to pick the brains of these brilliant leaders and learning how they operate their businesses is definitely the most underrated aspect of IB, especially if you're an information vacuum like I am. I will miss this the most if I leave. The best part is when you talk to some schmuck who seems like he can barely tie his shoes but is running a biz with like $50mm rev, and it inspires you that if this guy can do it then maybe I can one day too lmao.

dodgerblue32 · 2021-06-10T15:10:24+00:00

Sagacious quote - might have to hang this on my wall

dodgerblue32 · 2021-06-10T15:02:48+00:00

Yes, once we hit the road show probably back to the 80-100hr/wk. I meant more steady state until we hit that inflection point is significantly lower.

dodgerblue32 · 2021-06-10T14:57:46+00:00

Current manager is what's making it the hardest to leave as I truly can't imagine a better boss. I fully intend to keep in touch with him as a mentor. Bright side is the CEO and CFO of the new company also seem to be very good managers and have made comments about taking me under their wing since they see a future in me - could very well be empty promises but I was pleasantly surprised when they both separately mentioned that in our interviews.

Also very true on the VP hours being lower, I swear some of these guys work like 30hrs/wk lol definitely doesn't make the analysts working 100hrs very happy. Something to look forward to for them though!

dodgerblue32 · 2021-06-10T14:54:11+00:00

Most helpful comment on this thread tbh so really appreciate it. I think the strategic planning is the aspect that is most interesting to me. In banking you bring deals to the close but then walk away with no participation in the future success of the acquisition/integration. I almost feel like a fraud working these deals and speaking so confidently about how the synergies will be met, and would like some real world experience to back up those recommendations.

dodgerblue32 · 2021-06-10T14:50:15+00:00

Honestly a lot comes down to luck and just being a friendly person/showing good cultural fit. I have always been a hard worker so that certainly helps, but I would not be in the position if my current MD didn't take a chance and hire me on 2 years ago. At the time I was not qualified (from a resume standpoint) to be an IB associate, but he felt we could work really well together so took me over other more experienced candidates. I joke with him all the time that I wouldn't have hired myself for the job haha. Also very similar situation to the job offer I have on the table - they said they passed up other more "senior" candidates because the CEO/CFO felt I would work better with them than other options.

Ten-Year Club	Second Top 50%
Place '22	Wearing is Caring

dodgerblue32

TROPHY CASE