Finance vs. Entrepreneurship

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Gecko vs. Zuckerberg
Deciding between finance and entrepreneurship
featuring:
Michael Simpson
Co-Founder
Caitlin Quan
Evisors Marketing &
Operations Associate
Hosted by:

Agenda
1. Intro
2. Investment banking
3. Startups
4. How to get into startups
5. Q&A

Why Michael is qualified
Education Professional

What you will get out of this presentation
• Learn the differences between finance and startups
(compensation, lifestyle, career trajectory etc.)
• Gain an unfair advantage in the startup recruitment
process
• Learn how to leverage a finance background in
recruiting for startups

DJZ overview
Investors

I-Banking: Pros and cons
× Hours
× Ability to plan life outside of
work
× Incomprehension to R.O.W.
× Increasingly un-hireable
× Frequent monotony
 Learning (caveat)
 $$ during
 $$$$$ after
 “Hard Work” vs. rest of world
 Ego boost for some
Pros Cons

Startups: Pros and cons
× Most startups fail
× Emotional rollercoaster
× Company trajectory is highly
unpredictable
× Clock is never off
 Emotional investment, “real”
factor
 Satisfaction
 Significant potential upside
 Thought-base
 Vibrant and open community
 Massive potential for contribution
Pros Cons

Emotional rollercoaster
Credit: Mark Suster

Startup myths debunked
 Being an entrepreneur means “working for yourself” and “not having a boss”
 Founding a tech company is a sure path to becoming a billionaire
 You have to code to found / work in a startup
 A startup is “risky” so you shouldn’t start / join one
 Doing a startup means living on a shoestring and eating ramen noodles
 Business school will prepare you for a startup / you will meet your co-
founder at business school
 You should found / work for a startup because it is “cool” or “sexy”
 You should work for a startup in order to escape the 9-5
Hosted by:See the rest at evisors.com/webinars/webinar/66

So….which to choose?
VS.

Agenda
1. Intro
2. Investment banking
3. Startups
5. Q&A

Startups: Entry points
 Join a seed or pre-funding startup
 Join a later stage startup
 Start a company
 Venture Capital

How to get a job at a startup
1. ***IMPORTANT*** Define, as precisely as possible, what you want
from the role, and what you would like to do after the role
2. Create a list of potential companies
3. Contact each one using tailored communication (e.g. Foursquare,
Ridejoy). Focus on:
1. Why you are passionate about the space
2. Insights and ideas for their business
3. What you can bring to the table
4. Interview with companies

Startup recruiting vs. finance recruiting
 Timing
 Organisation
 Importance of persistence
 Importance of passion
 Necessity to be proactive in defining a role

Moving from Finance  Startups
 “perfect is the enemy of the good”
 Relative importance of data in
financial modelling
 Financial modelling
 Analytical work
 Ability to work very hard
 Anything investor-related
 Internal M&A / corporate actions
 Budgeting / internal finance
Why finance is an asset Why finance is a handicap

Resources to learn more
 Blogs (Fred Wilson, Paul Graham, Brad Feld)
 Startup / Tech News (Techcrunch, mashable, Allthingsd)
 Startup methodology (Eric Reis, Steve Blank, David Cohen)

Connect
Michael Simpson
Co-Founder of
Book your one-on-one session with Michael at
www.evisors.com/expert/1619

Agenda
1. Intro
2. Investment banking: Pros and cons
3. Startups: Pros and cons
5. Q&A

Questions & Answers

Questions & Answers
Question 1:
What was most useful in differing your
finance pitch from others?
Hosted by:See the answer at evisors.com/webinars/webinar/66

Questions & Answers
Question 2:
What is your advice for post-MBA students:
Go into finance for a few years or jump into
entrepreneurship?

Questions & Answers
Question 3:
How can someone use their entrepreneurial
skills within in the finance field?

Questions & Answers
Question 4:
If my goal is to be an entrepreneur, how
would a consulting job benefit or hurt this
career path?

Questions & Answers
Question 5:
In seeking venture capital with a business
plan, how many exit strategies should I
offer?

Questions & Answers
Question 6:
Do you have any recommended resources
for those looking for startup/venture capital
jobs?

Questions & Answers
Question 7:
What were some of the main challenges/key
lessons in transitioning from finance to
entrepreneurship?

Questions & Answers
Question 8:
If you could modify your career path, what
decisions would you change?

Finance vs. Entrepreneurship

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