You can sometimes get more favorable incentive compensation at a portfolio company, assuming you stay long enough until it gets acquired or goes public again, and it’s usually easier to win offers if you’re already working at the owner of the company. Growth equity can still get you “corporate” roles, but it’s less good for PE, credit, IB, and other transaction roles that involve debt.

Thanks – why join a portfolio company for one of these roles vs. joining a larger public firm? Also, do these exit opps differ at all from a growth equity background vs. traditional PE?

For more of a social/team environment, “corporate” anything is your best bet. It’s usually the best part of working in a normal company in corp fin, corp dev, corp strategy, etc.

Thanks. Most of these firms are not going to let you stick around forever at the same level, so you are not going to stay a VP for 5-10 years if there’s no chance of moving up. But the exact timing varies from fund to fund, and they’re not always going to say, “Please leave” – sometimes it is just implied. In general, as you approach the ~10-year mark (starting as an Associate), you should have a pretty good idea of whether or not you can advance. In some cases, even if you have the skills, it may not be possible just because none of the Partners want to leave and they’re not raising a new fund that’s big enough to justify more hiring.