Entry-level positions for aspiring finance professionals
Entry-level positions in Connor's field include internships or analyst roles assisting with materials, often found at larger companies (50+ employees) where "you'll have one manager" providing close mentorship. Connor's own path involved investment banking, which built "credibility, network, and skillset," proving crucial for Auxo Partners' success.
Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Startups, Consulting, Finance
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Connor Frischmeyer
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Auxo Partners
University of Iowa 2016
N/A
Finance
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Consider internships or analyst roles at firms offering exposure to investment and finance.
2. Gain experience at companies with 50+ employees to learn from experienced professionals and access diverse roles (e.g., marketing)
3. Investment banking can enhance credibility, network, and skillset, paving the way for a career in finance and consulting
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that an undergraduate college student might consider?
There are many options, and I think it depends on the context within the field. I actually hire college students, typically after they've completed an investment banking internship and before they start full-time. It's more of an intern position, kind of like an analyst.
They help us with a lot of the materials. Sometimes you can find things like that, or you might find roles with VC. There are also tons of roles underneath more senior people at relatively early-stage startups.
If you're coming out of college, I would probably not recommend starting at a company with fewer than 50 people. You just need to learn from other people who really know what they're doing and have been through all of this before.
But if you go to a company with 50-plus people, you can often get really cool experience. You might have one manager, or one person running the whole show when it comes to marketing, for example. So it can be a cool way to get really close access to people early on within the context of finance.
Particularly for what I do and for consulting, I think it is worth doing a role at a larger company. In my case, I went with investment banking just because it builds your credibility, your network, and your skillset, which is very important. All of those things were critical for me to be able to get off the ground in a way that I don't think I would have been able to otherwise.