WSO Weekly Wrap-up

May 31, 2025

Hey WSO Monkey,

Just thought to let you know in case it might be of interest—we have a Financial Modeling & Valuation Bootcamp next weekend (June 7-8), where you can learn financial modeling from a top pro with IB experience. (Limited seats!)

-Patrick

Top Discussions

  1. A Message of Hope for Recent Graduates - "There is no success without failure, so my advice is to NEVER GIVE UP!!! Invest in all sorts of modeling courses, read lots and lots of books, network aggressively, delay your gratifications, and take a refreshing nap or relaxing nature walk when the tough times get too suffocating to breathe, but NEVER GIVE UP!!! because your future self will thank you for it. Play the long game and do things today that your future self will thank you for, always. Congratulations on your graduations, and never let a rough start to your career, due to factors out of your control, have any basis on your self-worth. I believe in all of you!"

  2. Q&A - Former IB Analyst Turned Tech Worker Turned Portfolio Manager - "I came from a non-target school (Baruch College) and broke into Bank of America Merrill Lynch for investment banking (junior summer internship + return) where I spent a little over a year after graduation in the Consumer and Retail group. After that, I left to join early-stage tech in the healthcare space, where I spent the next ~4 years in various roles like strategy and corporate development. My last tech stint was in an e-commerce startup as a strategic finance manager..." 

  3. A Platform that Works Harder so Your Team Can Work Smarter - “Did you know you could save 6-10 hours a week? Unlock the full potential of FactSet and streamline your workflows with our solutions for investment bankers. Maximize productivity in Microsoft Office, get access to over 10 million private company datasets, and monitor public and private markets wherever and whenever with several open, flexible delivery options. Did we mention Pitch Creator? Our revolutionary AI tool allows you to minimize time spent on mundane, low-impact tasks so that you can focus on things that matter.”

9 Amazon Prime Perks You Need to Be Using

Once upon a time we had to make lists and physically go to stores when we needed things. Sometimes we’d have to go to several stores or even shopping malls for what we needed. Then one day, out of the heavens, came Amazon. For many of us, free shipping and access to exclusive shows and movies is enough reason to fork over the $14.99 per month to get Prime. But if those reasons haven't been enough to entice you to join Prime, maybe some of these lesser-known incentives will tempt you to sign up. Here are 9 of those perks.

Top Discussions (contd.)

  1. Megafund PE Placement by Bank and School - "Class sizes matter. The entire Moelis analyst class is the size of individual groups at GS or JPM. If you look at it that way the EBs place equally if not better. Also would estimate that 75%+ of the MF placements from BBs are coming from 1-2 groups for each bank."

  2. Restructuring Glaze Session - "Agree on recurring relationships within certain industries, but more than compensated with relationships with relationships at Sponsors + distressed hedge funds / credit investors. RE: business sense, instead of learning about “strategic growth” you learn something even more valuable: what goes wrong w these pipedream plans that the “Chad M&A Megaminds” think up; failure to recognize synergies, nuances of working capital dynamics when growing, failure to math capital structure to duration of value creation - which most M&A folks would not double click on in the first instance. The learning opportunity is equally as valuable, just the inverse of M&A (you see what doesn’t work, vs in M&A you just sell); orients you to look down before you look up, a skill that the best investors emphasize."

  3. Are Work Friendships Capped? - "In every phase of life, you develop friends based on who you’re around the most (high school, college). I find it hard to believe that you don’t build great friendships with work colleagues too. Do these friendships really only stay in the office (as in you would never hang out with them outside of the office)? Is that because you can’t let loose with them and always have to uphold this professional image of yourself? I’ve seen some of my most competent friends blackout drunk so maybe I might have looser judgment here."

  4. Fired for Unprofessionally Complaining About Compensation - "My manager and I spoke that following Monday, and he had mentioned that he would see what he could do for me regarding a raise (although he did not give me the opportunity to have a private face-to-face conversation with him, nor apologize). He also mentioned that he was shocked by my text. My manager then had a discussion with my director (whom I do not have a relationship with; hence I did not text him), and I received an evil eye for the remainder of the day and was fired at 5pm on the same day. I explained the situation to two colleagues over lunch (including the one I invited to the party), and no one had anticipated that I would be fired (rather, a stern talking to)..."

New Podcasts Coming in Hot 🔥

  • Colgate to Wells Fargo | Chat with Adrian | WSO Academy

  • Case Western to Deutsche Bank | Chat with Andrew | WSO Academy

Hot Jobs 💼

Venture Capital Associate (Life Sciences, Boston based) - "The team is seeking an Investment Associate to join as a generalist across their three sector focuses (biotech, digital health/tech, and tools/diagnostics) in Boston metro with an ASAP or Summer 2025 start date..."

Equity Research Analyst - "Buy-side research analyst opportunity with a family office. The analyst will work with the direct investment team and report to the Portfolio Manager. The team employs a fundamentally driven investment process and an owner’s mentality...."

Research Associate (Equity Small Mid Cap) - New York, NY - "This position will support the Small/Mid-Cap Equity research team and initially be responsible for covering multiple sectors in support of current team members."

On Deck - Training 🎓

All in Eastern Standard Time

Stay Strong,
Patrick Curtis
CEO and Founder, WallStreetOasis.com

WSO Mobile App: iOS | Android

PS - We're also always looking to add resume reviewers and WSO Mentors to our team. Set your own pay (from $40/hr to up to $400/hr) to increase or decrease mentee flow. To submit an application, go here.

PPS - Think you have an interesting story? Want to share it with our podcast listeners? Hit reply and let me know!




* PE Interview Bootcamp includes lifetime access to the PE Interview Course
** FMV Bootcamp includes lifetime access to the Elite Modeling Package
*** IB Interview Bootcamp includes lifetime access to the IB Interview Course