What should an Indian MBA student understand before accepting a role at a liquidity-event focused firm in New York that pools family office and HNI capital for founders?

A role at a firm specialising in founder liquidity events, connecting founders who want partial liquidity before an IPO with family offices and high-net-worth investors willing to deploy capital into secondary positions, is essentially a structured version of informal capital-raising work that many dealmakers in India's entrepreneurial ecosystem already do without a formal firm behind them. The important things to understand before accepting are the deal flow quality, the network and quality of the founders and family offices the firm works with, and the commercial structure, how the firm is compensated and what upside you as a team member have access to.

• This kind of role is high-relationship and high-rejection.
• Cold outreach to family offices and HNIs who are unfamiliar with the firm or the specific founder requires persistence, thick skin, and the ability to find the compelling angle quickly.
• Understanding the investor's return expectations, liquidity preferences, and risk appetite before pitching is essential.
• For someone considering this alongside an MBA at USC or UCLA, the relevant question is whether the role builds the US network and deal exposure that will compound over time, or whether it is a transactional role with limited career progression upside.