Written By: Micherice Tao (ENG’23 W’23) and Helena Wolk (C’23)

Leila Ashtaryeh is a senior in Wharton majoring in Finance and Business Analytics. Her interests lie in the growth equity industry; she interned at General Atlantic last summer and is staying in Philly to work full time at LLR Partners post graduation. She took some time to answer questions about her experience as a growth equity intern, and her awesome insights are below.

What kind of projects do you work on as a growth equity intern?

“As an intern at a growth equity firm, you do similar work that you’d do in most PE internships. I had an investment thesis that I was working on throughout the summer, where I was assigned the topic of digital pharmacy on the healthcare team, which was particularly interesting given the importance of healthcare during COVID. My job was to do research in the industry (trends, M&As, merits and risks of investments), find promising companies within that sector, and hop on the phone to speak with the CEOs of those companies. I worked with a VP on the team and spent a lot of time cold emailing and drafting emails for other people at the company as well. In addition to the investment thesis, I did a lot of sourcing, which a lot of full time analysts do, too.”

What activities at Penn furthered your interest in growth equity?

“I worked with a consumer startup through Penn Venture Lab’s Venture Implementation Program Fellowship, where I gained experience with what happens behind a startup and was able to see the other side of VC. I also think attending company info sessions that aren’t solely based on recruiting can be helpful. I’m talking about the skill-based workshops that companies host, where they teach something like case studies or go into the difference between PE, VC, and GE, which I learned a lot from.”

What was your day to day schedule like as a growth equity summer analyst?

“Things were a little different because of the COVID summer, but usually I would make a schedule for my work day and start answering emails or Slack messages at 8am. Meetings usually started at 9am. Once a week, the other interns and I had a Zoom call to chat about our projects with the head of the intern program, where we were able to check in on our investment theses. We also had weekly Lunch and Learn chats with the more senior people at the firm, as well as check-ins with the VPs we were working with. I also made sure to schedule chats with the full time analysts to get to know them, what kind of work they did, and their insights on the GE industry. Outside of the structured program, I did lots of reading to learn more about the industry I was researching.”

How did you choose LLR Partners for your full time job?

“The analyst position at LLR Partners is a little different than typical analyst positions at other growth equity firms. At most firms, the analyst position is sourcing based, so you spend more time emailing and having the first calls with CEOs. I chose LLR Partners because I’ll be working on deals and hard skills like an investment banker analyst would, so I’ll be preparing for a more senior role eventually.”

What advice do you have for Wharton Women interested in growth equity or venture capital?

“Lots of PE and VC internships aren’t advertised in the normal places you look for jobs, like Handshake. My biggest piece of advice is to cold email, network, etc….lots of people are willing to help you, you just need to reach out! I got my full time job at LLR from talking with someone at my internship at General Atlantic, so that’s something that I would recommend others take advantage of.”

A Growth Equity Summer Analyst’s Experience