I left consulting last year and took a corp strat seat at a mid-cap SaaS to get closer to real P&L decisions while keeping optionality. The part that feels fuzzy: is corp strat actually a credible on-ramp to PE/VC or product leadership, or does it stall you in slide land?
Veterans told me to stop thinking in projects and start owning outcomes. So I chased three things: a measurable pricing change (moved gross margin 120 bps), a planning workstream I could defend down to unit economics, and a small tuck-in where I led the integration PMO and built the synergy model. On the PM side, I started sitting in product reviews, wrote two PRD-lite documents for analytics features, and partnered with a staff PM to get a small experiment shipped (with a clean pre/post KPI read).
Recruiter hit rate improved, but I’m still getting split feedback: PE deal teams want heavier modeling; VC asks for a thesis + network; PM wants shipped product and user stories. PE ops seems more open if you’ve got cost-out or integration receipts.
For folks who’ve actually made the jump: what timeline worked (12 vs 24 months)? Which artifacts carried the most weight (pricing wins, integration plans, PRDs, dashboards)? Any pitfalls to avoid—title inflation, being the exec’s slide engine, or missing real ownership windows? If you did it, what would you do differently?
corp strat only “bridges” if you actually touch levers that move cash. annual plan where you own the model, pricing that hits margin, integration where you deliver synergies. otherwise it’s powerpoint cosplay. pe deal teams don’t care about your stakeholder map. pm won’t care if you never shipped. fix: embed with finance or product, take a number you can defend, and write the darn PRD. if your resume says “advised” more than “delivered,” you’re stuck.
vc? cute. unless you bring deal flow or a differentiated thesis, they’ll smile and pass. pe ops is more realistic if you’ve run a real cost-out or pmi workstream with $$$ savings. for deal teams, you’ll need reps on live models and memos—no way around it. timeline is 12–18 months to stack receipts; after 24, you calcify into internal strategy furniture. pick a lane early, stop chasing exec visibility, chase owned outcomes. yes, it’s that simple (and not).
following. i’m 1 year in corp strat after big 4 consultng. trying to pivot to pm. any tips on getting real feature ownership w/out a pm title?
same boat! did you cold-shadow PMs or ask your manager? worried about stepping on toes lol.
You’re on the right track by anchoring outcomes. To keep optionality, choose one primary lane now and build artifacts that speak that language. For PE deal teams: ship at least one full financial model tied to a live decision (pricing, investment memo, or M&A case) and get references from Finance. For PE Ops: show a cost-reduction or integration program with a quantified before/after and a cadence you ran. For PM: ship an experiment end-to-end—PRD, success metrics, postmortem. Timeline-wise, 12–18 months is enough if you avoid “advisory-only” work. Tactically, block two days/month with PM or Finance, and commit to one owned metric per quarter. Biggest pitfall: chasing exec decks over controllable scope.
You’ve already done the hard parts! Those concrete wins are gold. Package them clearly, pick a lane, and push. You’ve got this—momentum is on your side!
For PE investment roles, most associate job descriptions still specify 2+ years of IB or equivalent modeling experience. Corp strat candidates who succeed typically present one or two live, decision-grade models tied to pricing or M&A, plus an investment memo. PE ops screens for quantified value creation (e.g., cost-out, integration KPIs). PM transitions hinge on shipped scope with defined metrics—PRD, experiment design, and pre/post analysis. Practical cadence: secure one owned metric per quarter, compile a 3-page portfolio (artifact screenshots, KPI deltas), and time your outreach around tangible milestones.