Boutique consulting

Question

So I was speaking with a friend of mine about consulting a few days back, and he asked if I was considering working for any of the "boutique" consulting firms after the MBA.

I hadn't actually considered this idea in much detail, so did a bit of online research and it seems that:
- in some cases, boutique firms offer better work/life balance than M/B/B
- smaller firms (or offices), offer more time with senior partners and possibly greater opportunity to influence staffing
- boutique firms can offer better salaries

I was wondering:
- is any of what I found true? or is that just some "consulting urban myth"?
- are there good examples of "boutique firms" to target? Ones that keep appearing in my search seemed to be: Marakon, LEK, Parthenon
- are exit opportunities out of boutique firms the same as M/B/B? Are you more restricted in the types of jobs you can get?

Thanks for your help!

bipolarbear · Answer

yes, boutique firms can and often will offer better work/life balance than M/B/B... less travel, more responsibilities, more control of assignments...
there aren't really any boutique ones to target, but ones that get tossed around a lot are marakon, lek, parthenon, at kearney, katzenbach partners...etc.
the exit opportunities are not as good as m/b/b, but many of them do compare. for example, it will be a lot more difficult transitioning into p/e from a smaller boutique with less connections that say, bain's p/e practice

bsd_lover · Answer

LEK and Parthenon are quite well known and I've seen several folks come out of them and do real well. They are hardly boutique in the "reputation" stakes or are any easier to get into. For instance Parthenon only recruits on campus only from 5 US BSchools + LBS/Insead - https://www.parthenon.com/careers/mbaCandidates.html. I'd be reluctant to think that these two in particular provide any better work/life balance...

MJ2009 · Answer

I really can't seem to understand this! And believe me I have tried! Who hires Masters graduate?? For example Bsd_lover this Parthenon Group hires undergrads, MBAs and experienced... same on Mckinsey, Booz, Bain website and many more... This might not be the ideal place (or forum or thread) to raise my concerns but please somebody explain. I promise kudos! :wink:

bsd_lover · Answer

MJ2009 - unfortunately you will have to be the "test-bed" for the MiM concept. This is the first class hence there are no historical numbers / employers to go by. The irony is that this first class graduates in the toughest economic climate for a long time. If you want to get an idea of who the potential recruiters might be, look at who hires from the best undergrad business programs (such as the BBAs at Wharton etc.). The roles at the end of MiM would be similar to these ugrad biz programs (i.e. more analyst level roles).

riverripper · Answer

Not a consulting guy but my take on Parthenon from friends in consulting including a 2nd year who interned there. They pay well, are highly selective, but actually work more hours than most other firms. A lot of their business is tied to PE stuff, so people say they work banker hours and that is why they are paid very well. Of all the small firms they probably have the best exit opportunities into PE since that is one of the biggest areas of their business and they have some very big name clients. They dont have the long history and huge reach of M/B/B but they definitely are attracting a lot of top tier talent based on their rep and significantly higher pay. I think they also have their own PE branch like Bain Capital or something along those lines.

pleonasm · Answer

I think Katzenbach is no longer a boutique firm .. They merged with Booz https://www.katzenbach.com/Work/News/New ... ity_ID=817

Pre777 · Answer

Is it fair to say the path to partner is faster at a boutique consulting firm than at a big firm?

Paradosso · Answer

1) There is not really a path to partner: either you make it or you don't. Some partners are horrible managers and some wondeful managers will never make partner.

2) Boutique definitely gives you more responsibility faster, which can lead to a quicker partnership.

3) But beware, since at some firms "partner" is just a title with no equity stake associated.

4) The people that really are meant to be management consultants (about 2-3% of management consultants) will make partner fast at any firm. A small minority of the other come under 2). The rest will not make partner. Most of the latter will learn not to want to make partner.

Boutique consulting

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