Ep. 55 - From Electrician's Apprentice to Investment Banking Intern

<p>Anthony Ellis is a junior at Iowa State who took a gap year after high school working as an electrician's apprentice and just landed a junior year investment banking internship at Lincoln International in Chicago.</p><p><br /></p><p>In this episode, Anthony walks through how that unconventional background became his most powerful recruiting asset, why he made the deliberate decision to go deep on one firm rather than spread across many, and how a five-day networking trek to New York and Chicago ultimately changed the direction of his career. </p><p><br /></p><p>We also dig into Iowa State's IB Initiative, the daily study group approach that got him through the 400 questions guide, and how the Adventis program let him complete a live LBO on day three of his sophomore summer PE internship faster than any of the other interns.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sign up for the Adventis Financial Modeling Certification (FMC) program at https://adventiscg.com</p><p><br /></p><p>---</p><p>Edited by Jamie Regan - ⁨@CreatedByRegan⁩ </p><p>Hosted by Ben Dowell</p><p>Guest: Anthony Ellis</p><p>---</p><p>CHAPTERS:</p><p>0:00 — Introduction &amp; Anthony's Background</p><p>0:48 — Growing Up in Des Moines &amp; Choosing Iowa State</p><p>2:04 — The Gap Year: Working as an Electrician's Apprentice &amp; Bartending</p><p>3:42 — What People Get Wrong About Taking a Gap Year</p><p>5:21 — How the Gap Year Created Clarity, Confidence &amp; a Unique Story</p><p>7:45 — Slowing Down Before a Big Decision: Advice for High Schoolers</p><p>9:31 — How the Electrician Story Became Anthony's Biggest Recruiting Asset</p><p>10:45 — The Networking Strategy: Why Anthony Put Most of His Eggs in One Basket</p><p>12:14 — The Networking Trek: 19 Firms Across New York and Chicago in Five Days</p><p>13:03 — Walking Into Lincoln International &amp; Feeling It Immediately</p><p>14:32 — From the Office Visit to the Offer: How the Snowball Started</p><p>15:46 — Going Back to Chicago in January — On His Own Time, With His Dad</p><p>16:37 — Why Focused Networking on One Firm Actually Reduces Risk</p><p>17:19 — The VP Who Walked the Desk and Got Everyone to Respond</p><p>18:14 — Anthony's Super Day: 6 Interviews, 8 People, 3 He Already Knew</p><p>19:21 — Walking Into Super Day With the Recruiter Who Hosted the Original Trek</p><p>19:53 — The Mental Shift: Realizing the Hard Work Was Already Done</p><p>22:00 — Applying to 30 Banks vs. Deeply Networking at a Few: The Real Lesson</p><p>23:14 — The Evercore First Roun