Konstantin Kottutz left EU Business School with a solid entrepreneurial mindset and aspirations of starting his own business. After gaining knowledge and experience in several top financial firms, he eventually convinced his business partner to open Peryton Advisory with him.
Although he has experienced a few stints of working abroad, Konstantin is currently located in his hometown of Munich. Aside from his passion for investment banking, he loves spending time on the slopes and keeps active playing various types of sports.
What made you want to be an entrepreneur?
When I graduated, I already had the desire to start my own company. I felt like I needed to go into finance specifically, or investment banking, just to acquire the toolbox to learn all the essential analytical skills and different business models to be successful before jumping in, but the entrepreneurial mindset was already instilled in me.
How did your career progress once you completed your studies at EU Business School?
Upon graduating, I spent time completing a couple of internships with German finance companies to gain more experience. I then finished another internship at one of the Big Four auditing firms and joined BNP Paribas for an internship, where I then started my career as an analyst in investment banking. This gave me a strong foundation and from there, I was presented with a lot of opportunities where I could try out new things while focusing on learning about different industries. For example, I joined Rocket Internet when the ecommerce market and software as a service really took off. I learned a lot, but the point came where I just really wanted to apply and transfer that knowledge, which is when it felt like a good time to start my own firm.
How did your career in investment banking lead to the founding of your own company?
I met my co-founder, Jochen, when I was working at BNP 14 years ago. We stayed in touch once I left and went to work for other companies throughout Europe. About two years ago, I finally convinced him to start Peryton with me. I had spent a couple of years working in tech in the finance sector and held some sales and business development roles. But we wanted to go back to the roots of business, and that’s what we do. We advise corporates and investors when they are investing into or acquiring companies and from time to time, we invest in companies ourselves. We also advise entrepreneurs on raising fresh capital or families and owners when selling their businesses.
What first interested you in working with mergers and acquisitions?
As a student reading about the sector in the newspapers, I was already curious about what went into all those negotiations and big deals. At first, when you learn about how it’s done, it’s fascinating. But then you start getting deeper into it and learning more about the business behind it, you realize that it’s an extremely interdisciplinary field where everything must come together perfectly. It’s very technical on the analytical side, but there are also a lot of soft factors in terms of negotiation. You also have to understand business models – how they fit together and create value and synergies. As such, every day is very different.
What are the main skills you acquired at EU Business School that have helped you in your career?
Definitely a lot of interpersonal and soft skills. Obviously, there’s the course materials and lessons, but at EU, there was also considerable focus on teamwork, presentations and holding each other accountable.
Did you work during your studies?
Yes, I did some summer internships. I was really excited about marketing so the career advisor at EU Business School suggested some different options and helped me get my first internship at BMW.
I always loved training on the job, you get direct feedback on your work, and you are able to take your experiences to the classroom and reflect on them. I think it really accelerates the learning process.
What advice would you have for current EU Business School students who want to work in investment banking?
Attitude is really important, from a high degree of self-motivation and going the extra mile to having attention to detail. Those are the qualities most people look for when hiring a recent graduate, everything else you can learn on the job.
At BNP, I made sure to demonstrate these attributes. I also had some excellent co-workers with years of experience who were happy to share their knowledge with me.
I myself am very willing to connect with students and alumni who are interested in investment banking. I’d be happy to give advice and answer their questions about the field.
If you would like to connect with Konstantin and learn more about investment banking, reach out to him via the EU Business School Alumni Hub, our online platform for alumni where you can benefit from exclusive content, make professional connections, keep up to date on relevant news and events and also view job offers through our jobs board: https://eualumnihub.com.
