1. Hedge funds are intense, data rich, and not for everyone

Hedge funds attract a lot of attention for a reason. The learning curve is steep and the pace is relentless. Matt moved from Bain into a top fund in 2009 and found an industry that was still maturing, often shaped by the founder’s style. The appeal is the sheer number of decisions made every week. If you care about evidence, feedback loops, and the scoreboard, it is a perfect lab.

That intensity comes with trade offs. Pressure is constant, outcomes are public, and the environment can change quickly. Matt kept his family in Boston while renting a small apartment near the fund so he could test the move with less risk. The lesson is to treat big transitions as experiments. Reduce the cost of being wrong, then lean into the learning.

He also learned how senior principals assess new talent. The first time he presented, the founder went straight to the footnotes and the appendices to test depth. Once Matt showed he could defend the work under pressure, conversations moved to the front of the deck. Trust is built when clarity meets analytical depth.

2. Three consulting skills that travel exceptionally well

Matt highlights three capabilities that compound outside consulting:

• Structuring messy problems. Use first principles to break ambiguity into testable questions. Issue trees, hypotheses, and explicit assumptions help teams see the path to an answer.
  
  
• Project management that actually ships. In many buy side settings, the ability to break complex work into milestones is unusual and valuable. Make the hard thing executable, then deliver on time.
  
  
• Answer first communication. Lead with the recommendation, then show the reasoning. Senior decision makers value a clear point of view that is backed by evidence.
  
  

Those skills earn influence over time. People start with your executive summary because they know the detail underneath will stand up to scrutiny.

3. Influence without authority is a superpower

Matt built internal functions that improved how portfolio managers perform. That work depends on credibility rather than hierarchy. You cannot tell a successful PM what to do. You have to persuade. The approach is simple. Bring data that reveals a blind spot. Show that you understand the craft of investing. Offer help that reduces friction in their day. When you do that consistently, you gain the right to influence decisions that matter.

He calls this influence without authority, and it has been the thread through his hedge fund roles, his time at Citi, and his portfolio work at DCG. It is also the muscle ex consultants should practice if they want to add value in owner, board, or operating partner seats.

4. Networks create luck, but only if you use them

Matt’s first hedge fund role came through a former Bain manager. A later move came when word spread about the capabilities he had built. The pattern is clear. Stay in touch. Share what you are working on. Ask for advice before you need it. Most meaningful roles begin as a conversation with someone who trusts your judgment. Matt also reminds people that even a cold digital channel can work if you show substance. His DCG role began with a LinkedIn post and a rigorous application that required written answers and a video submission.

5. Choose your market with intent, not convenience

Matt uses a portfolio concept to explain career choices. Skill matters, but so does the volatility of the arena you pick. The same problem solving ability placed in a low volatility niche will cap your upside. Put it in a higher volatility space and you may unlock outsized returns. He has chosen volatile environments where movement rewards skill, from multi manager funds to digital assets. That path delivered some exceptional years and some very hard ones. He believes the math works over the long run if you know why you are in the arena and you can stomach the cycle.

A practical takeaway for operators and consultants. Before you obsess over role and title, choose the market and the level of change you want to live with. Your learning speed and your upside are both shaped by that choice.

6. Parent company roles need EQ, timing, and framing

Working from an owner or board seat can frustrate operators who like to roll up their sleeves. Matt’s approach is to lean in early, but with care. Diagnose first. Frame the problem clearly. Offer help in defined bursts, such as a week on a single question. He is explicit about a risk many people miss. Suggestions from an investor are often heard as directives. Calibrate tone and timing so management hears support, not instruction. When in doubt, check how your comment will land in the room and who needs to hear it first.

He uses classic consulting tools to make this work. SCQA to set context and tension. Situation, complication, question, answer. A short, sharp storyline, then the analysis on demand.

7. Design your weeks around work that compounds

At DCG, Matt tried a broader investment operations remit. It was important work, but not the best use of his energy. He stepped back from a path that pointed to COO responsibilities and reoriented toward impactful, novel problems inside wholly owned subsidiaries. He focuses on issues where a week of concentrated effort changes a trajectory. The lesson is to map where your time creates the highest return, then shape your role around that, even if it means saying no to worthy work that does not compound for you.

A simple diagnostic helps. List the problems you solved in the last month that created durable value. Where did you create leverage for the organisation. Do more of that, and reduce time on essential tasks that do not move outcomes.

8. Build career resilience for cycles

Matt has lived through insider trading scandals that reset firms, leadership changes that cleared out entire executive benches, and a crypto winter that forced shutdowns. Resilience came from three habits. Keep cash buffers where you can. Keep relationships warm across multiple arenas. Keep your skills sharp so you can add value on day one. Volatile markets punish passive careers. They reward people who keep their learning and their network in motion.

9. Run your own race

Comparing yourself to peers on straight line corporate paths is a fast way to feel behind. Matt’s advice to his younger self is to be comfortable with the race you choose. If novelty, volatility, and hard problems are your fuel, own that. You may not tick every conventional box in sequence. You will build a body of work that fits who you are. If you prefer stable environments and deep functional expertise, own that as well. Success is easier to build when your arena matches your temperament.

Practical takeaways for consultants considering finance or fintech

• Treat your first move as a test. Reduce the cost of being wrong, then go and learn.
  
  
• Lead with answer first thinking, and be ready to defend the detail.
  
  
• Practice influence without authority. Your next promotion may rely on it.
  
  
• Pick the market before the title. Volatility shapes upside and learning speed.
  
  
• Frame contributions as time-boxed interventions. Offer a week on a single problem.
• Audit your calendar each month. Double down on work that compounds for you.