The Coffee Chat Podcast by Adventis is a podcast for finance students looking to learn the ins and outs of the finance industry. We speak to students and professionals to share advice and answer the questions you have about getting an internship or full-time role in finance.
For more information about how Adventis can help you further your finance career, or to appear on The Coffee Chat podcast, please visit https://adventiscg.com.
Ep. 55 - From Electrician's Apprentice to Investment Banking Intern
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.
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.
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.
Sign up for the Adventis Financial Modeling Certification (FMC) program at https://adventiscg.com
---
Edited by Jamie Regan - @CreatedByRegan
Hosted by Ben Dowell
Guest: Anthony Ellis
---
CHAPTERS:
0:00 — Introduction & Anthony's Background
0:48 — Growing Up in Des Moines & Choosing Iowa State
2:04 — The Gap Year: Working as an Electrician's Apprentice & Bartending
3:42 — What People Get Wrong About Taking a Gap Year
5:21 — How the Gap Year Created Clarity, Confidence & a Unique Story
7:45 — Slowing Down Before a Big Decision: Advice for High Schoolers
9:31 — How the Electrician Story Became Anthony's Biggest Recruiting Asset
10:45 — The Networking Strategy: Why Anthony Put Most of His Eggs in One Basket
12:14 — The Networking Trek: 19 Firms Across New York and Chicago in Five Days
13:03 — Walking Into Lincoln International & Feeling It Immediately
14:32 — From the Office Visit to the Offer: How the Snowball Started
15:46 — Going Back to Chicago in January — On His Own Time, With His Dad
16:37 — Why Focused Networking on One Firm Actually Reduces Risk
17:19 — The VP Who Walked the Desk and Got Everyone to Respond
18:14 — Anthony's Super Day: 6 Interviews, 8 People, 3 He Already Knew
19:21 — Walking Into Super Day With the Recruiter Who Hosted the Original Trek
19:53 — The Mental Shift: Realizing the Hard Work Was Already Done
22:00 — Applying to 30 Banks vs. Deeply Networking at a Few: The Real Lesson
23:14 — The Evercore First Round That Came Out of Nowhere
24:02 — Iowa State's IB Initiative (IBI): How the Program Works
26:36 — Freshman Year in the IBI: Exposure, Speaker Series & Learning the Basics
28:20 — The Sophomore Re-Application: Why Making Them Earn It Matters
30:32 — Sophomore Year in the IBI: Credit Course, Mock Interviews & Mentorship
33:06 — Coaching the Next Class: Why Generic "Why IB" Answers Won't Cut It
34:09 — The November Networking Trek & December Recruiting Ramp-Up
35:02 — Technical Prep: 400 Guide, Wall Street Oasis & Daily Study Groups
36:37 — How Adventis Made the Difference Between Knowing It and Doing It
38:14 — Building a Live LBO at Midwest Growth Partners — On Day Three
39:14 — The Adventis Macros That Made Anthony the Fastest Intern in the Room
40:35 — Finishing Faster Than the Iowa Kids — The Iowa State Moment of Pride
41:20 — Closing Remarks & Congrats to Anthony
21 Sept 2026
Ep. 54 - Say Yes to Everything Freshman Year, Then Go All In
Tej Shah is a junior at the University of Illinois who just wrapped up a sophomore summer private equity internship at Water Street Healthcare Partners in Chicago, and has an incoming analyst offer at JPMorgan's M&A group waiting for him next summer.
In this episode, Tej walks through how the IVC Scholar Program connected him to the buy side before he even started junior year recruiting, how both the Water Street internship and his Adventis certifications became instant icebreakers in every banking interview, and why sending 10–20 networking emails a day in October and November of sophomore fall was the key to his JPM offer landing in January.
We also dig into a networking mistake almost every recruiter makes on early calls and the "let the banker lead" mindset shift that fixes it.
Sign up for the Adventis Financial Modeling Certification (FMC) program at https://adventiscg.com
---
Edited by Jamie Regan - @CreatedByRegan
Hosted by Ben Dowell
Guest: Tej Shah
---
CHAPTERS:
0:00 — Introduction & Tej's Background
0:54 — Growing Up in Chicagoland & Choosing U of I
2:09 — Saying Yes to Everything Freshman Year: Clubs, Fraternities & More
3:55 — The PE Internship: What Tej Did at Water Street Healthcare Partners
7:08 — The Six-Week Case Study: Modeling a Pharma Carve-Out from Start to Finish
8:36 — Sitting in on Live Deals: SIMs, SIPs & Monday Morning Meetings
9:35 — Key Learning: Understanding the Buy Side Before Going to the Sell Side
10:44 — The IVC Scholar Program: How It Works & What It Unlocks
13:17 — How Tej First Heard About the IVC Program as a Freshman
15:48 — Freshman Year Strategy: Spread Out First, Then Focus Sophomore Year
17:09 — How the IVC Application & Interview Process Works
18:32 — Coming Into Winter Break With a Lead: The Fourth Quarter Principle
19:34 — How Adventis & the Water Street Offer Showed Up in Every Banking Interview
20:37 — You Don't Need a PE Internship — Any Experience Builds the Lead
22:15 — Why Interviewers Love Having Something to Dig Into on Your Resume
22:36 — Water Street Required Adventis — Tej Had Already Finished It
24:15 — How Tej Described the Adventis 90-Minute Standard in Interviews
25:48 — Why the Time Pressure Simulates Real On-Desk Conditions
26:28 — How Many Reps It Took to Get Under 90 Minutes (~10)
27:23 — The JPM Recruiting Timeline: October Outreach to January Super Day
29:11 — Going Full Steam Ahead: The Sophomore Fall Commitment Decision
30:08 — Sending 10–20 Networking Emails a Day in October & November
31:07 — JPM Chicago Specifically: Why M&A at JPM Became Tej's Top Choice
33:25 — The Mistake Every Recruiter Makes on Early Networking Calls
35:23 — The Right Lesson: Let the Banker Lead the Conversation
37:12 — The Secret Ninja Move: Showing You Can Listen
38:35 — Making Mistakes Early So You Nail It When It Counts
39:02 — Tej's JPM Offer Timing & the Decision to Accept Early
40:27 — How Many Banks Would Tej Have Pursued Without the JPM Offer?
42:05 — Target 4–6 Banks, Build Real Momentum at Each
43:59 — Refreshing Relationships After the Holidays Before Interview Season
44:23 — Reframing Rejection: It's a Selection, Not a Dismissal
46:21 — Final Advice: Enjoy the Small Victories & Trust the Process
47:30 — Closing Remarks & Congrats to Tej
7 Sept 2026
Ep. 53 - An Expert's Honest Guide to Breaking into High Finance
Mary Ellen Ryan is the Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Career Development at Bentley University, where she has spent 12 years coaching finance students into investment banking, asset management, wealth management, and beyond, conducting roughly 500 one-on-one coaching sessions per year.
In this episode, Mary Ellen brings a perspective you rarely hear on this podcast: the view from inside the career center. She walks through how recruiting timelines have shifted dramatically over the past decade, what freshmen and sophomores should actually be doing at each stage, why technical expectations have risen well beyond memorizing the 400 questions, and how banking recruiting is fundamentally a risk management process from the employer's side.
We also dig into AI's role in finance recruiting, modeling, and the classroom.
Who has been a guest on Adventis Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Nick
Student Chun
William Li
Andrew John
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
177,973
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
39
Social presence
0
YouTube
86
Engagement
0
Contact Adventis Podcast
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Adventis Podcast?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
