An Interview With GoBuyside’s Arjun Kapur: New York Financial Recruitment Expert

Arjun Kapur founded GoBuyside, a 21st century recruitment platform that specializes in working with private equity firms, hedge funds, other investment managers, advisory platforms and Fortune 500 companies across a broad spectrum of geographies and mandates. Arjun graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Economics from Johns Hopkins University and received his MBA from Stanford University. Arjun has extensive talent experience having successfully executed on hundreds of diverse and complex engagements covering over 40 cities in the United States and 10 cities abroad. Recently, he was interviewed about his company and his learning experiences growing GoBuyside.

Can you tell us a bit about GoBuyside?

GoBuyside is a closed-end network community for financial professionals that allows users to access proprietary compensation reviews, network within their industry and be alerted about confidential career opportunities. Our team works with over 500 of the most well-known investment platforms in the world and takes the time to go through a thorough vetting process on candidates to ensure clients receive the best talent possible for their open mandates.

Our talent network encompasses 500 cities and 10,000 firms and we look to form longstanding, unparalleled bonds with both our clients and industry professionals.

What gave you the idea for your business? How did it start?

My experience in finance gave a unique vantage point on the demand for talent in the alternative investment world and a perspective on how things could be made more efficient. There was a noticeable lack of transparency and an abundance of asymmetric information and it inspired the idea of a tech-enabled platform that could have a competitive advantage over the traditional hiring model. It took time and naturally all platforms/marketplaces require adoption to be successful but we are now the largest buyside talent community in the world.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

Finding ways to work with the team to meet both short-term and long-term goals is always fun. I enjoy collaborating on initiatives with team members and thinking through strategies on a myriad of tasks. The team aspect makes things more engaging and a group feeling of accomplishment is always a great way to end a week.

What are your keys to making yourself productive?

I try to avoid distractions like social media or my phone in general during the day. You often can gain a lot of time by simply sticking to your workflow.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned through the course of your career?

When you hire, launch a product, create a deliverable or do anything through the course of running a business, always have a margin of safety. Have that buffer baked in so you can withstand those hopefully low occurring scenarios where your expected outcome proves to be incorrect.

What advice would you give to others who are aspiring to succeed in your field?

Keeping your focus on clients is the most valuable piece of advice for any entrepreneur in this industry. In the end of the day, there is no problem that cannot be solved with more revenue. The path of least resistance to achieving this comes from having clients who sing your praises in the marketplace and stick with you for the long-term.

Name an influential book that you’ve read.

“Zero to One” by Peter Thiel is a top suggestion of mine. It’s a quick read and effectively covers the concepts entrepreneurs should be thinking about early in their ventures.

To learn more about Arjun Kapur and the team at GoBuyside in New York, connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. The company’s website is GoBuyside.com.

**Update**7.9.18 Read more about GoBuyside here.

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**Update**4.10.18 Learn more about Arjun Kapur and Gobuyside on inc.com