Pros
I joined Axial without any formal training or experience in the private capital markets. My managers invested the time and resources in building my baseline knowledge of private equity and M&A so that I was able to engage meaningfully with those buy-side clients to understand their business development pain points, and how to use our consulting services and software tools to relieve those. While our client-facing interactions were mostly contained to sourcing issues and don't delve into the more sophisticated areas of private equity dealmaking, coming out of Axial's Member Success organization gave me an invaluable book of personal contacts in the private capital markets. On top of that, my colleagues at Axial were fun and supportive, and created a very positive work environment. Working at Axial also opened many more doors than I expected. My experience on the private capital markets team was integral to my acceptance at business school, but I was also recruited by VC firms and had colleagues go on to work at private equity groups and lead business development teams at other startups.
Cons
Being on Member Success requires a thick skin and fearless attitude to client-engagement. The product has some short-comings and as the first line of communication with our clients (and often only line of communication) Account Managers are the ones who have to deal with the awkward questions when things don't work the way they should.