Blake Barney

ex-Bain Associate Consultant | Insights for Aspiring Consultants

Salt VC
Successful clients at

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Starting at 4:30 PM UTC

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About

I spent two years at Bain, mostly in the private equity group doing diligence on tight deal timelines, then moved into venture at Salt, where I work on sourcing and evaluating early-stage companies. I help manage one of our funds end to end from sourcing to diligence to portfolio management. I went from a non-target school to consulting to VC fast, and I learned a lot along the way. Happy to talk through any of it: how consulting recruiting actually works, what a first-year associate at Bain does all day, how people break into venture without an MBA, or whether VC is even the right goal for you. If the early stage is your passion or goal. I am your guy.

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Blake’s Management Consulting Qualifications

Experience level: Associate

Blake has helped clients get into these companies:

Welcome to my profile! I'm Blake, a former Associate Consultant at Bain & Company, where I specialized in private equity and commercial due diligence. During my time at Bain, I honed my skills in customer research and strategic analysis, which I now leverage to help aspiring consultants break into top firms. As an Investor at Salt, I continue to evaluate new companies at the earliest stages of venture, providing me with a unique perspective on the consulting landscape. Whether you're preparing for case interviews or refining your application materials, I'm here to guide you every step of the way. Let's connect and craft a strategy to achieve your consulting career goals!

Blake can help with:

AI Automation

AI Deck Building

AI Fundamentals

Behavioral Interview Prep

Case Interview Prep

Cover Letters

Frameworks

LinkedIn Review

Networking Strategy

Presentations

Resume Review

Why do I coach?

When I was going through consulting recruiting fresh as an undergrad, the process was stressful and challenging. I spent a lot of time indexing towards the wrong things, spinning my wheels and not seeing great progress. Later in the process I found a mentor that fully changed how I approached things and unlocked so much for me, both my approach and my confidence. As I coach, I want to help you understand how you can use your time most effectively, help you get into the right winning mindset to make your career goals happen, and be the guy in your corner you can count on for anything you need in your career journey.

Work Experience

Associate

Salt VC

September 2025 - Present

Early-stage venture (Preseed and Seed). I own one of our funds end to end from first call to diligence to portfolio management.

Associate Consultant

Bain & Company

August 2023 - August 2025

Spent most of my time in the private equity group, doing commercial due diligence on tight deal timelines. Also worked for two Fortune 100 retailers, a national non-profit, post-merger integration for a Fortune 100 med device manufacturer, M&A / strategy work in the data center space, and worked for one of the largest computer / server manufacturers in the world.

Blake was also given offers to work at