Vault’s Verdict

If you’re looking for a smaller firm where you can make a name for yourself, Kepler Cannon is a strong option. This young firm offers an entrepreneurial environment where insiders say they have the opportunity to own their careers. The firm offers robust formal training for its size, has clear promotion criteria, and often fast-tracks high performers. New consultants often start working with senior clients early in their tenure. 

With ownership of their careers, Kepler Cannon also requires its employees to own their own work-life balances. The firm generally offers reasonable hours, with flexibility to work remote as needed, but it often has busy periods where its team members find themselves logging long hours. However, managers and supervisors generally try to reward these busy periods with extra time off. 

With the firm growing year-over-year and expanding its service offerings, most insiders feel good about its business outlook. However, they do warn that, while its bonuses are generally very strong, they can feel a bit low in quieter years for the firm. All in all, this firm will appeal to self-starters who don’t mind putting in the work to blaze a trail in fintech consulting. 

Firm Culture

“Kepler is a great place that provides a platform for people to be all they can be. However, there is limited handholding, so you have to proactively pursue opportunities.”

“Kepler Cannon is very much a meritocracy where skills and outcomes matter more than tenure.”

“You own your work-life balance., but that means that there are times when there are lots of client demands, and times when it is easy to take a break.”

“I have a strong quality of life. The firm is respectful of boundaries, I have the ability to work from home, and there’s little expectation of super-long hours.”

Quality of Life

“Kepler Cannon follows the industry standard of 15 days of PTO every year, not inclusive of sick days. However, work-life balance is crucial to Kepler Cannon's culture, as it is not uncommon for managers or supervisors to grant additional days off following periods of more intense hours and workload.”

“The culture is one of Kepler’s strengths. You always have mentorship when you need it. Work-life balance has its highs and lows and depends on the client preferences, but overall, it is balanced.”

“We have a hybrid work model and flexible travel that’s completely based on client needs.”

“There are peak periods that require above-and-beyond commitment, both from a time and mental perspective. The degree of this is very much standard for the industry.”

Career Development

“Beyond its formal training programs, Kepler Cannon also hosts lunch and learns to promote continuing education and training of its consultants. While promotion cycles follow the industry standard of two years, it's not uncommon for consultants to be promoted sooner. The firm is very transparent in its semiannual performance evaluation process and provides clear areas of improvement for consultants to work to.”

“Our formal training certification program highlights the training you need for every role. It’s a very transparent and helpful process to set foundational skills for incoming entry-level consultants. Our promotion processes are also transparent and in line with industry standards.”

“We have an incredible mentor network, and it’s easy to move around the firm's practice areas to learn on the job as well as from pre-prepared trainings and fact packs.”

“It’s a small firm, so it’s easy to pave your own path. However, you need to be very proactive in doing so. Essentially. it's up to you!”

Compensation

“Beyond the excellent base salary and bonus structure, it's also not uncommon for the firm to offer additional compensation for excellent work on a per-project basis.”

“Pay is better reflected in bonus than in base.”

“Compensation and titles can go up fast in good times, but bonuses can decline in a slow year.”

“The firm offers fitness sessions every now and then, plus gym reimbursement. The latter is very beneficial.”

Community Engagement/DEI

“Our DEI efforts are integrated throughout the firm culture, beyond the crucial work that our DEI pod oversees. An example of this is our continuous outreach and support to local charities and nonprofits and our active recruitment efforts to ensure underrepresented minorities can explore consulting as a career path.”

“Kepler has a team dedicated to DEI, sharing cultural and lifestyle stories and exposing all at the firm to new experiences. These are always well-attended and welcome.”

“Kepler is an empowering firm with equal access to high-quality work for everyone. Your work speaks for itself here!”

“We have a wellness pod that routinely organizes events and sends out a monthly newsletter. The firm is generally quite oriented towards making sure employees are well.”

Business Outlook

“As a leader in the financial services consulting space, a lot of our engagements, at least in recent years, have focused on strategy work related to artificial intelligence and blockchain enablement within payments processing and IT servicing.”

“Kepler continues to acquire new clients and expand work at existing ones. We publish regular thought pieces via whitepapers, which are well-regarded by our clients.”

“We're expanding a bit from our traditional financial services niche to serve more healthcare clients, which is fueling growth in our business while also maintaining strong relationships with repeat clients”

“Leadership is super entrepreneurial, optimistic, and hardworking.”

Hiring Process

“We are highly selective for candidates for internships and full-time roles and only recruit from select universities. We are looking for applicants that have a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a top college, nonconventional majors with strong problem-solving skills and quantitative analysis tools, strong interpersonal skills, and business tuition.”

“Your first-round interview usually has a market sizing question. Subsequent rounds use real examples of business cases we're working on. For example, how does a point of sales platform adjust to a downturn in revenue due to COVID?”

“The interview process is very quick and communicative. The ideal candidate is warm, intelligent, intellectually curious, logical, competent, responsible, entrepreneurial, and can be trusted in front of a client early on.”

“The firm looks for candidates with business intuition, structured thinking, creative problem-solving skills, sound logic, and strong interpersonal skills. Candidates who have proven to be resourceful and entrepreneurial do well in the interview process.”

Interview Questions

“Interview and case questions range from typical market sizing cases to specialized market strategy questions focused on the financial services space.”

“Estimate the number of planes in the sky right now.”

“Expect to see market sizing case studies, particularly ones focused on financial services.”

“Redefine the strategy for a past employer.”

Uppers

“Internal mobility, competitive compensation, DEI efforts, and work-life balance.”

“Culture and ownership.”

“Early responsibility and accountability. You’re exposed to senior clients early on.”

“The engagements, colleagues, and growth potential at a boutique firm.”

Downers

“The environment is tailored to an entrepreneurial, self-motivated person. Others may not thrive.”

“Low brand recognition outside of our clients.”

“Sometimes things can be disorganized or ad-hoc. We aren’t the most formalized in terms of processes due to our size.”

“Hours can be brutal depending on staffing.”