Geoffrey Jing, 23, left Bain & Company after just three months to join Sieve, an AI start-up building data sets for model development. "I wanted to spend more of my early career building more closely in A.I.," he said. This shift reflects a broader trend where top consulting recruits are departing firms like McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Bain, Accenture, and PwC for AI companies offering 30-90% salary increases over the typical $110,000-$120,000 junior consultant base pay, plus stock options in rapidly appreciating ventures.

Sean Alkis, co-founder of recruiting firm Encore, confirmed start-ups are "definitely going out of their way to hire these types of people." Consultants' analytical skills and tolerance for grueling hours make them ideal for scaling AI businesses. Jonathan Shenkman of Owner said consultants are the "primary persona" for recruitment, while Ken Schumacher of Ropes aggressively hires from McKinsey after his COO's success.

Consulting firms downplay the impact. McKinsey reports over a million annual applications with under 1% acceptance and no "meaningful increase" in early departures. Boston Consulting Group cites "record application numbers" and attrition consistent with history. Bain, Accenture, and PwC declined comment. As Schumacher noted, "Building the product is the easy part" — the challenge is proving product-market fit, where consultants excel.