The Boutique Advantage
Edition #3: Peter Sleiman
Welcome back to Coffee Connect! With over a quarter of the year already completed, we hope that you’ve been making strides towards your new year resolutions and finding time to enjoy the journey along the way. Today, we’re diving into a question that gets asked time and time again - What is it really like to work at a boutique consulting firm?
Most students would be familiar with the Big 4 and MBBs of the world, but though these consulting giants might dominate the headlines, boutique firms offer a different experience - one defined by high exposure, deep specialisation, and accelerated career progression. To unpack this, we sat down with Peter Sleiman, a consultant at Advancy, to understand why he took the leap, how boutique firms shape careers, and what advice he has for students eyeing a future in consulting.
But, what does 'boutique' mean?
If you’re new to the corporate world, the term 'boutique' might not carry much weight just yet - but hopefully, this analogy helps paint a clearer picture:
Think about your favorite specialist café. It’s probably small, maybe even a hidden gem, and known for doing one thing well - making a smooth oat milk latte or a flaky almond croissant. Compare that to a Starbucks or Coffee Club - big chains with locations everywhere and complex menus, serving everything from caramel frappes to breakfast wraps. You don’t need to be a coffee drinker to recognise those big brands - they’re just that widespread. Both serve coffee, but the experience is different.
Just like coffee shops, consulting firms come in all shapes and sizes. Instead of covering a broad variety of industries, boutique firms hone in on a few specialist areas, offering deep expertise, high involvement, and fast career progression. Joining one may not get you the global brand name, but you’ll get hands-on experience and direct mentorship from top consultants. So, with that in mind, let’s dive into Peter’s journey and see how Advancy blends expertise, mentorship, and career growth into the perfect consulting brew.
In early 2025, Starbucks planned to cut 30% of its items due to the menu being 'too complex'.
Small Teams, Big Impact
For many students, bigger names can feel like an obvious choice - established reputation, massive networks, and expansive project opportunities. But Peter had a different vision - one that prioritised depth over breadth.
Before joining Advancy, Peter started his consulting career at Monitor Deloitte, working across telecommunications, consumer goods and financial services. While he valued the experience, he quickly realised his long-term goals pointed toward corporate growth strategy private equity focussed work, a niche that only a handful of firms in Australia truly specialise in.
Boutique firms, Advancy in particular, offered an experience that larger firms couldn't match and had a variety of benefits:
High Partner Involvement: Boutiques have senior leaders embedded deep in project execution. This means learning directly from the most experienced consultants instead of relying on layers of management.
Smaller Teams, Bigger Responsibility: With fewer layers, junior members of the firm take on critical tasks earlier, gaining hands-on experience that might take years to access in a larger firm.
Sector Specialisation: Many larger firms spread their consulting work across multiple industries, but boutiques dive deep into a few select areas. At Advancy, the work is primarily focussed across private equity and corporate growth strategy engagements for consumer, healthcare and industrial sectors.
These firms may be smaller in size, but that doesn’t limit their reach - Advancy, for instance, has worked with some large-scale clients, such as household names in Woolworths and Nespresso, as well as leading private equity funds. It’s a reminder that even in a boutique setting, you can still gain exposure to high-impact, high-profile work.
Network equals Net Worth
Peter describes boutique consulting as a fast-moving ecosystem - one that rewards proactive learning, adaptability, and ownership. Unlike at large firms, where junior consultants might spend months on repetitive tasks, boutiques demand problem-solving from day one. This direct involvement translates into quicker skill development, stronger client relationships, and a clearer view of the end-to-end consulting process.
“You get more exposure, faster. At larger firms, junior consultants might not interact with clients much in their first year, but at a boutique firm, you could be driving key parts of the project early on.”
Despite boutique firms relying more on sector depth than brand name, networking still plays a crucial role in consulting. Peter learned of the firm through a mutual connection, which encouraged him to apply when a job opportunity opened up. He highlighted three key areas why putting in the effort to talk to people matters:
Understanding the Firm: Networking is more than just landing an interview - it helps you know who you’re applying to and how to position yourself as the best-fit candidate.
Building Industry Awareness: Students often treat networking as a transactional exchange, but Peter believes it should be a learning opportunity - a chance to understand the firm’s culture, values, and working style before you ever send in an application.
Accessing Unadvertised Opportunities: Many boutique firms don’t rely on large-scale recruitment campaigns. A coffee chat, a referral, or a strong industry connection can open doors that traditional job postings won’t.
Peter's Advice
And so, if there's one takeaway Peter wants students to have, it's this - "don't be too rigid in your career plans." He recommends staying open-minded, embracing early experiences, and always being open to change. Instead of treating your first job as a ‘permanent path,’ use it as a learning tool - the best insights come from hands-on experience. At the end of the day, whether it's your coffee or your career, finding the perfect blend is what truly makes a difference, so sample a few blends, figure out what works for you, and brew something bold.
This article was written by Rahul Pant. All experiences and opinions are their own unless otherwise specified, and do not represent the views of the UNSW Consulting Club or any affiliated organisations and sponsors.
