Frequently Asked Questions
About Private Equity Primer
What is Private Equity Primer?
Private Equity Primer is a professional development and training company that helps mergers and acquisitions (M&A) teams build practical deal skills through live trainings and on-demand digital courses.
Our courses integrate technical skills, soft skills, and efficiency skills to help build high output performers.
Why do you call your instructors Deal Guides?
At times, the deal process feels like a monumental trek. Mountaineers tackling the top peaks of the world have gotten to the top with the expert knowledge and skill of guides. In the same way, our Deal Guides help deal professionals and deal teams to more rapidly ascend their chosen M&A career paths in pursuit of continuous improvement in becoming high-output performers.
Who have you trained for?
We train M&A firms across firm size and M&A discipline. We have trained global private equity groups, Big 4 and regional accounting firms, boutique TAS practices, national and regional investment banks, Fortune 500 corporate investment arms, AmLaw 100 and 200 law firms, and guest lectured at universities.
How are you able to train across commercial due diligence (CDD), financial due diligence (FDD), investment banking, leveraged finance, and private equity (PE)?
Our Deal Guides have worked across forensic accounting, CDD, FDD, investment banking, private equity, FP&A, and M&A law. This combined experience allows us train each case-based scenario through the lens of each role.
For more details on our trainers, check out the About Us page.
Why is learning to think like an investor important if my firm is an advisory shop?
There is stiff competition between advisory firms. Many private equity groups will regularly sub out providers or push their providers on pricing. To remain competitive, advisors need to be able to truly see the deal from the investor’s (e.g., their client’s) perspective. This allows firms to better identify red flags, think through risk mitigation, and better synthesize findings in a way that makes them actionable (read: valuable) to the client. Thinking like an investor helps advisors stand out by answering the question behind the question and move beyond simply delivering a report.
If AI were able to replicate much of the analyst / associate level responsibilities, why would your trainings still be relevant?
We are excited about what AI can do to liberate talented young professionals from aligning logos and linking cells across tabs and spreadsheets. However, AI is not positioned to replace the decision making and discernment skills of more seasoned deal professionals. Those who automate a significant portion of the junior deal professional role need to ask themselves how they can train discernment and decision making critical in the more senior deal ranks. Our view is that trainings focused on value judgement can help professionals know when to trust AI and when to use human judgement. These training topics, including uncommon debt and debt-like item adjustments, setting the net working capital target, and the soft skills needed for collaboration, sharpen the judgement and decision-making skills needed to make the best use of AI as a tool in the deal world.
My firm does not have analyst / associate classes that we hire each year. Instead we hire our team on a rolling basis. How can we still leverage PE Primer’s training options?
Two ways: We offer courses in digital on-demand and public live or live virtual delivery methods. You can purchase a single seat or register in bulk if you’re purchasing for more than one learner. For digital courses with more than ten seats, please reach out to discuss bulk pricing at sales@pe-primer.com. We also offer “Office Hours” as an add-on service for bulk subscribers in which one of our Deal Guides spends an hour fielding your group’s questions on the course in a virtual meeting.
How do you keep courses current?
We solicit feedback from course participants and from senior leaders at our client firms after each training. We review this feedback as a team and make adjustments to our case studies and presentations as necessary. Our goal is to take the lessons learned from each classroom delivery and make changes quickly so that our own learning curve is accelerated and clients benefit as soon as the next training.
Additionally, most of our Deal Guides remain active in the M&A space as advisors themselves and help bring the most relevant information and trends impacting diligence back into the classroom, keeping the content and insight sharp.
Do you provide completion reporting to Learning & Development (L&D)?
For our corporate clients, we provide pre- and post-course confidence survey assessments, learner feedback, completion feedback, and instructor observations to the client. When there is a graded rubric-driven assessment, we can provide this feedback on individual learners for further individual development or coaching by the firm.
Additionally, most of our Deal Guides remain active in the M&A space as advisors themselves and help bring the most relevant information and trends impacting diligence back into the classroom, keeping the content and insight sharp.
Do you only train in the U.S., or will you train internationally?
We train deal professionals both domestically and internationally. Our passports are always ready to be stamped. Email us at sales@pe-primer.com.
Programs & Format
Are your courses case-based?
Many courses are scenario-based and use realistic transaction datasets and common diligence challenges. Several live programs include Excel-based exercises (e.g., FDD Bootcamp, FDD Capstone, Mastering Net Working Capital Mechanisms). Other courses may use fewer spreadsheets and focus more on frameworks, judgment, and communication.
Our courses integrate technical skills, soft skills, and efficiency skills to help build high output performers.
What is the typical course length for live courses?
Our in-person courses range from half-day to four-and-a-half days in length. Decoding Private Equity, Mastering Net Working Capital Mechanisms, and Communicative Teamwork are half-day courses; Navigating Purchase Agreements, M&A Bootcamp, and Diligence Driven Interviewing are one-day courses; FDD Bootcamp and FDD Capstone are each 4.5 days in duration.
For more details on our trainers, check out the About Us page.
I work in FDD but cannot commit to a full week of in-person training for FDD Bootcamp. Are there other classes you suggest without the travel?
If you’re early in your FDD career and cannot attend a full-week public Bootcamp, we typically recommend these digital on-demand options:
- M&A Excel Essentials: core Excel patterns you’ll use constantly on deals.
- M&A Bootcamp: how the deal process works and how investors evaluate transactions.
- Mastering Net Working Capital Mechanisms: how NWC mechanics show up in purchase agreements and closing economics.
Are courses live, on-demand, or hybrid?
All of the above! We serve corporate clients with live, in-person seminars and bootcamps and with subscriptions to our digital on-demand courses. Individuals and smaller boutique practices can access training via public courses, which are available in both live, in-person and live virtual delivery methods, as well as through our digital on-demand courses, which can be purchased on a per-seat basis or in bulk.
Are your digital courses just another screen recording with a voiceover? How do you keep the digital learner engaged?
We are firm believers that training should not feel like punishment and we take pride in our digital trainings. To make them interactive and engaging, we have taken a multimodal approach to our digital courses. Our modules are made up of videos, activities, whiteboard animation, screen recordings of exercises and examples, quizzes, and more.
Do learners get a certificate? What does it represent?
Learners can earn a certificate of completion by meeting the completion requirements for a course. Some courses also offer CPE credit; when CPE is available, the course page lists the credit hours and requirements.
Do your coaching services focus only on career development, or can you help with technical topics (purchase agreements, financial modeling, NWC peg, etc.)?
Coaching can cover career development, soft skills, and targeted technical topics (e.g., purchase agreement mechanics, modeling concepts, or working capital). Coaching is designed for targeted support and feedback—not as a replacement for full-course instruction.
How many deal professionals can attend in-person trainings?
Class sizes vary based on the course and delivery method. We have taught courses to class sizes ranging from five to over fifty. Contact us to discuss the courses you are interested in and how we can best accommodate your team. Contact us at sales@pe-primer.com.
I do not see the course(s) I am most interested in. Do you build custom course?
Reach out to discuss the courses or topics you are looking for. We can discuss what courses we have and what courses we can develop for you.
Role Based Recommendations
What courses do you recommend for VPs and directors in investment banking or private equity?
For senior deal professionals, we recommend our courses in Navigating Purchase Agreements and Mastering Net Working Capital Mechanisms, as these topics directly impact deal economics, negotiations, and risk allocation.
Our courses integrate technical skills, soft skills, and efficiency skills to help build high output performers.
What courses would be good for onboarding interns and analysts in investment banking, CDD, or FDD?
M&A Bootcamp and M&A Excel Essentials are the two best courses for onboarding early career professionals.
Our Deal Guides often say that M&A Bootcamp is “the training we wish we had” when we started as analysts. The course provides insights on the M&A process, how to add value to your deal team and clients, explains the incentives and structure of institutional private equity, and provides a lens for how investors value and think about businesses.
M&A Excel Essentials helps learners grasp the 20% of Excel functions that are used 80% of the time. We built this course using datasets commonly analyzed in due diligence to move learners beyond the abstract technical levels of Excel into becoming more comfortable with the data they will routinely see.
What courses do you recommend for associates and managers in financial due diligence (FDD)?
We suggest FDD Bootcamp for people transitioning from audit into FDD or those in the first two years of their FDD career. FDD Capstone is designed for learners with at least one year of post-Bootcamp experience or several years of FDD experience. For managers, we offer an FDD Manager Capstone focused on oversight, review, and leadership. We also offer a standalone Navigating Purchase Agreements training.
What courses do you recommend for commercial due diligence (CDD)?
If you’re new to CDD, M&A Bootcamp helps you understand the deal process and how investors evaluate transactions. Because interviews are often a primary data source in CDD, Diligence-Driven Interviewing focuses on asking better questions, pressure-testing assumptions, and producing clearer insights.
You may also want to take M&A Excel Essentials to learn the 20% of Excel functions that deal pros use 80% of the time. We built this course using datasets commonly analyzed in due diligence to move learners beyond the abstract technical levels of Excel into becoming more comfortable with the data they will routinely see.
Do you offer leadership training?
We deliver leadership training in two courses. FDD Manager Capstone and a course on for newly minted Vice Presidents in investment banking, private equity, and private credit. For FDD managers, we recommend FDD Manager Capstone focused on oversight, review, and leadership. Our VP training is focused on moving from pure execution to being a player coach. We provide training and hands-on exercises to help people deliver feedback, build effective systems to deliver consistent outcomes, and cultivate junior talent.
Individual Learners
I am an incoming Analyst or Associate for an investment bank, FDD practice, leveraged finance firm, or commercial due diligence shop. My firm does not offer its own training program at onboarding. Do you have courses I can take?
Glad you asked! We offer several digital on-demand courses for new professionals including M&A Bootcamp, Mastering NWC Mechanisms, and M&A Excel Essentials. The full list of digital courses can be viewed here. We also offer Public Courses that are taught in-person or virtually.
If you are new to using Excel, we suggest starting with M&A Excel Essentials. We built this course using datasets commonly analyzed in due diligence to move learners beyond the abstract technical levels of Excel into becoming more comfortable with the data they will routinely see.
I am a newly minted operating partner—what course(s) do you suggest I take?
Operating partners often start with the Decoding Private Equity digital course to build a shared language around how PE firms evaluate and manage investments. Understanding what investors are looking for in their portfolio companies and how they evaluate their operating decisions helps you better align faster and speak their language more easily.
I am currently in Audit and wish to transfer to FDD. What trainings can I take on my own to help maximize my chances to join and FDD practice and add value sooner once there?
FDD Bootcamp is our most comprehensive FDD training. It covers everything from the FDD process to report writing tips, and hands on Excel based exercises on EBITDA adjustments, setting the NWC target, and finding debt & debt-like items. We offer this course in-person and live virtual via our Public Course series. While FDD Bootcamp is our most comprehensive option, we understand that the in-person or live virtual deliveries may not work for everyone's schedule. If you need asynchronous options, we suggest taking these three digital on-demand courses: M&A Excel Essentials, M&A Bootcamp, and Mastering NWC Mechanisms.
