Blog
Expert guides on financial modelling, valuation, and forecasting. Built for finance professionals, founders, and analysts.
EV/EBITDA Multiple: How to Use It in Valuation
A practical guide to the EV/EBITDA multiple: what it measures, how to normalize EBITDA before applying it, typical ranges by industry, where it shows up in comps, M&A, and LBOs, and a full worked example.
Real Estate Equity Waterfall and IRR
Learn how real estate equity waterfalls split cash between LPs and the GP across return of capital, preferred return, GP catch-up, and residual tiers, with a full worked example and Excel formulas.
Cap Table Basics: How to Build and Read One
A practical guide to cap tables: what a capitalization table tracks, the four share counts you need to know, how price per share and dilution work, and a full worked example across a Seed and Series A round in Excel.
How to Solve a Paper LBO (Private Equity Interview Guide)
A paper LBO is a leveraged buyout solved by hand in under ten minutes. This guide walks the full structure interviewers expect - sources and uses, operating build, debt schedule, and exit returns - with one worked $1.0bn deal and the mental-math shortcuts for converting MOIC to IRR.
Unlevered Free Cash Flow: Formula and Calculation
Unlevered free cash flow (UFCF) is the numerator of every DCF. Learn the FCFF formula, three ways to calculate it, a worked five-year example that ties across all three, and the Excel build.
Creating Financial Models in Excel: The Essential Formulas
Creating financial models in Excel comes down to a core toolkit of formulas. Learn the lookup, logical, aggregation and time-value functions - INDEX/MATCH, SUMIFS, IF, NPV, IRR, PMT - that power every professional model, with worked examples.
Budget vs Actual (Variance) Analysis: How to Build One in Excel
A step-by-step guide to budget vs actual (variance) analysis in Excel. Learn the variance formula, favorable vs unfavorable variances, price vs volume decomposition, flexible-budget variance, and which variances to investigate.
IRR vs MOIC: Private Equity Return Metrics Explained
IRR vs MOIC: understand the two core private equity return metrics, how MOIC (multiple on invested capital) and IRR relate, why the same MOIC can produce very different IRRs, and which one to trust.
Startup Valuation Methods: How to Value a Pre-Revenue or Early-Stage Company
A practical guide to startup valuation: the Berkus, Scorecard, Risk Factor Summation, and Venture Capital methods, plus the pre-money, post-money, and dilution math every founder needs, with worked examples in Excel.
How the Three Financial Statements Link Together
Understand how the three financial statements connect in a three statement model. A line-by-line guide to linking the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement, proven with a fully tied worked example.
How to Build a Merger Model (M&A Model) in Excel
A step-by-step guide to building a merger model in Excel: value the target, set the offer price, structure the financing, combine the income statements, and calculate EPS accretion/dilution with synergies and a sensitivity table.
Working Capital Model: Excel Guide
Model working capital in Excel with DSO, DIO and DPO. Build a driver-based net working capital forecast, find the cash conversion cycle, and link the change in working capital to cash flow.
