PE interview prep · question bank · case studies
Every question between you and the buy side. Answered.
Technical, modeling, behavioral, and full cases for private equity recruiting, written by a PE associate who sat where you sit and made it across.
What are the key drivers of returns in an LBO?
Reveal the model answer
Model answer
There are three drivers of returns in an LBO:
- EBITDA Growth: We achieve this by growing revenue or expanding margins. This is the most sustainable driver of value.
- Deleveraging (Debt Paydown): Using free cash flow to pay down the principal balance of the debt. As debt shrinks, the equity value expands dollar-for-dollar.
- Multiple Expansion: Selling the business for a higher multiple than we bought it. This is often driven by improved market sentiment or the asset becoming larger / higher quality.
The Edge
A top candidate doesn’t just list the three levers – they rank them by control. EBITDA growth is the most controllable. Deleveraging is next. Finally, multiple expansion is typically the least controllable.
This is the product. The rest is inside. Try all 5 free samples
Questions drawn from real interviews at
Firm names and logos belong to their owners. No affiliation or endorsement is implied.
Waitlist
Get in before the doors open.
We are finishing the bank now. Early members hear first. One email at launch, no spam.
What is inside
Three statements · EV · DCF
Technical fundamentals
Accounting, valuation, and the mechanics interviewers actually push on.
Paper LBOs · timed and checked
LBO and modelling
Paper LBOs to full models: what the numbers are doing and why.
Timed · checked · full build
Paper LBOs
Timed pen-and-paper LBOs: work the numbers, enter your answers, then see the full build.
Why PE · judgment · weaknesses
Behavioral and fit
Why PE, your strengths and weaknesses, and the judgment questions.
Full cases · with materials
Case studies
Full cases built the way funds actually run them.
The first call · screening questions
Headhunter conversations
The screening questions headhunters ask on the first call, before any fund sees you.
Your deals · would you invest
Deal walkthroughs
Walking through the deals on your resume, and whether you would have invested.
Written on the buy side. New material lands weekly once we launch.
Built for your seat
You already know half of it. Drill the other half.
Investment banking
Already there
Modeling speed, accounting, and a live view of how deals run.
The gap
Investment judgment. Interviewers want to hear whether you would put money in, why, and what would break the deal, and how to talk about your own deals like an investor rather than an executor.
- Deal discussion
- Investment cases
- Timed paper LBOs
Consulting
Already there
Structured thinking, industry fluency, and a feel for what makes a business good.
The gap
The finance. Accounting and the three statements, LBO mechanics, and the modeling test are where consultants lose rounds they should win.
- Accounting
- LBO mechanics
- Modeling test prep
Non-traditional
Already there
A story nobody else in the room has, if you can tell it crisply.
The gap
Everything at once: the technical base from first principles, a sharp answer to why PE, and enough reps to hold up when the headhunter rounds move fast.
- Technical foundations
- Why PE, why now
- Headhunter conversations
How it works
01
Start from your seat
Banking, consulting, or elsewhere. The bank is organized by topic, so you can start with what your background does not already cover.
02
Drill, reveal, mark
Work a question cold, then check yourself: type the number, pick the option, or walk the answer one step at a time. Mark it confident or needs work, and the review schedule brings it back right before you would forget it.
03
Walk in with the reps done
By the time the process starts, nothing across the table is a surprise.
How you will practice
Answer first. Then the site decides what you see next.
01
A Today queue
Each day the site picks what is due. Shaky answers come back soon, solid ones further out. Spaced repetition, so you review right before you would forget.
02
Timed paper LBOs
Pen, paper, a clock. Enter your checkpoints and see exactly which step went wrong.
03
Interviewer follow-ups
After each model answer, the next question an interviewer would actually ask. Then the one after that.
04
Answer, then check
Type the number, pick the option, put the steps in order, or write your answer first. Then compare it with the model answer.
05
Headhunters and your deals
The screening questions headhunters ask on the first call, and a section for walking through the deals on your resume.
06
A mastery map
What you are confident on and what needs another pass, topic by topic, so you know where to spend the next hour.
Try them
5 real questions from the bank. No account needed.
This is how it works inside: answer first, then check yourself against the model answer and the follow-ups an interviewer would ask next.
- 01All else equal, which of these increases enterprise value?Technical fundamentals · Multiple choice
- 02Walk me through the high-level steps in an LBO analysis.LBO and modelling · Ordering
- 03What are the key drivers of returns in an LBO?LBO and modelling · Write first
- 04What is the difference between IRR and MOIC, and which one is more important?LBO and modelling · Write first
- 05Company K: What is the MoM and IRR over a 3-year hold?Paper LBOs · Paper LBO
The difference
Video courses vs BuySideEdge
| Feature | Video courses | BuySideEdge |
|---|---|---|
| Answers written by a practitioner | Varies | Yes, a PE associate |
| You answer before you see the answer | No, you watch | Every question |
| Tells you what to review and when | No | Daily queue |
| Timed paper LBO drills that are checked | Rarely | Yes |
| Interviewer follow-ups | No | After model answers |
| Headhunter and deal walkthrough prep | Rarely | Their own sections |
Membership
One subscription. The whole playbook.
Core
The question bank with model answers, headhunter and behavioral prep, and progress tracking.
- Technical and LBO questions with model answers
- Headhunter, behavioral and deal walkthrough prep
- Progress tracking and private notes
Pricing announced at launch
Pro
Everything in Core, plus the timed paper LBOs and full case studies.
- Everything in Core
- Timed paper LBOs, checked
- Case studies
Pricing announced at launch
FAQ
Who is this for?
People recruiting for private equity and adjacent buy-side seats from investment banking, consulting, or a less traditional path. The material assumes you are smart and busy, not that you already know the answers.
Who writes the content?
A private equity associate in Boston who went through this exact process and now sits on the other side of the table, writing anonymously so the material can say plainly how real interviews run. Everything is written from real interviews, not recycled forum threads.
How is this different from the free guides?
The free guides tell you what an LBO is. This tells you what interviewers push on when you answer, where answers usually go wrong, and what a strong answer sounds like, with model answers you can hold yours against.
When does it launch?
Soon. Join the waitlist and you will hear first: early members get the invite before the doors open to everyone else.
How is the practice scheduled?
Every time you mark a question, the site decides when you should see it again. Answers you were shaky on come back within a day or two; ones you nailed get pushed further out each time. That is spaced repetition, and it means your Today queue is short and always worth doing.
Can I share my account?
No. Accounts are limited to two active devices, and portal content is watermarked with the account email. Get your own login; it is cheaper than it sounds.
The process rewards the prepared. Start before the headhunters call.
Join the waitlist and you will hear the day it opens.