BuySide Studio Masterclass

& Scholar Community

Upcoming Class Schedule 

(The cohort consists of 5 modules on the following dates)

Jan 20, 2026 Tuesday, 3-5pm

Jan 21, 2026 Wednesday, 3-5pm

Jan 22, 2026 Thursday, 3-5pm

Masterclass Curriculum（Total 6 hours)

Module 1 — The Art of First Connections (1 hour)

This module introduces you to the “world behind the world,” where real opportunities are created through conversations long before they ever appear publicly.

• How to enter any professional setting with intention and confidence
• How to make a strong impression on senior professionals
• How people with no background create momentum through one strategic conversation
• How to build genuine relationships that open doors throughout your career

You will leave with a foundational skill every investor respects: the ability to create strong, meaningful connections from day one.

Module 2 — Turning Connections Into Opportunity (1 hour)

This module shows you how networking transforms into deal flow.

• How trust is built in high-level business circles
• How conversations become long-term professional relationships
• How warm introductions evolve into the earliest stages of opportunity sourcing
• How investors hear about deals long before the rest of the market

You will understand the unseen pathways investors use to access opportunities—and how to build this same advantage for yourself.

Module 3 — How Real Deals Are Structured (1 hour)

Here, you step into the technical backbone of private equity and venture deals.
This is an area most students never see, yet it is the core of how transactions are shaped.

How deals are constructed:

• Common equity, preferred equity, convertible structures
• SAFE notes, convertible notes, priced rounds, and cap tables

How incentives and protections work:

• Rollover equity
• Founder incentives
• Liquidation preferences
• Participation rights
• Anti-dilution

How governance and control are negotiated:

• Board rights
• Voting mechanisms
• Control vs. minority structures

How performance and closing terms are set:

• Earnouts
• Seller notes
• Contingent payments
• Working capital adjustments
• Closing mechanics

Most importantly, you will learn why structure often matters more than valuation—and how the strongest investors use terms to protect downside, align incentives, and create win-win outcomes.

Module 4 — Valuation & Financial Modeling: Seeing the Story Behind the Numbers (1.5 hours)

This session introduces the core concept of valuation, which is at the center of every deal - what do we think the target company is worth? 

You’ll learn the core valuation toolkit used across private equity, VC, and growth investing:

• Trading comps, deal comps & valuation multiples
• DCF logic simplified for deal context
• Reaching a valuation conclusion and summarizing results

Following this valuation primer, we’ll focus on how to interpret financials the way investors do, focusing on the fundamentals that matter most:

• Revenue drivers (pricing, volume, mix)
  
• Margin analysis (gross, contribution, EBITDA)
  
• Operating leverage & scalability
• Working capital needs & cash flow cycles
• Capex, reinvestment needs & free cash flow conversion

You’ll also get exposure to:

• Key Excel shortcuts used by analysts
• How to build a quick investor model from scratch
• How to pressure-test assumptions and identify red flags
• How investors evaluate quality of earnings without a QofE report

This isn’t theoretical modeling — it’s the real mental framework investors use to see the entire story of a business through numbers.

By the end, you’ll know how to interpret a model with investor-level clarity and confidence.

Module 5 — Financial Modeling (cont.), Leveraged Buyouts & Investor Decision-Making (1.5 hours)

In this final module, we will bring everything together and show you how investors decide whether a leveraged buyout (LBO) transaction makes sense.

• How to convert a basic financial model into a full-blown LBO analysis
• IRR & MOIC — how investors think about returns
• Sensitivity analysis on revenue, margins, leverage & exits
• Scenario analysis (base, upside, downside)

You’ll also get a clean, practical introduction to LBO modeling, including:

• Debt sizing & leverage levels
• Interest coverage & cash flow sweep mechanics
• How PE firms engineer returns through capital structure
• Exit multiple strategy & timing
• How a simple LBO backs into a maximum purchase price

Most importantly, you’ll learn the investor judgment behind the numbers — how deal teams compare opportunities, filter red flags, evaluate founders, and build conviction in the face of uncertainty.

By the end, you’ll understand how real investors value companies, price risk, and decide whether to say yes, no, or negotiate.

Who This Program Is Designed For

• Students preparing for buy-side recruiting
• Career switchers aiming for private equity, VC, or growth
• Early-career analysts who want stronger real-world thinking
• Founders seeking to understand how investors evaluate businesses
• Professionals who want to think with an investor mindset

No prior finance experience is required.
Curiosity and ambition are enough.

What You Gain By Completing This Masterclass

• A clear understanding of how real investors source and evaluate deals
• The ability to break down a business using buy-side frameworks
• The confidence to speak with investors on their level
• Practical modeling and valuation clarity
• A strategic networking system that works in any industry
• A decision-making framework used across top investment firms

You learn in six hours what most people take years to understand.

Scholar Community

When joining the BuySide Masterclass, you will also receive access to the BuySide Scholar Community, a collaborative environment where members develop together, share insights, and grow their networks.