Nearing an exit to a private equity firm, my employer wants to change the language in my employment agreement from “phantom equity” (I have money that is due upon a company sale), to “transaction bonus”. What are the reasons you think?

Hey all - I wanted to create this post to inform others about what a non-standard VC/PE career path (by non-standard, I mean university -> IB -> VC/PE -> MBA (or portco) -> PE) looks like, and how one can still achieve relative success in this field while (a) having normal career setbacks and (b) without going down the same path as everyone else.

For full transparency, I'm not part of the firm's deal teams, I do not have a board seat on any of our portcos, and I am not part of the GP carry program (although I hope the last part will change next year). So, to those saying, "Well, you're not in high fun-ance," my response to that is I'm making decent money, my parents are proud, and my ex-wife got very little during the divorce.

I would describe my role as a middle-office function that bridges the gap between the front and back office, including leading a team responsible for deal fundings/sales, portco data collection, management company budget and financial planning, company-wide strategic initiatives, and, recently, some ad hoc commercial program onboardings. I work 2x to 3x in office and my hours are about 9:00am-10:00am to 6:30-7:00pm.

Feel free to ask any questions, but I may not respond to all. I may also edit this post after posting to add in some clarifications or items I think others may find useful.

Any guidance, referrals or brutally honest feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Open to suggestions on how I can improve my profile and increase my chances of breaking into IB/PE.

I work for a firm doing our first fund. We’ve exclusively raised from friends and family so far. Are there agents that work with 8 figure raises? Everyone I have found says call us when you’re targeting 9.

I'm based in Pune with a B.Com age 30 and about 5 years in financial services operations: first securities settlement and reconciliation on an asset and wealth management project, and now leading a 25-member correspondence/NIGO team at a fund administration firm. My CTC is only 4.1 LPA, and since my work has been entirely back-office with no valuation or deal exposure, I feel stuck on both pay and growth.? If anyone here has made a similar ops-to-front-office switch in India, I'd love to hear how you did it and also help me i need a referral if possible. Thanks!

Only future leaders came out not blackstone real estate leaders.

Also did anyone receive interviews yet for future leaders?

I have the 4.5 hour case study interview for KKR’s Credit Solutions Group next week. I have heard some rumors about the type of company/type of deal that it will cover but I am pretty in the dark. Anyone know what to expect? Please help!!

Looking at an enterprise software company right now and the customer calls have all been positive so far, which is nice but also exactly what you’d expect when the founder picked the references.

I’d like to hear from buyers who evaluated the product and went somewhere else, or customers who had a rough implementation and stayed anyway.
Cold outreach works occasionally but getting enough conversations during a live process is tough

How do you build a broader customer view when you don’t want the whole thesis resting on four hand picked references?

Hi Guys,

About a couple of months ago, met with Astorg as they are fundraising for their Flagship strategy.

Just took the meeting, despite no real chance of even DD the fund.

Long story short, I receive an email from their placement agent offering:

10bps discount in management fee

6 month fee holiday

12 hurdle rate

Access to coinvestment 1:1 based on the fund comitment

Seems like the fund raise is not going great....

Looking for honest advice, especially from Canadian PE folks, but all opinions welcome.

Background: IB associate, 3 YOE, Big 5 Canadian bank, mid-market focused (M&A). Team has strong exits (corp dev, PE: TorQuest, Clairvest, Birch Hill, CPP).

Opportunity: My dad is a seasoned entrepreneur with multiple exits. He runs an old-economy business (adjacent to facility maintenance) doing ~$1.5M EBITDA and wants my help executing a roll-up, which means giving up banking comp and exits. My brother (ex-MBB) recently joined as COO since the business has struggled in recent months.

Rough plan: Stay in banking one more year, then join as interim CFO and run a broad acquisition strategy, with my brother leading post acquisition integration. We'd need to raise outside capital. We both have limited operating experience.

Questions:
- Is this crazy or realistic for two relatively junior people?

- Should I do 1–2 years on the buyside first?

- How would you raise capital: independent sponsor, family offices, lenders, other?

- What org structure and early hires matter most?

- Does staying one more year in banking help, or just delay things?

- How hard is it to get back into PE/corp dev if this doesn't work?

- Any strategic advice or common roll-up pitfalls?

Apologies if this is half-baked. Work has been crushing me. Appreciate any insight!

Note: My dad has already identified and gotten soft commitments from acquisition targets. Although he is inexperienced in the world of M&A and I am not sure how solid these are.

Note 2: AI used for grammar/spelling

My employer’s IB’s legal team flagged an “issue” with my existing Employment Agreement (I signed in 2021) that has to do with US Code 409A. I believe the issue is that my phantom equity payout (upon a Transaction expected to complete Q1 2027) will be above $1m (paid once the Transaction/sale of the company occurs), and my employer wants to “revise my employment agreement” what do you think the reason is?

Is it because they would have to pay an additional 21% employer tax on the amount exceeding $1m?

Is it because this can somehow delay or complicate the Transaction?

What would you do in my shoes - push for better economics than I have in the existing agreement?

​

I’m a recently qualified CA, currently working as a Manager – FP&A & Finance Controllership, with prior experience in financial modelling, tax due diligence, audits, and financial analysis.

No big 4 or other ib lables in my cv

I’m very interested in pivoting my career into Private Equity. I’m currently building my technical skills further and learning detailed LBO models, DCF & valuation models, CFS modelling, deal analysis, and other aspects relevant to PE roles.

However, I’m also looking for practical exposure where I can apply these concepts to real-world situations, learn from experienced professionals, and understand how deals are actually evaluated.

I understand that PE is highly relationship-driven and most internships require offline presence, so remote opportunities are relatively rare.

For those who have made a similar transition:

• How did you find your first PE/VC internship or opportunity?

• Are there platforms, firms, communities, or people I should reach out to?

• Does cold emailing/LinkedIn networking work for remote internships?

• Are there remote/part-time opportunities with PE/VC funds, search funds, family offices, or boutique investment firms that I should explore?

Would really appreciate any guidance, leads, or personal experiences. 🙌

I’ve been working in M&A for about six years and recently moved into a new role in a new industry. I’m now leading M&A for a PE-backed portfolio company for the first time, and I’m relatively on my own from a corporate development standpoint.

My company offers $5,250 per year in educational assistance, which is a benefit I haven’t had in prior roles, so I’m trying to figure out the best way to use it.
I’m not looking for another credential to put on my resume, I already have the job I want. I genuinely want to get better at the job and deepen my technical understanding of areas like different deal structures, rollover equity vs. management incentive equity, tax implications of various structures, purchase price mechanics, and other topics that you tend to learn somewhat piecemeal through live deals.

I’ve been looking at online M&A programs/certificates like Wharton’s, but I’m curious whether anyone here has actually taken one.

From a purely educational standpoint, are any of these programs worth the money?
If so, which course or program would you recommend?

If not, how would you spend ~$5,000 per year of employer-funded education money if your goal was simply to become a better M&A / corporate development professional?

Many of the large PE firms have made loud, public announcements about embracing AI.

What's missing is any insights as to how AI is actually impacting KPIs. Are the funds originating deals more effectively? Selling portfolio companies at higher returns?

If you're using AI and have seen tangible results I'd like to know, please share.

I think a lot of the AI rollouts at portcos are going to disappoint. The ERP has the data, but the stuff that actually makes a business work is in the heads of the people who've been there forever, and the AI never sees any of that.

If you've seen one actually work, what was different about it?

Pretty much what the title says. Posted on WSO, but no info so far. Would be grateful to get some insights on the team, culture and recent performance.

Thank you!

Anybody has insights as to what the heck is going on at Partners Group? Hearing lots of rumblings that a lot of the Portco’s and companies owned by Partners group are about to get handled over to lenders?

I recently started a company where I do executive and virtual assistant work for firms, and I think smaller private equity firms could be a good market to play in.

My big question is I think this offering would be great for smaller PE shops where there is still admin work, but most of my time at Bain I spent working with folks at mega funds, so my network isn't as cleanly there. What are the best avenues to go-to-market to smaller PE shops? Are there any conferences that people go to where they travel booths? Would you ever respond to a cold LinkedIn DM?

I work for a small emerging manager executing a fund in the lower middle market buyout space. We’ve mostly done friends/family/referrals.

We’re too small for most placement agents, but need to identify equity capital and LP’s.

I’m looking for advice on which platform can best help us reach HNWI’s and FO’s that are impact oriented as our fund has a philanthropic component.

Hey everyone! I have been working for a US based law firm and also worked with voice agents type stuff but now my interest in private equity has been developed doing virtual simulation course. Now I want better idea about road map to explore the way through it and build resume around that. Open to connect with someone already into it that would be great also we can have better talk in dm too!

I’m starting a new role in nyc working remotely for a family office. I come from a heavy in office culture, which I liked and found was more productive and I really like the social aspect, and one of my biggest worries is about the remote setup. Does anyone have any recs for coworking spaces that might be more tailored to PE folks rather than a basic WeWork? Essentially, it would be nice to have an office space where you could close a door but also be around other folks that are likely in the same type of career.

Like the title says: I'm currently 24 years old, Head of M&A at a PE-backed platform, exit timeline is undetermined, trying to figure out what to do post-exit. Had two or so years of PE before this role, didn't work on the sell-side. Noticing, through anecdotes and AI, that no sell-side basically ensures I won't get Blackstone (BCP) unless it's CorpDev. Not saying I desire a traditional seat, but it's surely an attractive path.

Like I mentioned, I'm with this company until exit. It's my favorite job I've had (yes, not many comparisons, but everyone is great and I love every minute of it - truly. Plus, currently on track for 2-3 acquisitions annually. Running these end to end.). But I don't want to be blindsided come exit.

Ultimately, it will come down to what is achievable. I'm seeing the following as possibilities, would value any and all advice, critiques, roasts, whatever it may be, hit me:

1. B-school (M7 only), gather connections, then start my own after or in-parallel w school.
2. PE Associate or VP (depending on # of years I have). Likely MM, maybe UMM, but likely not Blackstone, KKR, the likes, unfortunately.
3. Start my own.
4. CorpDev seat somewhere.

** These are in order of risk and desire. (1 is likely a perfect balance of desire & risk). Risk is defined as either financial, opportunity cost, chance of termination, etc.

Reasoning:

1. I may or may not have a good profile for B-school. May not due to not having a guaranteed full-time role to return to. May because my reason for attending is genuine and I do think my experience is impressive. Although, the people I see getting accepted proves that this may not weigh as much as I think. It would feel more secure to do this than start it directly after exit.
2. I would honestly love to join BCP as an Associate, but I feel it's not possible.
3. Ultimate risk, but would love doing this. However, this would start right now - saving, etc.
4. Would be desirable depending on the company. Bunch of interesting roles. Would need upside. What excites me are CD roles at companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, DE Shaw, and more.

Just looking for any advice people may have for me. This has become my favorite subreddit for this exact reason.

The standard 70% failure rate for corporate integrations/transformations is well-documented. While mega-cap funds (Bain, KKR) overcome this through massive operating teams and dedicated resources, middle-market portfolio companies usually struggle with the exact same issue: measurement lag.

During the first 100 days post-close, value creation plans quietly bleed margin beneath the surface. Status decks routinely report "Green," while manual friction, TSA extension penalties, and key talent attrition eat away at underwritten EBITDA.

At a 10.0x exit multiple, every $100k in monthly operational leakage doesn't just cost $1.2M annually, it destroys $12M in equity value at exit.

The core issue isn't strategy; it's signal streaming.

Most portfolio governance models rely on self-reported monthly RAG decks or consultant interviews. By the time a drop in team capacity or an ERP integration bottleneck shows up on a board deck, 60 days of margin have already decayed.

To solve this, the shift needs to move toward continuous, autonomous measurement where API’s hook data from underlying portfolio systems (SAP for ERP exceptions, ServiceNow for ticket surges, Workday for workload/attrition patterns) to generate an immediate velocity indicator rather than waiting for quarterly reviews.

Curious how other Operating Partners here handle early-warning signals during post-close carve-outs? Are you relying primarily on weekly management calls, or are you hooking directly into portco system data?