How the Practicum Program Works

Enrollment

Enrollment is open to participants who want to build foundational fluency in lower-middle-market private equity

Program Structure:

• 10 live sessions
• Includes 5 Foundations sessions covering the private equity investment process and 5 acquisition case study sessions focused on real-world investment analysis and decision-making.
• Instructor-led analysis of real-world acquisition opportunities
• Applied assignments and exercises designed to strengthen investment judgment and practical decision-making
• Sessions focus on how investors evaluate opportunities, identify risks, assess value creation opportunities, and make investment decisions in practice

After Enrollment, Participants Receive:

•  Enrollment confirmation
• Scheduled 1:1 assessment session
• Structured study guide materials
• Access details for upcoming live sessions

Program Curriculum

Session 1 – CIM Analysis & Opportunity Framing

Introduction to lower middle market private equity and how investors evaluate opportunities in practice. Students learn how to analyze Confidential Information Memorandums (CIMs), assess business quality, industry dynamics, financial performance, and key risks through an investor lens.

Session 2 – Investment Memo & Preliminary Analysis

Focuses on developing investment theses, evaluating risks and return drivers, interpreting high-level LBO outputs, and communicating investment recommendations through structured investment memo development.

Session 3 – Pre-IOI Diligence, Management Meetings & LOI Readiness

Students learn how investors conduct targeted diligence, prepare for management meetings, structure key diligence questions, and position transactions within competitive processes.

Session 4 – Diligence, Structuring & Closing Execution

Provides exposure to transaction structuring, debt and equity considerations, seller rollover dynamics, purchase agreements, and closing execution within lower middle market private equity transactions.

Session 5 – Strategic Planning & Post-Close Value Creation Execution

Focuses on post-acquisition execution, value creation planning, KPI development, operational improvement initiatives, and how investors create value following an acquisition.

Session 6 – Acquisition Case Study I

Participants apply the investment frameworks introduced in the Bootcamp to a real-world acquisition opportunity. The session focuses on evaluating business quality, industry dynamics, growth opportunities, key risks, and overall investment attractiveness.

Session 7 – Acquisition Case Study II

Students analyze a new acquisition opportunity and develop a structured investment perspective while identifying key diligence areas, risk factors, and value creation opportunities.

Session 8 – Acquisition Case Study III

Focuses on a third acquisition opportunity and challenges participants to evaluate operational considerations, financial performance, competitive positioning, scalability, and transaction attractiveness.

Session 9 – Acquisition Case Study IV

Participants continue building investment judgment through the evaluation of a new acquisition opportunity and discuss how investors compare opportunities, prioritize risks, and assess potential returns.

Session 10 – Acquisition Case Study V

The final case study provides participants with an additional opportunity to apply the full private equity investment process, including opportunity assessment, diligence framing, investment thesis development, risk evaluation, and value creation planning.

Assignments & Applied Exercises

Throughout the Practicum, participants complete practical assignments and exercises designed to reinforce the concepts introduced during the Bootcamp.

Assignments may include investment memo development, diligence planning, risk assessment, valuation considerations, transaction structuring discussions, and value creation planning. The objective is to help participants apply private equity frameworks in a practical setting while strengthening investment judgment and analytical thinking across a variety of acquisition opportunities.

Applied Learning & Investment Judgment Development

The Practicum is designed to bridge the gap between technical knowledge and real-world investment decision-making.

Participants are challenged to evaluate opportunities from the perspective of a private equity investor, identify key risks, assess value creation opportunities, develop investment recommendations, and think critically about transaction outcomes across multiple acquisition opportunities.

The objective is not simply to understand private equity concepts, but to develop the practical investment judgment and analytical mindset required to evaluate real acquisition opportunities with confidence.