Private Equity & Venture Capital
How the work actually runs, who does what, and the skill for each step.
Start from a situation
- “A banker just sent a CIM. Is it worth a second look?”Associate · Buyout Investment → Screen inbound deals
- “Investment committee is on Thursday.”Principal / VP · Buyout Investment → Investment committee
- “The deal closed last week. What happens in the first 100 days?”Operating partner · Buyout Investment → 100-day plan
- “An investor sent a 200-question due diligence questionnaire.”Investor relations · Fund Lifecycle → Due diligence questionnaires
Or walk through the whole thing
Fund Lifecycle
Raising a fund from investors, calling and returning their money, and reporting to them until the fund is wound up.
- Prepare the fundraise
- Market to investors
- Close
- Operate
- Return capital
14 steps · 8 have a skill · 15 skills
Buyout Investment
One investment from first sight to exit — source, diligence, finance, own, improve, sell.
- Source
- First round
- Due diligence
- Structure & approve
- Sign & close
- Own & improve
- Exit
21 steps · 17 have a skill · 26 skills
Venture Capital Investment
Backing a start-up from first meeting through follow-on rounds to exit.
- Source
- Diligence
- Invest
- Support
- Exit
12 steps · 10 have a skill · 12 skills
Or browse every skill by desk
Deal Sourcing 3
deal-screening
Low riskQuickly screen inbound deal flow — CIMs, teasers, and broker materials — against the fund's investment criteria. Extracts key deal metrics, runs a pass/fail framework, and outputs a one-page screening memo. Use when reviewing new deal flow, triaging inbound materials, or deciding whether to take a first call. Triggers on "screen this deal", "review this CIM", "should we look at this", "triage this teaser", or "deal screening".
deal-sourcing
Low riskPE deal sourcing workflow — discover target companies, check CRM for existing relationships, and draft personalized founder outreach emails. Use when sourcing new deals, prospecting companies in a sector, or reaching out to founders. Triggers on "find companies", "source deals", "draft founder email", "check if we've seen this company", or "outreach to founder".
funding-digest
Low riskGenerate a polished one-page PowerPoint slide summarizing key takeaways from recent funding rounds and notable capital markets activity across a user's watched sectors or companies. Use this skill when the user asks for a deal flow summary, weekly recap, funding digest, transaction roundup, or capital markets briefing. Triggers on: 'deal flow digest', 'weekly funding recap', 'deal roundup', 'transaction summary this week', 'what happened in [sector] this week', 'capital markets update', or any request to compile recent funding activity into a briefing slide. Produces a professional single-slide PPTX with key takeaways, valuation data, and Capital IQ deal links.
Due Diligence & Investment Decisions 8
dd-request-list
Low riskBuild a tailored due-diligence request list (DRL) for a private equity or growth investment. Use when the user describes a target company or shares a CIM / teaser and asks for a diligence checklist, information request list, or what to ask management.
datapack-builder
Low riskBuild professional financial services data packs from various sources including CIMs, offering memorandums, SEC filings, web search, or MCP servers. Extract, normalize, and standardize financial data into investment committee-ready Excel workbooks with consistent structure, proper formatting, and documented assumptions. Use for M&A due diligence, private equity analysis, investment committee materials, and standardizing financial reporting across portfolio companies. Do not use for simple financial calculations or working with already-completed data packs.
dd-checklist
Low riskGenerate and track comprehensive due diligence checklists tailored to the target company's sector, deal type, and complexity. Covers all major workstreams with request lists, status tracking, and red flag escalation. Use when kicking off diligence, organizing a data room review, or tracking outstanding items. Triggers on "dd checklist", "due diligence tracker", "diligence request list", "what do we still need", or "data room review".
dd-meeting-prep
Low riskPrepare for due diligence meetings — management presentations, expert network calls, customer references, and advisor sessions. Generates targeted question lists, benchmarks to reference, and red flags to probe. Use before any diligence meeting or call. Triggers on "prep for management meeting", "diligence call prep", "expert call questions", "customer reference questions", or "meeting prep for [company]".
ic-memo
Low riskDraft a structured investment committee memo for PE deal approval. Synthesizes due diligence findings, financial analysis, and deal terms into a professional IC-ready document. Use when preparing for investment committee, writing up a deal, or creating a formal recommendation. Triggers on "write IC memo", "investment committee memo", "deal write-up", "prepare IC materials", or "recommendation memo".
lbo-model
Low riskThis skill should be used when completing LBO (Leveraged Buyout) model templates in Excel for private equity transactions, deal materials, or investment committee presentations. The skill fills in formulas, validates calculations, and ensures professional formatting standards that adapt to any template structure.
returns-analysis
Low riskBuild quick IRR/MOIC sensitivity tables for PE deal evaluation. Models returns across entry multiple, leverage, exit multiple, growth, and hold period scenarios. Use when sizing up a deal, stress-testing assumptions, or preparing IC returns exhibits. Triggers on "returns analysis", "IRR sensitivity", "MOIC table", "what's the return at", "model the returns", or "back of the envelope".
unit-economics
Low riskAnalyze unit economics for PE targets — ARR cohorts, LTV/CAC, net retention, payback periods, revenue quality, and margin waterfall. Essential for software/SaaS, recurring revenue, and subscription businesses. Use when evaluating revenue quality, building a cohort analysis, or assessing customer economics. Triggers on "unit economics", "cohort analysis", "ARR analysis", "LTV CAC", "net retention", "revenue quality", or "customer economics".
Portfolio Management 4
distribution-waterfall
Low riskCompute how proceeds from a private equity or venture fund are split between investors and the manager under the fund's distribution waterfall, including preferred return, catch-up and carried interest. Use when the user has exit or distribution proceeds and asks for a waterfall calculation, carry calculation, LP/GP split, clawback check, or a distribution notice.
ai-readiness
Low riskScan the portfolio for the highest-leverage AI opportunities and rank where to deploy operating-partner time. Ingests quarterly updates and financials across multiple portfolio companies, identifies quick wins at each, and stacks them into a single ranked action list. Use during quarterly portfolio reviews, annual planning, or when deciding which companies get AI investment first. Triggers on "AI readiness", "AI opportunity scan", "where should we deploy AI", "AI across the portfolio", "AI quick wins", or "which portcos are ready for AI".
portfolio-monitoring
Low riskTrack and analyze portfolio company performance against plan. Ingests monthly/quarterly financial packages (Excel, PDF), extracts KPIs, flags variances to budget, and produces summary dashboards. Use when reviewing portfolio company financials, preparing board materials, or monitoring covenant compliance. Triggers on "review portfolio company", "monthly financials", "how is [company] performing", "covenant check", or "portfolio update".
value-creation-plan
Low riskStructure post-acquisition value creation plans with revenue, cost, and operational levers mapped to an EBITDA bridge. Includes 100-day priorities, KPI targets, and accountability frameworks. Use when planning post-close execution, preparing operating partner materials, or building a board-ready value creation roadmap. Triggers on "value creation plan", "100-day plan", "post-close plan", "EBITDA bridge", "operating plan", or "value creation levers".