Case Study Lab: practice the case studies middle-market PE firms actually give
Mega-fund on-cycle prep is a solved problem. The case test in an off-cycle middle-market or lower-middle-market process is not: a CIM excerpt, a messy data pack, a hard time limit, and a memo defending your number. Case Study Lab rebuilds the case tests I completed across 20+ real MM and LMM recruiting processes, so the first time you see the format is not the day it decides your offer.
Built from real processes, packaged by format
Case Study Lab is eight core simulations plus a paper LBO bonus module, rebuilt from case tests I personally completed across 20+ middle-market and lower-middle-market recruiting processes. Every case is rebuilt from scratch with a new company and new numbers, so nothing confidential ships. The formats, time limits, deliverables, and grading bar are preserved. Cases are organized by test format, because that is how you actually prep.
Live and timed model tests
Sixty-minute screen-share mini-LBOs and clean-sheet model tests where structure, speed, and a working debt schedule decide the round.
Model + memo cases
Three-hour builds with a one-page recommendation, and same-day CIM cases where you form a view fast and defend it.
Weekend take-homes
48 to 72 hour CIM cases: a full LBO with scenarios, a valuation view, key diligence areas, and a short memo or deck.
Commercial diligence sprints
A raw sales database, customer and margin analysis, and a short deck answering the only question that matters: is this deal worth more time?
The paper LBO bonus module covers the quick IRR, MOIC, and debt-paydown math you get asked to scribble live in associate and VP interviews.
What every simulation includes
Each case is a clean two-file workspace, not a folder of attachments.
- A case workbook in Excel: the prompt as a fund would send it, the raw data, blank build tabs, and the complete solution model in banker-standard formatting
- A case walkthrough: a work plan against the clock, the finished memo or deck example, a grading rubric built around what deal teams actually check, and the common mistakes that end processes
- Team discussion prep: most funds have you walk the deal team through your model after you submit. Every case covers the walkthrough order, the questions to expect, and how to handle the one you cannot answer
Want to see the bar first? Work the free $150M Distribution LBO case study already in the library.
Founding Access
Case Study Lab is launching now. Founding members get the full set of simulations as they release, at a locked founding price of $497.
- All eight core simulations plus the paper LBO bonus, delivered as they release
- $497 founding price, locked; pricing rises at full launch
- All future updates to every case, included
- A direct line to request the format your process is testing
Checkout opens shortly. Join the founding list and you will get first access at the founding price the day it does.
Questions
Who is this for?
Candidates recruiting for middle-market and lower-middle-market PE, analysts at boutique and MM banks heading into off-cycle processes, consultants and corp dev professionals making the jump, and non-target candidates who will not get a friend's practice folder. If your target list is strictly mega-fund on-cycle, the incumbent prep products already cover you.
How close are these to real tests?
Each simulation is rebuilt from a case test I completed in a live process: same format, same time pressure, same deliverables. Companies, materials, and numbers are new, so nothing confidential ships. The texture is the point.
What if I have never built an LBO model?
Start with the free LBO modeling guide and the Distribution LBO case study, then come back. The Lab assumes you can open a data pack and build without hand-holding.
When do the cases release?
The first case is built and the set releases format by format over the coming weeks. Founding members get each release the day it ships.