Undergrad Buyside Analyst

Overview

This internship is a high-intensity training ground for future dealmakers. Instead of passive research or slow-paced financial modeling, the role focuses on live business conversations, negotiation psychology, and rapid exposure to deal structuring in the lower-middle-market M&A space.

The employer operates a private equity and acquisitions platform with a focus on the ETA ecosystem, including an international research engine, deal sourcing, and a technology layer.

Internship timeline and performance expectations

• Services divisions have completed $50M worth of transaction value.
• Transaction value is expected to exceed $150M in Q1 & Q2 of 2026 after launching in January of 2025.

Responsibilities

• Call business owners and executives daily
• Navigate objections, gather context, and understand founder psychology
• Learn how buyers and sellers negotiate outside of textbooks
• Practice controlled, professional persuasion
• Keep conversations structured and outcome-oriented
• Support structuring deals in the lower-middle-market M&A space
• Understand seller motivations vs. buyer constraints
• Evaluate fit, feasibility, and deal readiness
• Learn the mechanics of earnouts, seller financing, rollover equity, reps & warranties, etc.
• Observe how real deal conversations unfold and how structures adjust dynamically
• Support live buyer–seller interactions
• Prepare call notes, next steps, and negotiation plans
• Observe how valuation gaps and structure negotiations are handled
• Understand what kills deals and what revives them
• Track transaction pacing, sequencing, and the “psychological arc” of a deal

Requirements

• Must be fluent in English
• Strong communication skills
• Fast learner
• Comfortable taking on responsibility early
• Preference for learning by doing rather than observing
• Interest in structured, dynamic conversation over spreadsheet-heavy analysis

Compensation & Benefits

• Paid hourly
• Opportunity for high performers to collaborate with the deal team and research team after one month (based on strong KPIs)
• Interns who make the deal team and manage deal flow can make up to 20% of success fee (several interns have accumulated a potential bonus pool of $50K+)

Hiring Path

• The employer strongly prefers to hire full-time roles from the internship program
• In 2025, 3 interns were converted to full-time roles
• In 2026, the employer expects to onboard significantly more full-time talent from the internship program