models

Excel models you can break, then rebuild

Each model runs live in the browser — click a yellow assumption, retype it, and every dependent formula recalculates. The same model is available as a working .xlsx workbook with the standard colour convention: blue inputs, black formulas, green cross-sheet links.

DCF valuation

Five years of free cash flow, a Gordon-growth terminal value, and the bridge from enterprise value to value per share.

  • · Enterprise value ($mm)
  • · Equity value ($mm)
  • · Value per share ($)

Profitability tree

Price, volume, variable cost and fixed cost across two years, with a bridge that attributes every dollar of the profit swing.

  • · Operating profit, this year ($000s)
  • · Change in operating profit ($000s)
  • · Operating margin, this year

Market sizing

The same market built top-down from population and bottom-up from outlets, then reconciled into a serviceable opportunity.

  • · Top-down market ($mm)
  • · Bottom-up market ($mm)
  • · Top-down / bottom-up

LBO returns

Entry leverage, five years of deleveraging and an exit, split into growth, multiple expansion and debt paydown.

  • · Sponsor equity at entry ($mm)
  • · Exit equity value ($mm)
  • · Money multiple

The modelling conventions interviewers look for

  • One input, one cell. Every assumption lives in its own labelled cell and is referenced, never retyped inside a formula.
  • Colour discipline. Blue for hardcoded inputs, black for formulas, green for links to another sheet, red for links to another file.
  • Units in the label. "Revenue ($mm)", not "Revenue". Multiples as 0.0x, percentages to one decimal, negatives in parentheses.
  • A check row that must be zero. Bridges and reconciliations prove the model, and they are the first thing a reviewer looks for.
  • Consistent formulas across columns. If one year's formula differs from the next, say why — otherwise it is a bug.
Curriculum behind the modelsRun a case interview