The Vampire Squid

Welcome to the first valuation episode! Today we will talk about Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis, one of the most common types of valuation that people in finance use. As promised, please see attached links to an actual DCF model, in addition to more of the granularity of the formula in case you are interested. DCF Model – http://macabacus.com/valuation/dcf/overview Detailed DCF explanation – http://www.investopedia.com/university/dcf/ * Intrinsic Valuation of a company * What is the time value of money? * Would you rather have $1 today or $1 a year from now? * Projecting out your cash flows * What do you do for your terminal value? * Perpetuity Growth Method * Exit Multiples * Why do you have to use a discount rate? What’s an easy to understand example? * Cons of a DCF Valuation * Assumptions * Predictability of cash flows * Pros of a DCF Valuation * Intrinsic valuation of a company As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@thevampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1

Welcome back! As many of you know starting today, we will be releasing one episode per week on Sundays. First day of work tomorrow! https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-mehra-842b9a47 Today we have a very special guest, Shaun Mehra. Shaun worked as a private equity analyst at Silver Lake Partners, a large cap private equity fund focused on technology investments. We go over Shaun’s day to day, investment thesis, and advice to break into the industry. Very fun episode, hope you enjoy! * What’s your background story? * Before Silver Lake Partners, what were your thoughts on our summer at GS? * How was it helpful to your time at Silver Lake Partners? * What does Silver Lake Partners do? What’s the high level overview? * How did you get the job? What was the interview process like? * What do you do on a day to day basis? From when you wake up to sleep? * Walk me through your investment thought process. * What skills have you acquired since working for Silver Lake Partners? * What advice do you have for kids that are looking to break into private equity? * Fun Questions * What is your favorite book that you’ve read and why? * Favorite restaurant in the city * How do you stay motivated, or what motivates you? * How can we improve on increasing transparency in finance? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@thevampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1

Welcome back for the last episode of the three part series on investment banking recruiting, technicals! Before we begin, check out this recent article that was written about us in The Globe and Mail. * Best Resources for preparing for Technicals * Friends that have worked in investment banking * Wall Street Oasis Prep Guide * Rosenbaum and Pearl * Sections for Investment Banking Technicals * Financial Statements * How they tie to one another * Specific line items on the financial statements * How changes affect the three financial statements * $10 increase in depreciation * Valuation * Discounted Cash Flow Analysis * Comparable Companies Analysis * Precedent Transactions * Leveraged Buyouts * Resources * Excel Models * Brain Teasers * Case Study Questions * How many cigarettes are smoked in a day? * How many ping pong balls can you fit in a 747 * How many customers enter the grocery store down the street * How to answer questions that you don’t know the answer to * General Closing Tips As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@thevampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1

Welcome to Part II of the Investment Banking Recruiting series. Today, we are talking about behavorial questions which are arguably more important than technicals. We also touch briefly on networking as I did not cover this subject as much in the first IB Recruiting Episode. * Make sure to have a theme or message you want to convey across in the interview * Prepare every line item on your resume so you can speak extensively to it * Questions, answers, and why they are asking them * Walk me through your resume, give me your background * Why do you want to work at X investment bank * Why do you want to work in investment banking * Are you interviewing only with investment banks, or also consulting and other firms? * Tell me about a time you had a conflict on a team and how did you resolve it? * Tell me about a time you went against the grain or challenged the status quo * Tell me about your greatest accomplishment * Tell me your strengths and weaknesses * Tell me about a time that you failed * What do you do for fun? * Ethical questions As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@thevampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1

Finally got around to jotting down some notes for the investment banking recruiting process that is up and coming for many of you! This series will be broken up into three parts: the overview, behavorials, and technicals, as it was too much to jam into one episode. * Investment Banking Timeline * New Goldman initiative for first round video interviews * http://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-hiring-idUSKCN0Z929M * Investment Banking Information Sessions * To go or not to go * Resume Screens * Who screens your resumes? * What do they look for? * First Round Interviews * Dress Code * Picking interview time slots * What are they looking for? * Final Round Interviews (Superdays) * How many interviews do you have? * What to do if you are interviewing with a partner * Tips I wish I knew * Exploding Offers * Random questions like, “Tell me your favorite joke”, “What do you do better than 99% of the world?” etc. * Videotaping yourself for practice As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@thevampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid

https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-shih-37966532 One of my best friends since college, today, we bring on Trevor Shih, the first junior business operations hire at Slack to share his experience at Goldman and his transition to high growth technology startups. This episode is great for anyone interested in both finance and technology, especially from the business side. * How was your experience at Goldman, what were your highlights? * What does Slack do? * How fast has Slack been growing? * Is Slack trying to kill email? * What is the mission of Slack? * How is the interview process? * How many rounds of interviews * What do you do on a day to day basis? * What type of tools do you use? * What do you think of the technology bubble? * What are the perks of working at Slack? * Treadmill desk * How should applicants prepare to get into high growth technology startups like Slack? * What is going on with the Slack Fund? * Fun Questions * Are you superstitious and if so, what is your superstition? * What do you think of Marshawn Lynch? * Did you have an oddjob in high school? * Favorite restaurant in the city * How do you stay motivated? * How can we improve transparency in finance? As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@thevampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid

TVS 007 – Leveraged Finance & Real Estate Financing

TVS 006 – Sell-Side M&A

TVS 005 – Workplace Etiquette

TVS 004 – Financial Statements and Financial Jargon