Private Equity interview preparation

Questions

100

Traced to a firm

83

Firms

40

Updated

September 2026

Asked at

All firmsAdvent International6Apollo Global Management6Audax Group6Carlyle Group6EQT6Silver Lake6Vista Equity Partners6WPWarburg Pincus6HIH.I.G. Capital5Oaktree Capital Management5Platinum Equity5TPTPG5General Atlantic4AMAres Management3Blackstone3Clayton Dubilier and Rice3GSGuggenheim Securities3Insight Partners3Invesco3Lazard3Neuberger Berman3NUNuveen3TSTruist Securities3Bain Capital2HWHarris Williams2Kohlberg Kravis Roberts2Millennium Management2Moody's2Rothschild & Co2WBWilliam Blair2Bessemer Venture Partners1Citi1Evercore1FTFranklin Templeton1Houlihan Lokey1HPS Investment Partners1KKR1Mizuho1MSMorgan Stanley1Sycamore Partners1

Topic

All topicsLBO mechanics7Value creation5Returns2Fund economics9Investment judgement18Valuation6Firm knowledge2Credit and financing9Operations4Due diligence8Career and fit11Sector knowledge4Accounting2Deal structuring7Industry knowledge3Brainteasers3

Level

AnyCoreIntermediateHard

Type

AnyTechnicalCaseFitMarket viewBrainteaser

1. 022What diligence workstreams would you run, and which one would you prioritise?Due diligenceIntermediatetechnicalAdvent InternationalPrivate Equity · Boston · 2022

   Say this

   Commercial, financial, legal, tax, and then the specialist streams the thesis demands. I would prioritise whichever workstream tests the single assumption the return depends on.

   Then walk it

   1. Commercial due diligence: market size and growth, competitive position, customer interviews and win-loss analysis. This is the one that most often changes the price or kills the deal.
   2. Financial and quality of earnings: normalising EBITDA, working capital, and the reliability of the forecast.
   3. Legal: contracts, change of control provisions, litigation, employment, and ownership of intellectual property.
   4. Tax and structuring: the acquisition structure, historic exposures, and how the exit will be taxed.
   5. Then the thesis-specific streams: technology and code review for a software asset, environmental for an industrial site, regulatory for healthcare, IT and cyber for anything data-heavy, insurance and pensions where relevant.
   6. Prioritisation is the actual answer: identify the one assumption that carries the return, then spend the budget there. If the case rests on retaining the top ten customers, customer reference calls matter more than a perfect tax structuring memo.

   Where candidates lose it

   Listing workstreams without prioritising. Diligence budgets and timelines are finite, and the judgement being tested is whether you can identify the assumption that carries the return and aim the work at it.

   Expect next

   • What would you ask in a customer reference call?
   • What finding would kill the deal?
   • How do you diligence a founder-run business?

   Reported by candidates at Advent International (Private Equity, Boston, 2022). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

2. 046How would you diligence a founder-run business?Due diligenceHardsuperdayAudax GroupPrivate Equity · Boston · 2021HIH.I.G. CapitalPrivate Equity · Paris · 2024

   Say this

   Assume the reporting is weaker than it looks and the founder is more central than anyone admits. The two questions are what the real earnings are, and what happens to the business when the founder steps back.

   Then walk it

   1. Financial reporting is usually thin. There may be no audited accounts, no management accounts by segment, no unit-level profitability. Budget more time and money for quality of earnings than you would for a corporate carve-out.
   2. Personal expenses run through the business are standard: cars, travel, family on the payroll, property. These are legitimate add-backs but each needs verification, and they are also a signal about controls.
   3. Founder dependency is the core risk. Which customer relationships are personal? Who actually makes pricing decisions? Is there a second layer of management, or does everything route through one person?
   4. Test it concretely: ask what happened when the founder took a long holiday. Ask the customers who they call. The answers are usually revealing.
   5. Related-party arrangements: property leased from a founder-owned entity, supply from a family business, loans in both directions. All need to be put on arm's-length terms before closing.
   6. Then structure around what you find. Rollover equity and an earnout keep the founder engaged; a transition agreement with defined handover milestones; and building the second layer of management is usually the first hundred days priority.

   Where candidates lose it

   Treating it like a corporate diligence. The distinctive risks are informal reporting, personal expenses and founder dependency, and the answer should end with how you structure around them rather than just listing them.

   Expect next

   • How would you structure the founder's rollover?
   • What if the founder wants to leave immediately?
   • How do you value a business where the owner works unpaid?

   Reported by candidates at Audax Group (Private Equity, Boston, 2021); H.I.G. Capital (Private Equity, Paris, 2024). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

3. 047How would you assess the management team?Due diligenceIntermediatetechnicalVista Equity PartnersHealthcare · Austin · 2023

   Say this

   Against the plan, not in the abstract. The question is not whether they are good managers but whether this team can execute this specific value creation plan over the next five years.

   Then walk it

   1. Start from the plan and work backwards: if the thesis is a pricing transformation and a buy-and-build, you need a commercial leader who has taken price and a CFO who has integrated acquisitions. Match capability to the specific job.
   2. Track record over assertions: what did each person actually deliver in previous roles, with numbers, and verified through references rather than their own account.
   3. Reference calls are the highest-value tool, and off-list references are worth more than the ones provided. Former colleagues, former bosses, and people who worked for them.
   4. Test their own diagnosis. Ask what they would do with more capital and fewer constraints. A management team with no clear answer has not been thinking like owners, which is both a risk and an opportunity.
   5. Assess the gaps honestly and budget for them. It is normal to replace one or two of a founder-led team, and pretending otherwise just delays it.
   6. And test cultural fit with sponsor ownership specifically: monthly reporting, board scrutiny, a five-year clock. Some excellent managers genuinely do not want that, and finding out after closing is expensive.

   Where candidates lose it

   Assessing charisma from meetings. Management teams in a sale process are coached and selected for presenting well. Reference calls and delivered track record are the evidence; the interview is not.

   Expect next

   • What if the CFO is not strong enough?
   • How quickly would you make a change?
   • How do you keep them motivated through a five-year hold?

   Reported by candidates at Vista Equity Partners (Healthcare, Austin, 2023). Source: Wall Street Oasis.

Firm tags come from public, anonymous candidate reports on Wall Street Oasis: strong signal, not sworn testimony. Firms are named as the places a question was reported, not as partners of Fin Maverick. Answers are written for this page to show how to think out loud; they are not scripts to recite.