24 Freshmen
Applicants selected to participate
2 Weeks
Starting Thursday, October 8th
$50 Donation
Entry ticket fee to St. Jude
100% of ENTRY TICKET FEES DONATED to ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
— OVERVIEW —
24 students will be selected to take part in this two-week competition starting Thursday 10/8. Applications are currently open and being reviewed on a rolling basis. If selected, you will be asked to make a $50 donation to St. Jude using my formal fundraiser link to confirm your enrollment.
In this hands-on simulation, competitors assume the role of investment banking analysts staffed on a live sell-side M&A deal analyzing a real-world company. In teams of two, you'll create a 20-page pitch deck in PowerPoint and three valuation models in Excel similar to the examples shown below.
IMMEDIATELY BOOST YOUR RESUME WITH RELEVANT REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE
All participants will be given word-for-word the exact bullet points to add to their resumes at the end of the two weeks. Other experiences take 4+ months of commitment before you can add them to your resume, but with this, the impact is immediate. You become a significantly stronger candidate & improve your chances of breaking into the elite, top-tier firms in a short two-week time frame.
Case competitions are unique experiences guaranteed to grab the attention of anyone reading your resume. It's an easy way to differentiate yourself & gain an early advantage in the hyper-competitive recruitment processes for prestigious fields like investment banking. Bankers love to ask about these during interviews, as they are relevant & prove your competence using core concepts in action.
— SCHEDULE —
This is a highly interactive experience designed to teach freshmen the fundamentals of due diligence, valuation and financial modeling in a small group setting.
All students participate in two virtual workshops that guide you through how to tackle each part of the case. Pre-formatted PPT & Excel templates will be provided to speed up the learning process.
Week two includes a 30-minute guest speaker presentation from an active investment banking analyst. You'll get to hear firsthand what the day-to-day looks like from someone currently in the heat of the grind. This exposure is meant to help you decide whether a career on Wall St. is for you.
Following the case, all participants will have the opportunity to schedule a free 1:1 mentorship session with Jack. He will personally review your resume and be able to provide specific recruitment advice tailored to your individual situation.
KICKOFF SESSION (THU 10/8 @ 6:30pm ET)
- Reveals target company & previews deliverables you'll be responsible for creating
- Provides detailed roadmap for navigating competitive internship recruitment process
- Teaches how to conduct due diligence & create positioning slides for your deck
LIVE WORKSHOP #1 (TUE 10/13 @ 6:30pm ET)
- Focus of this session is showing you how to create basic valuation models in Excel
- Outlines the three main valuation methods: DCF, Comps & Precedent Transactions
- Walks through in-class exercise completing full DCF for example company Alo Yoga
LIVE WORKSHOP #2 (THU 10/15 @ 6:30pm ET)
- Breaks down process for selecting your public comps & precedent transactions
- Covers how to source key metrics from reputable financial databases
- Continues in-class exercise, performing final two valuation methods for Alo Yoga
GUEST SPEAKER (TUE 10/20 @ 6:30pm ET)
- 30-minute presentation / Q&A with an active investment banking analyst
- Hear what the day-to-day looks like from someone currently going through it
- Remaining ~20min of class after guest leaves will cover last parts of case
TEAM CHECK-INS (THU 10/22)
- All teams have the chance to schedule a check-in with Jack prior to presenting
- Gives the opportunity to ask for feedback & get last-minute questions answered
FINAL PRESENTATIONS (SAT 10/24)
- All teams will deliver a 20-minute virtual presentation to panel of judges
- Judges will ask ~10min of follow-up questions at the end
- Dress code for this will be business professional (suit & tie)
AWARDS / DEBRIEF (SUN 10/25 @ 6pm ET)
- Top three winning teams will be announced by judges
- Will provide holistic review of case & deliver final closing remarks
1:1 MENTORSHIP SESSIONS (Week of 10/26)
- All participants have chance to schedule free 1:1 mentorship session with Jack
- Includes comprehensive resume review & individually tailored recruitment advice
APPLY NOW TO SECURE YOUR SPOT
— OUR GOAL —
There is currently a significant educational gap between the academic curricula in underclassmen finance courses and the skills and experiences employers in competitive industries like investment banking look for in candidates. Although many schools now have student orgs that address this, there is still a severe paucity of opportunities for freshmen.
This lack of early opportunities is a critical issue for students trying to land these exclusive roles. The elite business careers (investment banking, management consulting, private equity, hedge funds, etc.) all have extremely accelerated timelines with interviews starting midway through sophomore year (which is over 18mo in advance). It takes months of dedicated preparation to succeed. If you don't get started early your freshman year, you'll fall behind fast.
This competition was created to bridge that gap & provide freshmen with a powerful experience to immediately boost their resumes. We want to level the playing field & allow ambitious underclassmen to gain an early advantage in the ridiculously competitive recruitment processes for these elite fields. Our goal is to expose freshmen to what these careers are & how their recruitment processes work as soon as possible so they can get a head start & land their dream post-grad roles.
— MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR —
Hi everyone! My name is Jack Kolb, but you may know me by my TikTok name, "Chief Analyst". I graduated from the University of Illinois in 2023, where I was Captain of the Men's Division 1 Hockey Team & President of the Illinois Investment Banking Academy. I finished school in three years & received the Golder Scholar award, which is given to the top two students in the Investment Banking Academy by our director.
In summer 2023, I interned at the elite boutique investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners in their NYC office. I loved my internship & was fully intending to accept the offer I got to return full-time, but a unique opportunity came up to jump straight to the buy-side.
I started my career at the private equity firm Keystone Capital back home in Chicago, then made the pivot to world of real estate investing. I now work for the world's largest commercial real estate investment services firm CBRE on their Institutional National Office Partners Team.
Over the years, I've individually mentored hundreds of students, helping them secure prestigious roles in investment banking and private equity. This has become a strong passion of mine ever since my role as President of the Illinois Investment Banking Academy back on campus.
I started the TikTok account @Chief.Analyst shortly after college with the goal of continuing this mentor role at a larger scale. That profile now has over 2.5M likes & 75K followers. The overwhelming amount of positive feedback is what inspired me to create this case.
— APPLICATION —
Please fill out this form to apply for 1 of the 24 spots available for the October 2026 cohort. Spots will be filled on a first come, first serve basis with candidates deemed to have high-caliber profiles. Feel free to email me at jackkolb92@gmail.com with any questions.
— FAQ —
Will this help me even if I choose not to pursue investment banking?
Yes! Even if you don't end up pursuing investment banking, you'll still benefit from the early resume boost. Having this on your resume will help you break into your school's competitive student orgs & land stepping stone internships during your first couple years of college.
What if I have schedule conflicts and cannot attend all the virtual live sessions?
All of the virtual live sessions will be recorded, so no worries if you're unable to attend every single one. However, it is preferred that you're at least able to make a majority of them live, as the small-group interactive setting is critical to maximize the benefit of this learning experience.
How do team pairings work? Can I sign up alone?
Each application will be assessed on an individual basis. On the form, there is an option to list name(s) of others you'd like to be paired with. If both candidates are accepted, I will do my best to create team assignments in-line with your preferences. Otherwise, most candidates apply as individuals, so a vast majority of team pairings end up being randomly assigned.
Can I still add this to my resume even if I don't place in the top three?
Yes! The title underneath will simply be "Sell-Side Analyst", leaving out the " — 1st Place". It's still a fantastic experience that bankers will love to ask you questions about during interviews.
What criteria will the judges be using to determine winners?
The exact criteria will be discussed in detail during the virtual live sessions, but the biggest key to success is being able to tie all parts of your deck into a clean, cohesive narrative. The positioning, valuation and recommendation sections should reinforce each other & fit together like a puzzle. Beyond that, articulation & delivery skills will also be taken into consideration.