“I recently had a LinkedIn audit call with Arnau as part of my WSO Academy program, and it was one of the most practical and useful sessions I've had so far. I came in thinking my profile was in decent shape. I left with a clear picture of how recruiters and bankers actually see it, and a concrete list of changes that will make it work much harder for me.
Some background: I'm moving from corporate finance into investment banking, corporate banking, and private equity. I have an MBA in Corporate Finance, a PMP, and several years of finance and project management experience. Making that kind of move depends heavily on how you present your story, and LinkedIn is often the first place a recruiter or analyst sees it. That's why this session mattered so much to me.
From the first few minutes, Arnau was well prepared, direct, and focused on what actually moves the needle. He didn't just give generic tips like "add a professional photo." He went through my profile section by section and explained why each piece matters to someone in finance who's quickly scanning candidates. His feedback was honest without being discouraging, which I really appreciated. He pointed out where my profile was underselling my experience and where it wasn't clearly showing that I'm aiming for banking and PE.
What stood out most was how he helped me think about positioning. My background covers corporate finance, project management, hospitality, and real estate, and it can be hard to make that read as one clear story. Arnau helped me connect those experiences to the skills banks look for: financial analysis, modeling, managing budgets and capital, and working with senior stakeholders. He showed me how small changes to my headline, About section, and experience bullets can make that story obvious within seconds.
The session was also very actionable. I didn't leave with vague ideas. I left with a short list of specific edits I can make right away. That matters a lot when you're job hunting and every week counts. He also shared advice on using LinkedIn more actively, such as engaging with the right people and content, so the profile supports my networking instead of just sitting there.
I also want to recognize the overall WSO Academy experience. Between the modeling bootcamp, the company research work, the mentorship, and sessions like this one, the program has given me structure and support during a career transition that can otherwise feel isolating. This call was a good example of what makes WSO different: the people coaching you understand the industry you're trying to break into and give feedback that reflects how hiring really works.
If you're a WSO member and haven't booked a LinkedIn audit yet, I'd strongly recommend it. It's a short time commitment, and the return is significant. Your LinkedIn profile is often your first impression, and having an experienced set of eyes on it is worth it.
Thank you, Arnau, for your time, honesty, and practical guidance. I'm excited to put the changes in place and keep building toward my goal of breaking into investment banking.”
I don't think anyone can help you in any meaningful way. We can't even tell where the numbers came from or what assumptions were made since virtually the entire model is hard-coded.
Just glancing at it, the assumptions seem ridiculous. You rarely have less than 100% y.o.y. growth in sales.
The biggest outflow is due to investment in NWC. I think your friend just straight-lined NWC as a % of sales after Year 4 (20%). If that is the case, then the growth in NWC is probably being driven by the ridiculous growth in revenue.
Have your friend reexamine the assumptions he made about revenue growth, capex, and the drivers behind NWC.
Thank you for your reply!
This model is required for the case solution. You have to value a start-up company (that's why growth in sales is so high). It's also asked if this company requires additional financing or not. The thing is that Sales/EBITDA/CapEx/WC numbers were given. But using them, you can't calculate positive FCF (as I think). I'm also concerned about so big outflow in WC, but there's nothing we can change there. So may be there's a possibility of using some financing options? But I don't really understand to what will it lead.
getting people to do your homework for you I see...
As you see, I haven't even written a task. I really can't figure out is it possible to fix this model or it's just a mistake in data given.
For some reason I ended up looking at that abortion of a 'model', clearly a loose term here, but as mentioned earlier you are modeling activities that are consuming all of your CFs.
Just so you know... Your growth rate assumed in Yr 2 from Yr 1 if 100%, Yr 3 is 100%, Yr 4 275%, Yr 5 100%, and so on until Yr 10 when it drops to a modest 50%. Not to be outdone, your WC is outstripping your growth rates in an incredible fashion growing from Yr 1 to 2 at 300%, then 200%, then 400%, then 100%, and 150% after that. Your 'friend' is also modeling 100% growth in CapEx. all the to 425% and back down to 50%. I mean fuck son, your WC + CapEx is at least 100% of your EBITDA and grows to be 200% of EBITDA.
Either way dude you need to back down the activities that will burn your CFs to get this to a positive number. And no, you can't do anything with debt b/c FCF is a measure of the operations of a business, not financing. However, you should be financing negative FCF w/ financing. That will at least keep your company 'solvent' otherwise it's just bankrupt or some shit and the analysis makes no sense.
Maybe your friend should open his/her textbook for Finance 151 instead of buddy fucking you with homework that he/she clearly decided to put zero effort into.
It's a startup company - likely to have negative free cash flows for awhile.
"It's also asked if this company requires additional financing or not."
It's easy to hypothetically tell. If your cash balance at start is $50m and the undiscounted free cash flows in the first five years are greater than negative $50m, you need some financing.
To my understanding talking to VC folk (and using logic), people don't use models to value early-stage companies - it's all based on swag and negotiations. But if you insist on using a DCF, use an exit, multiple at a estimated exit date (geared more towards IPO or M&A will effect this estimate) and slap on 25% - 50% discount rate depending on the stage - these kinds of rates are the rates VC investors are looking for.
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