Search Fund sans Finance Exp - How to externally validate LBO model?

Hi folks,

Coming from the tech world and have been digging deep into finance in preparation for a search fund. I've developed my own LBO model after months of iterations through a few courses and books. I'm now at the point where I'd really, really like to have the LBO model validated before I start talking to potential investors.

My question for the group - how can I do that? Would reaching out to M&A CPAs be the route? Boutique IBs?

I was planning to reach out to some local M&A CPAs and pay them an hourly rate to give a look over it with me, maybe 1-2 hours. I might be way off, feel free to suggest another more apt direction.

3 Comments
 

Hey liquidice07, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I am sad to say, but this thread is lonely, so thought I'd post in here to try and help out. Some potential topics that might help:

If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
Most Helpful

Dolorem autem aut eaque omnis ut. Placeat ut harum error aut cum eius. Molestias ut repellendus consequuntur suscipit quia ut quod.

Eos ea sint itaque odio quibusdam voluptatem. Molestias mollitia sapiente et consequatur. A inventore sint perferendis dicta quae et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”