I just went through the interview process and they offered me 2k a month for the first few month trial. This seems like a scam.
What is the expected pay now and later for an analyst at a real estate firm. couldn't find any data anywhere!
What does revenue under $1M even mean in the context of a PE firm? Less than $1M in management fees? So a sub $50M AUM fund?
I would counter and say that you'll do a 6 month - 1 year stint at a pro-rated base salary rate. Just like all the traditional banking internships go. Given that you're new to PE and finance in general, I'd establish some targets of what they want you to do, learn, and accomplish by the end of the period and what it will take to convert the role into a full-time position.
If you're really new to PE/Finance, jumping into an Associate level role is going to have a pretty big learning curve. If it's growth equity that will be a little easier, but will still require a lot of learning. Realistically it might take ~3-6 months to fully ramp. Keep that in mind.
With all the being said, if it's a well known fund(doesn't sound like it is) being able to put the brand on your resume would be worth working for free for a few months. It sounds to me like they're a startup fund, which means I'd ask for a little more if possible.