Foundations

What the job actually is, how deals work, and the language of the Street.

1
What is investment banking?Updated
What investment bankers actually do all day, how a deal team is structured from analyst to MD, and why the analyst is the engine that makes the whole thing move.
7 min readPreview
2
Buy-side vs. sell-side
Sell-side banks advise companies and sell securities; buy-side firms invest capital and take the risk. Where an analyst sits, what each does day to day, and why the two meanings of these words trip up beginners.
6 min readPreview
3
Capital markets: ECM and DCMUpdated
How companies raise money by selling stock (ECM) or issuing bonds (DCM), how underwriting and the greenshoe actually work, an IPO walked through from the bake-off to the first trade, and where equity research fits without crossing the wall.
18 min readPreview
4
How a deal actually gets done
A live deal isn't one big event. It's months of staged work, and the analyst is the engine that carries each stage. Here's the lifecycle from pitch to close, and where the hours spike.
7 min readPreview
5
Types of investment banks: bulge bracket, elite boutique, middle marketUpdated
The taxonomy every 'why our bank' answer assumes you already know. What separates a bulge bracket from an elite boutique from a middle-market firm, what actually changes for you as an analyst, and where the lines are genuinely argued over.
7 min readPreview
6
What banks are really looking forUpdated
Being smart is table stakes. What actually gets you hired is proving you get it, you'll grind when it counts, and your work is accurate under pressure. How to show it.
6 min readPreview
7
The IPO processUpdated
How a private company goes public: hiring underwriters, filing the S-1, running the roadshow, building the book, pricing the night before, and why the stock so often pops on day one.
6 min readPreview