This week concludes the past two months’ internship, and it makes me reflect: what have I learned from the internship, and how will I take my experience and knowledge to my future?

From the beginning of the internship, we were told by Jalen and Orlando that this is an internship,  but also an educational experience to prepare us for the Finance world. We learned how to find opportunities in the wild: sourcing and customization. It’s not difficult to find something on the Internet, but it’s challenging to find something on the internet within a certain amount of time while meeting a certain quota. That requires an efficient approach. It also helped me learn how to build connections and relationships with prospects. I was able to reach out to 200+ business owners to ask whether there was any chance of them selling, and was lucky enough to log 2 calls with the business owners to talk about their growth and future transition plan. Though at this point we are not sure about the exact future of Ellery yet, we can see a bright start.

Another big tool I learned was an analytical skillset. From the beginning, we were required to do industry analysis to pitch for potential targets for Ellery. Those analyses not only required us to examine many criteria to see if it’s a good fit for a PE but also provided a great opportunity to get exposed to a brand new niche industry that I never knew. For me, the most interesting industry I pitched was the casting agency industry, as it aligns with the staffing industry but differs significantly from the traditional staffing service, and the business revenue model/operations were new to me. We also analyzed teasers and CIMs from brokers to extract information and estimate the value of businesses. While teasers are mostly ambiguous, CIMs provide an abundant pool of info that waits for exploration. Then, for the last couple of weeks, we touched on different modeling skills, including DCF and LBO. Not in a textbook, but on Excel to be practical. Those analytical skills are so valuable to contribute to my journey in the Finance world.

My summer is going to end in 3 days, and I am truly grateful that Ellery offers me a fulfilled and accomplished 2 months. Hope our paths cross at some point in the future!