The seven stages
Every deal, however different its details, passes through the same seven stages:
Origination → Screening → Diligence → Investment Committee → Acquisition → Value Creation → Exit
Origination is finding the company (Lesson 4). Screening is a fast, cheap first pass: does this even fit what we're looking for? Diligence is the slow, expensive part, verifying the numbers, the market, the risks, sometimes over months. Investment Committee (IC) is the internal decision meeting where the deal team has to convince their own partners to commit the fund's money (you'll sit in this seat at Lesson 24's checkpoint). Acquisition is the closing itself. Value Creation is the holding period, doing the "improve" step of Lesson 1's model. Exit is the sale.
Why this is the backbone of the course
This lifecycle is the backbone of the whole course: the Beginner tier lives mostly in Screening and early Diligence, the Intermediate tier lives in Diligence and the Investment Committee, and the Advanced tier lives entirely in Value Creation, up to Exit.
| Stage | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Origination | Ongoing; weeks to months per deal sourced |
| Screening | 1-2 weeks |
| Diligence | 2-4 months |
| Investment Committee | One decision meeting, weeks of prep |
| Acquisition (close) | 4-8 weeks after IC approval |
| Value Creation | 3-7 years, the holding period itself |
| Exit | 6-12 month sale process |
Checkpoint
- Origination: finding a deal.
- Screening: a fast first pass, before spending real diligence time.
- Diligence: verifying the numbers and risks in depth.
- Investment Committee: the internal go/no-go decision.
- Value Creation: the holding period's actual work.
If anything here still feels unclear, ask before moving to Lesson 4.