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The IB Skills Roadmap.
From Day One to Dealmaker.
30 years on the other side of the table.
What to learn, when to learn it, and how to get there.
Most investment bankers figure out their career by accident — the right deal, the right mentor, the right stumble into a specialism. This handbook maps the entire fifteen-year arc from analyst to originating managing director so you can navigate it deliberately, not by chance.
Free. No credit card. Just your email.
The Investment Banking Career Staircase
Four stages. Fifteen years. One map.
What the Handbook Covers
Twelve chapters. Four career stages. Every skill that separates good from exceptional.
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Foundations (Years 0–1): The analytical bedrock — financial fluency, valuation mechanics, and the accuracy standards that build senior trust -
Competence (Years 1–3): Deal execution in practice — data rooms, due diligence workstreams, deal structuring, and financing. The craft most analysts never fully master -
Judgment (Years 3–5): The transition from executor to advisor — LBO thinking, corporate strategy, post-deal integration, and understanding why a transaction should or shouldn’t happen -
Mastery (Years 5+): Specialisation, origination, and relationship compounding — how managing directors build the practices that bring mandates in without pitching for them -
Self-assessment throughout: Eight questions per chapter — honest diagnostic tools to identify exactly where you are on the staircase and what to close next
The Dealmaker Blueprint
A preview of the frameworks inside — swipe through all ten slides.
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Watch: The Analyst’s Trap
When structure eats valuation — a NotebookLM overview of the most common mistake junior bankers make.
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About John Colley
John spent 30+ years in investment banking, M&A, and private equity — advising on transactions from mid-market acquisitions to multi-billion-pound cross-border deals — before building what has become the largest practitioner-authored IB education library online.
His 136-title handbook series spans valuation, LBO, M&A, deal structuring, private equity, financial analysis, and career progression — the reference library that junior bankers wish had existed on day one.
His Udemy courses have enrolled 150,000+ students. Free investment banking video content at @johnbdcolley on YouTube.