Welcome to the Six Minute Strategist
I’m John Colley — a former investment banker turned educator with over 30 years of experience in mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, and corporate finance. Today I help ambitious professionals master the skills that Wall Street values most.
Whether you’re preparing for a career in investment banking, looking to sharpen your financial modelling, or want to understand how deals really get done, you’re in the right place.
What You’ll Find Here
This site is home to practical, experience-led education in investment banking and finance. My courses on Udemy have helped thousands of students worldwide build real competence in areas including:
- Leveraged Buyouts (LBO) — from the fundamentals through to complete deal modelling
- Mergers & Acquisitions — deal strategy, valuation, negotiation, and closing
- Company Valuation — DCF analysis, comparable companies, and precedent transactions
- Private Equity & Venture Capital — how funds operate, evaluate deals, and create value
- Financial Analysis — the core analytical skills every finance professional needs
- Business Strategy — frameworks used by consultants and corporate strategists
Where to Start
If you’re new here, I’d recommend starting with my Courses page where you’ll find my featured programmes organised by topic. Each course is designed to take you from foundational concepts through to professional-level competence.
I also share insights and practical tips through my blog posts — drawing on real deal experience to bring the theory to life.
About John Colley
With a career spanning three decades in the City of London, I’ve advised on transactions worth billions of pounds, led deal teams, and worked across virtually every sector. I hold an MBA and have built a reputation for making complex financial concepts accessible and practical.
I created the Six Minute Strategist to share what I’ve learned — not textbook theory, but the practical knowledge that comes from sitting in the deal room, negotiating with counterparties, and building the models that drive real decisions.
Ready to get started? Browse my courses and take the first step towards mastering investment banking and finance.