Femi Giwa
Ex-Goldman VP & Independent Sponsor | Master ETA Strategies for Success
Studied at Tuck School of Business
Works at Balufon
Available tomorrow
Starting at 5:00 PM UTC
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Femi's Offerings
From Search to CEO: Mastering the ETA Journey
$7,65030h of coaching
Save $1,350
Define Your Investment Thesis
$1,4255h of coaching
Save $75
Build Your Investor Outreach Materials
$1,4255h of coaching
Save $75
Craft Your Acquisition Financial Model
$1,4255h of coaching
Save $75
Develop Your Deal Flow Engine
$1,4255h of coaching
Save $75
Prepare Your LOI & Diligence Toolkit
$1,4255h of coaching
Save $75
Create Your Operator Readiness Plan
$1,4255h of coaching
Save $75
Custom hourly · $300/hr
Get help with AI Fundamentals, AI Outreach, and .
Femi also coaches for Investment Banking and MBA. View all.
Femi’s Search Fund & ETA Qualifications
Coaches professionally
Experience level: Director
I don't just teach acquisition enterpreneurship — I'm doing it right now. I'm an independent sponsor actively sourcing, evaluating, and closing acquisitions of healthcare and essential-services businesses, and I built the toolkit for it over years as an M&A banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and a Vice President in Healthcare Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs, where I advised on deals from $200M to $11B+. That means I can help you with the parts of the journey that actually make or break an ETA practitioner: building an LBO and returns model that holds up under scrutiny, structuring the deal and the financing, running diligence, negotiating the LOI, and thinking clearly about valuation and risk. Whether you're pursuing a self-funded search, a traditional search, or an independent-sponsor model, I'll help you move from thesis to closed deal with institutional-grade rigor and I would be honest with you about which targets are worth chasing and which aren't. More importantly, I bring the perspective of someone signing the documents on his own deals, not advising from the sidelines.
Femi can help with:
AI Fundamentals
AI Outreach
Board & Investor Management
Deal Sourcing
Due Diligence
Funding Strategy
Industry & Company Targeting
Investment Analysis
Investor Selection
Operational Strategy & Support
Process Roadmap
Thesis Development
Femi also coaches for Investment Banking and MBA. View all.
About Femi
I made the leap few people make: from clinical medicine to Wall Street. After training as a physician and earning a Yale MPH, I went to Tuck for my MBA and became an investment banker, rising to Vice President at Goldman Sachs after starting in M&A at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, advising on $200M–$11B+ deals. Today, I am an independent sponsor private equity professional. I know exactly what it takes to reposition a clinical or non-traditional background for finance, because I did it. Relatedly, I coach three things I’ve lived: breaking into investment banking, getting into a top MBA program as a non-traditional applicant, and MBB case interview mastery. You can expect direct, structured, high-signal feedback — the same standard I held on a deal team.
Why do I coach?
I coach because I know how lonely and confusing the non-traditional path can be. When I decided to leave medicine for finance, there was no map; there was no built-in recruiting pipeline for someone like me, and plenty of people who quietly assumed a physician couldn't become a banker or succedd in finance. The mentors who took a chance on me (who taught me the unwritten rules, drilled me on the technicals, and told me the honest truth about where I stood) changed the trajectory of my career and my family's life. As such, I don't believe anyone should have to figure this out alone, or leave it to luck. I coach to be that person for you i.e., to hand you the map I didn't have, hold you to a high bar because I'm certain you can clear it, and open doors once you've earned them. More so, I would love to see you realize you belong in a room you were once told wasn't for you.
Work Experience
Managing Principal
Balufon
January 2025 - Present
Balufon is an independent financial sponsor investing in niche service businesses that enable compliance across regulated industries — where adherence to standards is a recurring, high-stakes operational requirement. These companies often operate behind the scenes, yet power the systems that help healthcare, life sciences, environmental, and industrial sectors meet regulatory demands with consistency and confidence.
Vice President, Investment Banking
Goldman Sachs
December 2021 - December 2024
Interviewer
I participated actively as a core member of the Goldman Sachs MBA recruiting team, often traveling to business schools for presentations. Relatedly, I was trained on the Goldman Sachs interview/hiring framework and conducted numerous direct interviews on behalf of the firm. I am still in contact with the Goldman HR and able recommend / introduce a given candidate i.e., for interview purposes.
Associate, M&A Investment Banking Group (BofA Merrill Lynch)
Bank of America
June 2019 - December 2021
Interviewer
I participated actively as a core member of the BofA MBA recruiting team. Relatedly, I conducted numerous direct interviews on behalf of the bank. I have an extensive contact at the bank and I am able to recommend / introduce a given candidate to Chief Resource Officers (CRO) i.e., for interview purposes.
Femi was also given offers to work at
Investment Bank | Barclays
UBS
Education
Tuck School of Business
Master of Business Administration - MBA, Finance, General
2018 - 2020
Supported the Tuck Admissions Committee in review of candidate backgrounds and making recommendations for admission.
Yale University
Master of Public Health - MPH
2014 - 2015
Lagos State University
Doctor of Medicine, Medicine and Surgery
2001 - 2009
11 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Femi has helped Leland clients get into Tuck School of Business