PE Search & Fund Targeting Sprint
This 8-hour PE Search & Fund Targeting Sprint is designed for candidates who have relevant experience but lack a structured system for identifying firms, generating conversations, and managing their recruiting pipeline. The package combines live coaching with target-list review, selective firm research, outreach feedback, and a written execution plan. Search positioning and target criteria - Define your ideal private equity fund profile - Clarify Associate versus Senior Associate positioning - Identify where your background creates a competitive advantage - Segment firms by strategy, size, sector, geography, and hiring fit - Establish Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 targeting criteria Target-list development and calibration - Receive a clear methodology and initial seed firms - Build your first draft of the target list - Review, score, and prioritize the firms you identify - Remove low-probability targets - Identify missing fund categories - Determine the best route into each priority firm - Build a focused initial outreach queue Outreach and networking strategy - Improve recruiter positioning - Develop warm-introduction requests - Create differentiated cold-outreach messages - Use alumni, LinkedIn, and second-degree connections more effectively - Build firm-specific outreach angles - Establish a follow-up cadence - Receive feedback on your initial outreach drafts Pipeline management and execution - Build a recruiting tracker - Set weekly outreach and networking targets - Define process stages and follow-up dates - Create a repeatable firm-research checklist - Establish a post-interview debrief process - Build a consistent preparation workflow for future opportunities The 8 hours include: - 4 hours of live coaching - 3.5 hours of target-list, firm, outreach, and pipeline review - 30 minutes of written planning You will receive: - A tiered fund-targeting framework - A prioritized target list with feedback - Outreach templates and networking approaches - A follow-up cadence - Weekly execution targets - A 60-day PE recruiting roadmap You will create the initial target list using the agreed methodology. I will review, refine, prioritize, and selectively research the most relevant firms rather than building the entire list from scratch.
What's included
This package combines live coaching with hands-on review between sessions. We begin by defining your target-fund criteria, positioning, and search strategy. You then build the first draft of your target list and outreach materials using the agreed framework. Between sessions, I will review and score your fund list, conduct selective research on priority firms, comment on outreach drafts, and refine your recruiting tracker. Live sessions will focus on decision-making, prioritization, messaging, and execution rather than general discussion. You will leave each session with clear next steps, weekly activity targets, and specific materials to complete before the next meeting. The process is designed to help you build and activate a recruiting system you can continue using after the package ends.
- A clear PE search strategy with defined target-fund criteria across strategy, size, sector, geography, and role level.
- A prioritized Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 target list, with feedback on fit, accessibility, and the best route into each firm.
- Tailored warm-introduction, recruiter, and cold-outreach messages that you can reuse across your search.
- A structured recruiting tracker with follow-up dates, weekly outreach goals, and clear process stages.
- A practical 60-day recruiting roadmap to help you generate more conversations and manage your search consistently.
Meet your expert
Deji A.
PE Investor Helping Non-Traditional Candidates Break In & Win Offers
I started my career as an engineer and eventually found my way into investing, private equity, and entrepreneurship. It was not a straight line. Along the way, I worked at Schlumberger, GE, ExxonMobil, the Africa Finance Corporation, Leapfrog Investments and the George Kaiser Family Foundation before founding Zeus Global, where I now invest in and acquire software and technology-enabled businesses. I also earned my MBA from Stanford GSB and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in mechanical engineering. What ties all of those experiences together is curiosity. I have always enjoyed understanding how businesses work, why people make the decisions they do, and what separates a good opportunity from a great one. I also know what it feels like to have a background that does not fit neatly into one box. Sometimes the challenge is not whether you are qualified. It is helping other people understand the value of what you have done and where you are trying to go. That is one of the things I enjoy most about coaching: helping someone step back, see the pattern in their own story, and communicate it with more clarity and confidence.
