Coffee Chat

Michael Neal
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Coffee Chat is the investment banking recruiting podcast from OFFERGOBLIN. Each week, coaches Michael Neal and Ryan Tan break down exactly how to land the offer. We cover: Networking that actually worksTechnicals that show up in real interviewsA weekly temperature check on what we're hearing right now—across our clients, users, and the street Whether you're at a target school, fighting from a non-target, or switching careers, this is your playbook. Drawing on experience across Centerview, Wells Fargo, UChicago Booth, and Training The Street.

  1. 2 days ago

    Why Banking, Why This Firm, Why This Group

    Michael breaks down how to answer investment banking's classic three-part question: why banking, why this firm, and why this group, with real structure instead of generic talking points. Part of the Coffee Chat Ready series.

  2. 2 days ago

    How to Capitalize on a Coffee Chat

    Michael shares how to effectively capitalize on a coffee chat for investment banking recruiting, from closing strategies and building alliances to gathering the firm-specific details that make you sound like an insider. Part of the Coffee Chat Ready series.

  3. 5 Sept

    How M&A Deals Actually Work - Premiums, Synergies, and the EPS Trap

    M&A explained from zero: why deals happen, how they actually get done, and the trap inside EPS accretion. This episode of the OFFERGOBLIN technical series moves from valuation to deals, in three questions. WHY deals happen: synergies, and why cost synergies get believed while revenue synergies get discounted. HOW they get done: what the seller actually receives (cash, stock, and the exchange ratio analysts update every day of a live deal), the control premium and who banks it, earnouts and collars, and the paperwork from the merger agreement to the fairness opinion — the most readable valuation document in finance. And DID IT WORK: accretion and dilution through the earnings yield, and why an accretive deal can still create no value at all. A real Barclays question is worked on air. QUESTIONS FROM THE EPISODE Barclays — 2015 (is stock price accretion the same as value creation; worked on air): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/19e1d7b7-4649-4d0e-9431-723aa6bcfcd3 Greenhill — 2018 (if Coke acquired Pepsi, what would the synergies be; worked on air): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/05c12b15-24e7-46d7-9063-df9aefb92f79 Bank of America Technology — 1st Round, 2023 (what could make a 10x P/E buying 15x P/E accretive or dilutive): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/0aef16ee-5327-4949-9605-29f51e8d461a The free guide to mergers and acquisitions: https://www.offergoblin.com/resources/mergers-acquisitions Practice 3,500+ reported IB interview questions: https://www.offergoblin.com/question-bank The OFFERGOBLIN technical series is hosted by Michael Neal, founder of OFFERGOBLIN and former Centerview banker. New episodes every Friday. Everything OFFERGOBLIN: https://linktr.ee/offergoblin Pick a deal from the last year and read its fairness opinion. What premium did the buyer pay, and do the synergies justify it? Put your verdict in the comments.

  4. 28 Aug

    Coffee Chats: A Primer

    A Leland livestream primer on coffee chats — what they actually are, how to get one, and what a banker is screening for.

  5. 28 Aug

    How to Get the Coffee Chat

    A Leland livestream on how to actually land a coffee chat — outreach that gets replies and how to make the ask.

  6. 28 Aug

    Tell Me About Yourself

    A Leland livestream on how to actually answer "tell me about yourself" without rambling — and how to keep your answer memorable.

  7. 28 Aug

    Your Investment Banking Resume

    A Leland livestream on how to build a standout investment banking resume — what recruiters actually scan for and how to structure it.

  8. 23 Aug

    Discounted Cash Flow Explained (Better)

    Discounted cash flow from zero: what you actually buy when you buy a share, and why a DCF never equals the price. This episode of the OFFERGOBLIN technical series opens on a class model of NVIDIA, built out by revenue stream, that asked one question. What would have to be true for the market's price to make sense? The answer was absurd, and the stock did not care. From there it builds the discounted cash flow in plain English: why a share is a claim on future cash, which cash you discount and why it's unlevered, why a dollar later is worth less than a dollar now, what WACC is and why the rate has to match the cash flow, terminal value and why it runs 60 to 80 percent of the answer, how the model bridges to a share price, and when a DCF is the wrong tool. It closes on the part nobody says out loud. Value and price are different questions, and the way bankers actually use the model is backwards: start from the price and solve for what the market must already believe. A real Goldman Sachs superday question gets worked on air. QUESTIONS FROM THE EPISODE Goldman Sachs Healthcare — Superday, 2025 (why you need a discount rate at all, worked on air): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/019fd45e-1066-477e-8118-9d619927f139 Moelis Generalist — 1st Round, 2024 (what cash flows you use, and how you get there): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/34de4b7e-32c3-4296-9962-6b2e88992dcd FT Partners FinTech — Superday, 2022 (explain WACC and how it's used in a DCF): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/4cf98d1b-6cf4-4f6b-aa84-d02b8cc0453b Lazard Industrials — 1st Round, 2023 (the two ways to calculate terminal value): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/de77b686-74d6-4573-9af7-6cbd71062074 Evercore — 2017 (from enterprise value to price per share): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/2fce9535-ddf2-4a6f-b74d-e6d51c761bda J.P. Morgan Technology — Superday, 2023 (Zoom or Broadcom, which one do you run a DCF on): https://www.offergoblin.com/q/123bcd29-0f89-4aa7-a367-4596f0fe166a The free guide to the discounted cash flow: https://www.offergoblin.com/resources/discounted-cash-flow-dcf Practice 3,500+ reported IB interview questions: https://www.offergoblin.com/question-bank The OFFERGOBLIN technical series is hosted by Michael Neal, founder of OFFERGOBLIN and former Centerview banker. New episodes every Friday. Everything OFFERGOBLIN: https://linktr.ee/offergoblin Run it backwards on a company you follow. What would the market have to be assuming to justify today's price, and do you believe it? Put your answer in the comments.

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About

Coffee Chat is the investment banking recruiting podcast from OFFERGOBLIN. Each week, coaches Michael Neal and Ryan Tan break down exactly how to land the offer. We cover: Networking that actually worksTechnicals that show up in real interviewsA weekly temperature check on what we're hearing right now—across our clients, users, and the street Whether you're at a target school, fighting from a non-target, or switching careers, this is your playbook. Drawing on experience across Centerview, Wells Fargo, UChicago Booth, and Training The Street.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Neal
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Michael Neal