Built by M&A practitioners, not consultants

Your AI Prompts Are Probably Terrible

Most bankers get less than 30% of what they actually need from AI because their prompts are vague, generic, and structurally broken. Let's fix that.

⚠️ Brutal Honesty Warning: Our Prompt Grader doesn't care about your feelings. It will tell you exactly how bad your prompts areβ€”and how to make them work.
23%
Avg. Prompt Score
23
Production-Ready Prompts
15-20
Hours Saved Per Deal
12
Industries Covered

Prompt Grader

Paste the prompt you currently use. We'll score it ruthlessly and show you exactly what you're missing.

Your Current Prompt

Tip: Press Ctrl + Enter to grade

Try these bad examples:

πŸ“Š

Select a workflow and paste your prompt to see how it scores against professional standards.

We use Scale AI's rubric methodology to evaluate 12 critical dimensions.

Prompt Library

Prompts built using Scale AI's rubric methodology. Each template is self-contained, specific, and optimized for M&A workflows.

πŸ“Š M&A Deal Workflow β€” 23 Production-Ready Prompts

πŸ”
Origination
3 prompts
β†’
πŸ“„
Marketing
3 prompts
β†’
βœ…
Due Diligence
7 prompts
β†’
πŸ’°
Valuation
5 prompts
β†’
πŸ“‹
Execution
5 prompts

ROI Calculator

Time saved translates directly to money savedβ€”or billable hours recovered.

❌ Without Deal Team Prompts

Investment Teaser 4-5 hours
CIM Section Draft 5-6 hours
DD Checklist 5-6 hours
Management Q&A 3-4 hours
LBO Assumptions 4-5 hours
Total per deal 21-26 hours

βœ“ With Deal Team Prompts

Investment Teaser 1-1.5 hours
CIM Section Draft 1.5-2 hours
DD Checklist 45 min - 1 hr
Management Q&A 30-45 min
LBO Assumptions 1-1.5 hours
Total per deal 5-7 hours
15-20 hours saved per deal

At Β£40-55/hour analyst cost = Β£600-1,100 saved per deal

10 deals/year
= Β£6,000-11,000 value
20 deals/year
= Β£12,000-22,000 value

Choose Your Access Level

One-time payment. Lifetime access. Quarterly updates included.

Analyst
For individual professionals
Β£497/once
Lifetime access
βœ“ All prompt templates
βœ“ Prompt Grader (unlimited)
βœ“ 12 industry customizations
βœ“ Quarterly updates
βœ“ Personal use license
Get Analyst Access
Firm
For entire organizations
Β£2,997/once
Unlimited seats
βœ“ Everything in Team
βœ“ Unlimited seats
βœ“ Custom prompt development
βœ“ Priority Slack support
βœ“ Quarterly strategy call
Get Firm Access

Why Your Prompts Aren't Working

Same task. Different prompts. Dramatically different outputs.

πŸ“„ Investment Teaser Time saved: 2-3 hours
❌ What You Write Score: 12%
Write me an investment teaser for a software company
What AI Returns:

A generic 500-word essay about software industry trends with buzzwords like "digital transformation" and "synergies." No specific metrics, no structure, nothing you can actually use. You'll spend 2 hours rewriting it.

βœ“ What We Teach Score: 87%
You are an M&A investment banker drafting a 2-page investment teaser for Project Alpha, a €45M ARR B2B SaaS company with 22% EBITDA margins, 120% NRR, serving the European logistics sector. Structure: Page 1 (Executive Summary 150 words, 5 Investment Highlights with metrics, Company Snapshot table), Page 2 (Business Description 200 words, Market size with TAM/SAM, Financial table showing 3-year revenue/EBITDA). Use "the Company" throughout. Include [PLACEHOLDER] for missing data.
What AI Returns:

A structured 2-page teaser with specific metrics, proper sections, professional formatting, and placeholders exactly where you need them. 15 minutes of polish and it's ready for MD review.

πŸ“Š LBO Assumptions Time saved: 3-4 hours
❌ What You Write Score: 18%
Help me build LBO assumptions for a manufacturing company
What AI Returns:

A generic explanation of what an LBO is, followed by "typical" assumptions that don't match your deal. No tables, no scenarios, no sources & uses. You end up building from scratch anyway.

βœ“ What We Teach Score: 91%
PE associate preparing LBO assumptions for IC. Target: €100M revenue, €25M EBITDA industrial manufacturer. Entry: 8-10x. Hold: 5 years. Output: (1) Sources & Uses table with debt tranches (Senior A, Senior B, Mezz) (2) Operating assumptions table: Revenue CAGR, margin progression by year (3) Debt schedule with terms, rates, amortization (4) Returns matrix: IRR/MoM by exit year and multiple (5) Value creation bridge. Include base/downside/upside scenarios. All amounts in €M.
What AI Returns:

Complete assumption set with all 5 sections, three scenarios, proper tables you can paste into Excel, and sensitivities. Ready for model input, not explanation.

βœ… DD Request List Time saved: 4-5 hours
❌ What You Write Score: 23%
Create a due diligence checklist for an acquisition
What AI Returns:

A list of 20 generic items like "financial statements" and "contracts" with no prioritization, no organization, and missing half the categories you need. Partner asks "where's the working capital analysis request?" and you look incompetent.

βœ“ What We Teach Score: 89%
M&A professional creating DD request list for 100% acquisition of a B2B services company. Workstreams: Financial, Commercial, Legal, Tax, HR, IT. For each workstream: organize by sub-category, include priority (Critical/High/Medium), suggest data room folder structure. Focus areas: revenue quality, customer concentration, working capital, key contracts. Output with checkboxes. Industry-specific: include revenue per FTE, utilization rates, contract renewal patterns.
What AI Returns:

150+ organized request items across 7 workstreams, prioritized, with suggested folder structure and industry-specific additions. Partner is impressed you thought of things they didn't.

The difference isn't AI capability. It's prompt engineering.

Grade Your Prompts β†’

The M&A AI Benchmark Report

How 50+ M&A professionals actually use AI. What works, what doesn't, and the prompts that save the most time.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. We send maybe 2 emails per month.

πŸ“Š 47 pages πŸ“ˆ Real data πŸ’‘ Actionable insights

What Bankers Are Saying

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

"I was skepticalβ€”I thought my prompts were fine. Then I ran them through the grader and got 18%. The improved versions actually produce usable first drafts."

JM
Associate
MM Boutique, London
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

"The CIM prompts alone saved me 6+ hours on my last deal. And the output actually sounded like it was written by a banker, not a chatbot."

SK
VP
Big 4 TAS, Frankfurt
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…

"Bought for the team after one analyst showed me what he was producing. ROI in the first week. Every junior should have this."

RH
Director
PE Fund, Paris

FAQ

Why are your prompts different from what I find on Google? +

Generic prompts are written by people who've never closed a deal. Our prompts are built by M&A practitioners using Scale AI's professional grading methodology. Every prompt specifies: exact deliverable format, required data sources, industry-specific metrics, success criteria, and error tolerances. The difference is getting a usable first draft vs. getting a Wikipedia summary.

Does this work with ChatGPT or Claude? +

Yes. Our prompts are model-agnostic and work with ChatGPT (GPT-4), Claude (Opus/Sonnet), Gemini, and any other major LLM. We recommend Claude for longer analytical work and GPT-4 for faster iterations. Each prompt template includes a recommendation for which model works best.

Can I share this with my team? +

The Analyst tier is for individual use. The Team tier covers up to 5 users. The Firm tier is unlimited. If you're caught sharing a single-user license, we'll just ask you to upgradeβ€”no drama, we get it.

What if the AI still produces bad output? +

AI is not magic. Even with perfect prompts, you need to: (1) provide the actual data/context, (2) review and iterate, (3) apply your professional judgment. Our prompts maximize the probability of good outputβ€”they don't guarantee perfection. That said, if you're consistently getting bad results, email us and we'll help troubleshoot.

Why is the Prompt Grader so harsh? +

Because polite feedback doesn't fix bad prompts. If we tell you "your prompt is pretty good!" when it's actually mediocre, we're wasting your time. The grader uses Scale AI's professional rubric methodologyβ€”the same framework used to evaluate AI outputs at frontier labs. Harsh but accurate beats nice but useless.

Is there a refund policy? +

Yes. If you use the prompts on an actual deal and they don't save you time, email us within 30 days with specifics and we'll refund you. No questions asked. We've never had a refund request from someone who actually used the product.

How often do you update the prompts? +

Quarterly. AI models evolve, market practices change, and we're constantly learning from user feedback. All updates are included in your purchaseβ€”no additional fees.

Prompt Chaining Workflows

Professional prompts work together. Here's how to chain them for complete deal workflows.

🏷️

Sell-Side M&A Workflow

From engagement to close: 8-prompt chain

1. Buyer Universe
β†’
2. Investment Teaser
β†’
3. CIM Sections
β†’
4. Process Letter
β†’
5. Management Q&A Prep
β†’
6. Valuation Framework
β†’
7. Negotiation Strategy
β†’
8. Fairness Opinion

Chain Logic: Buyer Universe output feeds into Teaser targeting. Teaser metrics inform CIM depth. Process Letter uses CIM highlights. Each prompt builds on previous context.

⏱️ Total time saved: 40-60 hours per deal

🎯

PE Investment Workflow

From screening to IC: 10-prompt chain

1. Screening Criteria
β†’
2. Investment Thesis
β†’
3. Market Study
β†’
4. DD Checklist
β†’
5. QoE Analysis
β†’
6. LBO Model
β†’
7. Valuation
β†’
8. MIP Design
β†’
9. IC Memo

Chain Logic: Screening identifies targets. Thesis shapes DD focus areas. QoE findings feed LBO assumptions. MIP design uses LBO return expectations. All synthesize into IC memo.

⏱️ Total time saved: 50-80 hours per deal

πŸ”—

Post-Acquisition & Value Creation

From close to exit: 7-prompt chain

1. Integration Plan
β†’
2. Synergy Analysis
β†’
3. Add-on Screening
β†’
4. Portfolio Review
β†’
5. Board Presentation
β†’
6. Exit Analysis
β†’
7. LP Update

Chain Logic: Integration plan sets 100-day priorities. Synergy tracking feeds portfolio reviews. Add-on screening supports buy-and-build. Exit analysis informs LP updates on realized returns.

⏱️ Total time saved: 30-50 hours per quarter

ROI Calculator

Calculate your potential time and cost savings.

Hours Saved / Year
160
Value of Time Saved
Β£14,400
ROI
7,200%

Calculation basis: Average of 40 hours saved per deal across all prompts. Actual savings vary by prompt complexity and usage frequency. Conservative estimates used.

Which AI Model to Use

Not all models are created equal. Here's what works for what.

Use Case Claude 3.5 Opus GPT-4 Turbo Gemini 1.5 Pro o1-preview
Long Documents
CIMs, IC Memos, Research
⭐⭐⭐ Best ⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐ Best ⭐ Slow
Financial Analysis
LBO, DCF, QoE
⭐⭐⭐ Best ⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐ Best
Quick Iterations
Edits, Refinements
⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐ Best ⭐⭐ Good ❌ Too Slow
Code & Tables
Excel formulas, Data
⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐ Best ⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐ Best
Following Instructions
Format, Structure
⭐⭐⭐ Best ⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐ Good ⭐⭐⭐ Best
Cost Efficiency
$/output quality
⭐⭐ $$$ ⭐⭐⭐ $$ ⭐⭐⭐ $ ⭐ $$$$
🟣 Our Recommendation

Start with Claude 3.5 Sonnet for most M&A workβ€”best balance of quality, speed, and instruction following. Switch to o1-preview for complex financial modeling where accuracy is critical and time isn't.

πŸ’‘ Pro Tip

Use GPT-4 for rapid iterations and refinements once you have a good first draft. The speed advantage compounds when you're making multiple small edits.

Case Studies

How M&A professionals actually use these prompts on live deals.

SELL-SIDE M&A

Mid-Market Tech Company Sale

€85M Enterprise Value | Software Sector

62 hrs
Time Saved
Prompts Used
8 prompts
Buyer Universe β†’ Teaser β†’ CIM β†’ Process Letter β†’ Management Q&A
Deal Outcome
Closed at 12.5x EBITDA
15% above initial guidance
Team
3 people
1 VP, 2 Associates

"The buyer universe prompt alone saved us 15 hours of research. We identified 3 strategic buyers we would have missed, one of which ended up being the eventual acquirer."

β€” VP, Boutique M&A Advisory

PE INVESTMENT

Platform Investment DD Sprint

€150M Enterprise Value | Industrial Services

85 hrs
Time Saved
Prompts Used
12 prompts
Full DD stack + LBO + IC Memo
Deal Outcome
IC Approved
Closed in 45 days
Key Win
Beat 3 bidders
Fastest to LOI

"We were in a competitive process with limited exclusivity. The prompts let us turn around a full IC memo in 48 hours. Partner said it was the most comprehensive memo he'd seen at that stage."

β€” Associate, Mid-Market PE Fund

CARVE-OUT

Corporate Divestiture

€220M Enterprise Value | Consumer Goods Division

95 hrs
Time Saved
Prompts Used
10 prompts
Carve-out Analysis + Working Capital + TSA Framework
Complexity
High
14 shared services, 6 jurisdictions
Key Win
€8M stranded cost reduction
Identified in analysis

"Carve-outs are brutal. The standalone cost analysis prompt forced us to think through every cost category systematically. Found €8M of stranded costs the seller hadn't accounted forβ€”that went straight into our price negotiation."

β€” Director, Global Investment Bank

What Practitioners Say

β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜…

"I was skeptical. Another AI prompt collection? But the specificity is insane. The IC memo prompt literally has fields for every section my firm requires. Saved me 6 hours on my last deal."

JK
James K.
Associate, MM PE Fund
β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜…

"The grader destroyed my ego but improved my prompts 10x. I thought I was good at thisβ€”turns out I was getting 25% of the potential value. Now consistently scoring 80+."

SR
Sarah R.
VP, Boutique IB
β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜…

"Shared with my team of 4. We've standardized on these prompts for all first drafts. Quality consistency went up, review time went down. MD noticed the improvement."

MT
Michael T.
Director, Big 4 TAS
β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜…

"The industry customization is the killer feature. I cover healthcareβ€”the prompts know about IQVIA, reimbursement dynamics, clinical trial pipelines. Not generic garbage."

AL
Amanda L.
VP, Healthcare PE
β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜…

"Finally someone who understands what we actually need. I've bought 3 'AI for finance' courses that were useless. This is the first product that actually maps to real deliverables."

RB
Robert B.
Principal, Growth Equity
β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜… β˜…

"Worth it for the LBO assumptions prompt alone. I've rebuilt that from scratch 50+ times in my career. Now I get a structured starting point in 30 seconds."

DM
David M.
Senior Associate, LMM PE