Got my first PE offer but the carry terms read like hieroglyphics. I know the community has member-vetted breakdowns—has anyone used these to negotiate? Need concrete examples: waterfall schedules, preferred returns thresholds, and how vesting timelines actually play out. Bonus for horror stories where the template saved you from a bad deal!
Cross-reference your offer against the community’s 2023 carry benchmark report: Median vesting cliff at 4 years, 65% of funds use European-style waterfall. Critical to model your GP’s historical distributions—one user discovered their ‘8% pref return’ was effectively 12% due to recycled capital clauses.
Dude in my analyst class used the vesting calculator here and realized his ‘10% carry’ was really 3% after dilution. He pushed for anti-dilution language and got it! Now he jokes it paid for his Tesla. Templates FTW!
you’re not getting real carry as a junior, stop pretending. Those ‘vetted breakdowns’ won’t save you when the GP decides your vintage year’s ‘restructured’. But sure, waste your weekend modeling waterfalls instead of networking for actual PM roles.