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Founder, NeverBanked (website coming soon)
Ex-IB → built .ch
Life adventures: .nico

1. Gridlines off before you type a single cell of an investment banking model.Two seconds of work, and it is the first t...
17/08/2026

1. Gridlines off before you type a single cell of an investment banking model.

Two seconds of work, and it is the first thing I notice when a file lands. Leaving them on tells everyone this is your first build.

2. Colour every cell by where the number came from.

Blue for a hardcode, grey fill for an assumption someone is meant to change, green for a link to another tab, purple for a data provider pull, black for formulas and labels. A reviewer then knows where your assumptions live without opening a single cell.

3. Never bury a hardcode inside a formula.

=D14*1.029 is invisible. Nobody finds it, nobody flexes it, and it survives all the way into the version that goes out. Put the number in an assumption cell and point at it.

4. Same period, same column, on every tab.

The moment column E means 2026 on one tab and 2027 on another, every cross-tab link becomes a guess. One start year on the Control tab, driving every header in the file.

5. Build the check rows before you need them.

Balance sheet and cash, sitting where you can see them. That is how you know in one glance that the model still holds after the change you just made at 1am.

None of this makes your numbers right. It makes them checkable, and that is what gets you staffed again.

Comment "SETUP" and I'll send you the setup steps, the full colour legend and the walkthrough of my Nestlé / Danone model, tab by tab.

Welcome to Nico Schwarz. I'm a former large cap M&A banker in Zurich who now teaches IB Prep at HSG & Bocconi and helps students break into investment banking across Europe via NeverBanked.

16/08/2026

Before you type:
1. Gridlines off. First thing, always. (ALT + W + V + G)
2. Fix your conventions before building, not after.
3. Cover page carrying the colour code legend.
4. One Control tab holding every global assumption.
5. One start year driving every header in the model.

Structure:
6. Same period sits in the same column on every tab.
7. Build one tab at a time.
8. Historicals and forecast visibly separated.
9. Tabs named and colour coded.
10. One row, one calculation, pulled across cleanly.

Formulas:
11. Blue for hardcodes, black for formulas.
12. A formula in every calculated cell.
13. Never bury a typed number inside a formula.
14. A source on every input.
15. Integrity checks that read zero.

Formatting:
16. Negatives in parentheses, zeros as a dash.
17. Consistent decimals, units and currency stated.
18. Print area set. It should reach an MD untouched.
19. Consistency throughout: spelling, capitalisation, digits.
20. File names an outsider can read: date, project, content, version.

Getting the setup right is what makes the build fast, and it's the part everyone skips.

Comment "SETUP" and I'll send you the exact steps I use.

If you're new here: welcome to Nico Schwarz. I'm a former large cap M&A banker in Zurich who now teaches IB Prep at HSG & Bocconi and helps students break into investment banking across Europe via NeverBanked.

14/08/2026

Would you give this candidate a chance?

Comment "APPLY" for a free walkthrough of the 5 mistakes to avoid (and fix) before applying to upcoming investment banking roles.

13/08/2026

10 things I wish I knew at 25 before starting IB 👇

1. You're More Replaceable Than You Think
2. Getting Rejected at the Door Means Nothing
3. The Strange Chapters Are the Ones That Count
4. Grief Doesn't Wait for a Quiet Quarter
5. Just Ask. Be a Bit Cheeky
6. Stop Caring What Other People Think
7. Say Yes to Things That Lead Nowhere
8. The Shiny Thing Is Not What Keeps You
9. Help People Without Keeping Score
10. Watch Who Shows Up When You're at Your Worst

Save this, then in a quiet minute really think about these points and link them to your own goals.

What would you add to the list? 🤔

Btw if you comment "MEMORABLE" and I'll send you how networking works in Europe. Copying the US playbook is why so many get ignored.

New here? I spent 5 years in large cap M&A at UBS Zurich, now I teach IB Prep at HSG and Bocconi and help students break into investment banking across Europe.

10/08/2026

How did he do? IFRS 16 usually gets candidates nervous & rambling on when I ask about it.

Welcome to Nico Schwarz. I'm a former large cap M&A associate, and as the team's recruiting captain I've conducted hundreds of interviews and decided who gets the offer. Follow along, we're building a community of future investment bankers.

Stay tuned, so much good stuff is coming your way this month.

09/08/2026

#5 is the differentiator 👇🏻

1. Integrated 3-statement model.
The point is the linkage. Change one assumption and it should flow through all three statements without the balance sheet unbalancing. Forecast from real drivers, volumes and prices and margins, rather than a single growth rate applied to revenue. When an interviewer walks you through a change and asks what happens to cash, you will have already built the answer.

2. DCF that ends in a view.
Forecast until the business reaches a steady state, this sets your horizon, don't default to five years. The terminal value usually carries most of the enterprise value, so treat it as the main event rather than a plug at the end. Then finish by analyzing whether the market is mispricing the company and why.

3. LBO with the value bridge.
A sponsor makes money three ways: growing EBITDA, paying down debt, and exiting at a higher multiple than entry. Build it so you can see how much came from each. That split is the follow-up question, and it also tells you what makes a good LBO candidate in the first place.

4. Comps for one sector.
Picking the peer set is the real work, and it is where the bias creeps in. Keep the value driver consistent with the value number, enterprise value over EBITDA, equity value over net income. Expect precedent transactions to print higher than trading comps, because a buyer pays for control.

5. A one-page pitch.
Company, valuation range, recommendation. State your assumptions and sense-check the magnitudes against reality before you commit to a number.

Building these with AI is part of the job now. It gets you a first draft in minutes, and the structure, the logic and every formula still have to be yours, because you are the one defending them.

I wrote up the workflows I'd use based on my experience modeling for a leading AI company.

Comment "PROMPT" and I'll send you the actual prompts.

If you're new here: welcome to Nico Schwarz. I'm a former large cap M&A banker in Zurich who now teaches IB Prep at HSG & Bocconi and helps students break into investment banking across Europe via NeverBanked.

08/08/2026

In IB, A CV gets a 15 second scan. 6 things bankers look for ⬇️

⚠️ One colour. All black. And generally no formatting issues (and yes, even a double space is already a red flag btw).

⚠️ Worked, supported, contributed, secured. Weak verbs. Search "Harvard action verbs" and take the two minutes to replace with stronger ones.

⚠️ Every bullet needs a result. If it reads like a job description, it's telling me what the desk does, not what you did. Always ask yourself "so what?" and see if the bullet answers it.

⚠️ Kill a tagline or executive summary. "Ambitious student" is already implied by the whole page.

⚠️ Registered a company? That's experience. Put it in the experience section and let it compete.

⚠️ Finance club, student council, competitions: own section, real names. Those are the terms a banker recognises.

The 15 second scan is the whole test. I read the bold line, and if I can't tell what the thing is, I skip the bullets underneath. That's where most people lose their best material.

If you're new here: welcome to Nico Schwarz. I'm a former large cap M&A banker in Zurich who now teaches IB Prep at HSG & Bocconi and helps students break into investment banking across Europe via NeverBanked.

Comment "CV" and I'll send you my template, free.

Maybe some of this helps you too, whether it's for your studies, business, job or life in general. If you're new here: f...
07/08/2026

Maybe some of this helps you too, whether it's for your studies, business, job or life in general.

If you're new here: former large cap M&A banker in Zurich who now teaches IB Prep at HSG & Bocconi and helps students break into investment banking across Europe via NeverBanked.

Follow along Nico Schwarz

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