It's brutally hard to close a deal, both at entry and exit.
IYKYK.
Congrats to all of you who have done it. You're a special breed.
Everyone & Your Mom think PE is about financial acumen, technical modeling, cynical negotiations, and even more cynical operations.
However, closing a deal is actually just the ultimate project management job. You must maintain alignment among a high number of emotional & money-driven stakeholders (seller/buyer, management, partners, LPs, vendors, lender + everyone else w/ skin in the game) and execute on a huge & never-ending mix of tedious and/or complex tasks on time & budget.
BTW. You're left holding the bag if you fail. You will usually be liable to pay the bills (often six-digits), might be sued, your wife will be disappointed in the huge sunk cost (time & money), and there'll be severe emotional drainage. Good luck.
