What is a private equity simulator?

A private equity simulator is a hands-on training environment where you practice the full deal lifecycle instead of watching videos or filling spreadsheets. PE Simulator connects 12 integrated modules from sourcing through exit, with four AI advisors and a gamified VC$ economy, so you make decisions and see consequences in one sandbox.

What makes PE Simulator unique?

PE Simulator is the only platform that covers the full private equity lifecycle in one connected sandbox: 20+ integrated workspaces, six core lifecycle workspaces (Lion through Bee), four specialist AI advisors (VIC, Brain, CFO Assistant, VALIA), The Forge decision simulator with cascading effects, and a VC$ gamification layer. Competitors focus on templates or video courses. Here your Lion deal flows into Owl valuation, Whale value creation, and Bee exit planning in one workspace.

Is there a sandbox or hands-on mode?

Yes. Start with the free timed demo at sim.vci.institute/try (no signup, no card). Inside a paid plan, the full simulator is a persistent sandbox: unlimited simulations, cross-module data flow, and AI coaching across every workspace.

Is there a free way to try PE Simulator?

Yes. Two paths: the no-signup timed demo at sim.vci.institute/try (no card, no email), or a 7-day full-access trial on Professional or Team at sim.vci.institute/subscription (card required, cancel before day 8). The demo is the fastest way to see the app. The trial unlocks everything for a week. Free Limited signup stays available with no card and no trial clock.

Can I try it before subscribing?

Yes. Two paths: the no-signup timed demo at sim.vci.institute/try (about ten minutes, no card), or a 7-day free trial from the welcome page (card required, full access, cancel before day 8). After conversion, paid plans include a 7-day refund window. The Daily Deal under Free tools is another no-signup mini-deal if you want a shorter drill.

What AI features are included?

Four specialist AI advisors: VIC (PE expert chat), The Brain (report generation), CFO Assistant (financial analysis), and VALIA (quick prompts). AI is included in all paid plans.

What happens after the trial?

After 7 days, your subscription auto converts to the plan you selected, Professional at $39 a month or Team at $69 a month. Cancel any time before day 8 to avoid being charged. After conversion, you keep a 7-day refund window. See pricing if you want the tiers side by side before you start.

Can I try without signup?

Yes. The timed demo at sim.vci.institute/try needs no signup and no card. A card is required only for the 7-day trial, and only to start it. The Daily Deal under Free tools is another no-signup mini-deal. Use the timed demo when you want the fullest free look.

How much does it cost?

Professional is $39 a month or $390 a year for individuals, students, and solo practitioners. Team is $69 a month or $690 a year with multiplayer capstones and 100 AI queries per day. There is no separate Student or Edu price. Both paid plans start with a 7-day free trial that requires a card but is not charged until day 8. Compare plans on the pricing page, or start at sim.vci.institute/subscription.

The practice environment for private equity

Practice private equitylike a pilot trains.

Nine desks, one live deal, sourcing to exit. You make the calls, the model reacts, and an AI advisor tells you what a partner would have done.

9Desks
8Arenas
4AI Advisors

Start 10-minute demo

No signup. No card. Explore the full sim for about ten minutes.

Start 7-day trial

Card required. Full access for 7 days. Cancel before day 8.

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Card details never touch our servers
7-day refund window
Delete your data anytime
Trust center

Most askedHow long does it take?What's actually inside?Is it for me?

Nine PE Super Simulator desks in a checkerboard grid covering sourcing through AI advisors

Scroll to explore

Product walkthrough

Watch the PE Super Simulator on desktop before you scroll into the desks.

Who trains here

Private equity grade.Built for the desks around the deal.

A PE lifecycle sandbox for PE professionals and the advisors, bankers, and operators who sit next to them.

Investors and sponsors
- Private equity professionals
- Operating partners
- Value creation advisors
Dealmakers
- Investment bankers
- M&A advisors
- Strategic consultants
Builders and leaders
- MBA and graduate students
- C-suite leaders
- Post-integration leaders

Practice on names you know

Scenario cases modeled on public transactions.

Why not a course

Everyone else teaches you the deal.We make you run one.

Reading about a deal and running one are different skills. Only one of them gets hired.

Courses and prep programs

Watch someone else build the model
Static case PDFs
You learn what happened
Finish with a certificate

The PE Super Simulator

Build it yourself. Wrong answers included.
A live model that reacts to every decision
You find out what you would do
Finish with a track record

9 desks · full deal lifecycle

Choose your desk.Run the whole arc.

Formal name leads. The animal is your coach. Nine desks cover sourcing through exit, board practice, and AI. Eight practice arenas sit underneath for drills and games.

Product walkthrough

PE Super Simulator on laptop.

SUPERSIM / SOURCE AND VALUE

Live

01 / SOURCE
Deal Sourcing
Coach: the Lion
03 / VALUE
Deal Valuation
Coach: the Owl
02 / DESIGN
Total Value Creation
Coach: the Whale

Screen deals and build investment theses under real pressure
Price with DCF, comps, and live sensitivity
Map the Fruitful Five value-creation levers before you underwrite

Practice arenas

Quiz and AssessmentCareer CoachThe ForgePE DynastySnakes and LaddersDeal AuctionDiligence SprintDeal Hunt

See it work

Professional setup. Real deal desk ecosystemyou can run on top brand names.

One live deal, three acts, no slides. Source it, run it, exit it, and watch the numbers react to every call you make.

SUPERSIM / PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Live

PE Super Simulator product overview with hands-on training headline and practice brands across the deal lifecycle

Video is illustrative. The live product UI can differ from what you see in this clip.

01
Act I / Source
Find the deal. Pitch the partner.
Screen targets across sectors. Read the CIM. Build a one-pager. Defend the thesis to a partner in IC who will rip it apart on purpose. The Lion runs the front of the funnel, end to end.
02
Act II / Diligence & Structure
Build the model. Stress the thesis.
Tear apart the financials. Build the LBO. Stress test the thesis across five valuation methods. Negotiate the LOI. Walk if the math breaks. The Owl gives you a real dataroom, real contradictions, and a real clock.
03
Act III / Operate & Exit
Drive the value. Time the exit.
Manage management. Run the value creation plan through The Whale. Track every initiative in The Elephant. Score readiness in The Bee. Decide when to sell. The simulator scores you on what actually generates carry: judgment, sequencing, discipline.

See it before you sign up

Run a real PE deal in minutes, not months.

No signup. No card. Open the simulator for a timed session (about ten minutes) and practice sourcing through exit.

Try the demo, no signup

No signup. No card. Timed demo. See the real app before you decide.

Ask us anything

The questions people ask before they start.

Short, direct answers pulled from what ships in the product today. Pick a question, or jump straight to the path that matches you.

Type a question, or pick a chip below.

How long does it take?

The timed demo at sim.vci.institute/try takes about ten minutes and needs no signup. A 7-day trial gives you time to work through more than one desk before you decide. Start with the demo if you want the shortest path in. The Daily Deal under Free tools is another no-signup mini-deal if you prefer a shorter drill.

What's actually inside?

9 desks covering the deal lifecycle from sourcing to exit, 8 practice arenas for repeatable drills, and 4 AI advisors wired into the workspaces where you work. One connected deal runs through all of it, not separate exercises. Open the timed demo to feel that connection in minutes.

Is it for me?

If you work in private equity, sit next to it, or are training for it, yes. That includes PE professionals, bankers, M&A advisors, consultants, operating partners, C-suite and post-integration leaders, and MBA students. Students use guided paths, professionals skip ahead, and teams add multiplayer capstones. Try the 10-minute demo first if you are unsure, then start the trial when it fits.

How is this different from a course?

A course shows you a finished model and asks you to follow along. Here you build the model and make the calls, and the sandbox reacts, wrong answers included. The desks and arenas give you a place to practice what a course can only describe. Open the timed demo and you will feel the difference.

Do I need Excel skills?

No prior Excel modeling is required. The simulator builds the model with you inside each desk, and the AI advisors are available if you get stuck on a specific calculation. Excel skills help outside the sim, but they are not a prerequisite to start. Open the timed demo and begin without a spreadsheet.

See the full FAQ

Students

Guided learning paths on the Professional plan at $39 a month, plus certifications that hold up on a resume.

See the student path

Professionals

Skip ahead to advanced desks and arenas at $39 a month, with AI advisors built for deal work.

See the professional path

Teams

Multiplayer capstones, invite-based groups, and 100 AI queries per day at $69 a month.

See the team path

Built by operators, validated by practitioners

Private equity training that earns the marks, not just displays them.

The PE Super Simulator was built in collaboration by Valuethropy and VCI Institute, informed by alumni of top business schools and the firms they came from. Every module is informed by people who have actually run deals.

2,500+

PE Learners

50,000+

Subscribers

50+

Countries

4.8 / 5

Avg Rating

Across the PE Simulator ecosystem and the VCI Institute curriculum.

Built in consultation with top business school faculty and alumni

Validated by operators who trained at

The closest thing to running a real deal I have used. The decision pressure feels right, not artificial.

Operating Partner

Mid-cap buyout fund

Fills the practice gap that books and case studies never address. Our associates train on this before live deals.

Managing Director

Growth equity firm

The AI advisors are not a gimmick. They actually respond to what you build, which is rare in this category.

M&A Advisory Founder

Industry network of 1,000+ advisors

What learners say

“The simulator made sequencing obvious. We learned faster by testing levers and seeing the financial impact.”
PE LEARNERVerified buyer

“Clear, practical, and calibrated to real trade-offs. The report made my next steps obvious.”
PORTFOLIO CFOGrowth Equity

11 career levels

Progress tracked from Student to Managing Director.

Every simulation earns XP toward the next level. Vice President is where most learners aim first.

Level 1

Student

Starting your PE journey

Level 2

Intern

Learning fundamentals

Level 3

Analyst

Building analytical skills

Level 4

Associate

Executing deals

Level 5

Vice President

Leading deal teams

Level 6

Director

Directing portfolio VC

Level 7

Principal

Shaping strategy

Level 8

Partner

Driving fund performance

Level 9

Senior Partner

Leading the firm

Level 10

Managing Partner

Building institutions

Level 11

Industry legend

Surprise

Partner's whiteboard

Easter egg. The deal that never leaves the board.

Built by MBAs. Pressure-tested by operators. So the hub earns the marks, not just displays them.

Free practice

Seven free PE tools. Zero signup.

Challenges, calculators, visualizers, and today's Daily Deal for paper LBOs, IC screening, returns, Rule of 40, value bridges, and carry. Built like an institutional deal desk.

Browse free tools

Four specialist AI advisors

Ask, generate, model, and actwithout leaving the sim.

VIC, The Brain, CFO Assistant, and VALIA are wired into the workspaces where you work. Each one is built for a different moment in the deal lifecycle.

SUPERSIM / THE REAL AI CFO

Video

VIC

PE Expert Advisor

Your personal PE expert. Ask anything about deals, valuation, strategy. Get instant, expert-level analysis.

Analyze margins vs. industry benchmarks
Surface top risks in any deal
Build a strong investment thesis

The Brain

Report Generation

Turns simulation work into professional deliverables. Memos, risk registers, value creation reports from your data.

Generate IC memos from pipeline
Create risk registers from portfolio data
Assemble VC reports for stakeholders

CFO Assistant

Financial Modeling

Specialized support for numbers-heavy tasks. Forecasts, normalization, board-ready materials.

Build financial forecasts
EBITDA normalization assistance
Board deck generation

VALIA

Quick Prompts

Contextual quick prompts. Surfaces relevant actions based on where you are. One click, no typing.

In Sourcing: Score deal, draft memo
In Valuation: Run sensitivity, compare
In Exit: Check readiness, map buyers

Simple pricing

Start where you are.Scale when you need to.

Professional for individuals and learners. Team when you need multiplayer capstones and higher AI limits. Switch billing monthly or annually anytime.

Free 7-day trial on Professional and Team.

Card required at checkout. Full access. Cancel anytime before day 8. Free Limited signup stays available with no card.

Stripe secure checkout
Card details never touch our servers
7-day refund window
Delete your data anytime
Trust center

Trust and security details

Professional

Individuals, students, and solo practitioners

$39/mo

Less than one hour of consulting fees.

All 12 simulation modules
All 4 AI advisors (VIC, Brain, CFO Assistant, VALIA)
50 AI queries / day
Super Prompts, The Forge, The Digicorn
Power Hour up to 2x VC$
Unlimited simulations and lessons
VC$ Exchange access
Export (PDF / Excel)
Verified certifications

Start Professional

Checkout opens in the simulator app. Stripe handles payment.

Free 7-day trial

Team

Advanced multiplayer and higher AI limits

$69/mo

A fraction of one analyst seat per month.

Everything in Professional, plus:
Phoenix, Fake Leader, and C-Suite Arena (multiplayer capstones)
Invite-based multiplayer groups
100 AI queries / day
Power Hour up to 3x VC$
Team dashboard and creator mode

Start Team

Checkout opens in the simulator app. Stripe handles payment.

Compare

Wall Street Prep $499 · see why

BIWS $497 · see why

CFI courses · see why

PE Simulator from $39/mo

Enterprise solutions

For universities, business schools, training centers, and firms.

If you train cohorts at a university, business school, training center, or corporation, we can scope a custom enterprise deployment. That can include white-label branding, tailored content and deal knowledge bases for your organization, seat pricing, SSO, and curriculum design. Contact us to create the solution. The PE Simulator is built in collaboration by Valuethropy (AI and platform architecture) and VCI Institute (curriculum and certifications). For curriculum and cohort questions, the VCI Institute team handles support. For platform and AI questions, reach us via valuethropy.ai. The simulator is already used by 2,500+ learners across 50+ countries.

White-label branding for your institution or firm
Custom content and knowledge bases for your curriculum or deal desk
Cohort licensing with admin dashboard
SSO, billing on invoice, MSA available
White-glove onboarding and live walkthroughs

Talk to enterprise

Secure checkout via Stripe (handled in the simulator app)
7-day refund window
Cancel anytime
Card details never touch our servers

Trust and legitimacy

A real business.Clear rules. Fair treatment.

We take payments seriously, respect your privacy, and design toward strong security practices. You should know who you are buying from before you start a trial.

Stripe secure checkout
Professional and Team billing runs through Stripe inside the simulator app. Card details are processed by Stripe. They are not stored on this marketing site.
Privacy respected
This marketing site collects almost no personal data. Analytics use Google Consent Mode. You can accept or decline cookies, and you can ask us to delete marketing contact data.
SOC 2-aligned practices
We design and operate toward SOC 2-aligned practices for access control, change management, and data handling. This is not a claim of current SOC 2 certification.
Fair treatment
Paid plans include a 7-day refund window. Cancel anytime. The timed demo needs no signup and no card if you want to try before you commit.
Real operators
PE Simulator is built by Valuethropy (AI and platform) with VCI Institute (curriculum and certifications). Legitimate product work, not a slide deck reskin.

Read the full trust center, privacy policy, and terms before you buy.

Trust center Privacy policy Terms of use

Questions

Answers before you start the trial.

A short list of what new users ask most often. More detail lives inside the product and at valuethropy.ai and vci.institute.

Your first deal is waiting.

Stop reading about LBOs. Start running them. Open the 10-minute demo with no signup, or start a 7-day trial for full access to 20+ integrated workspaces and all 4 AI advisors. The trial requires a card. You are not charged until day 8 and can cancel anytime.