GOBLIN100: The 100-Question Beginner Ramp for Investment Banking Interviews

Direct answer

GOBLIN100 is OFFERGOBLIN's beginner practice mode — a fixed sequence of 100 investment banking interview questions that every candidate sees in the same order. It spans 10 phases from Orientation through Markets context and basic fit, builds the technical foundation a sophomore needs before fall recruiting, and graduates the candidate into GOBLINMODE for adaptive reps. Available to Free and Accelerated users.

Who GOBLIN100 is for

Three candidate profiles get the most out of it:

1. First-time prep — the sophomore or junior who has never opened a banking interview question and does not know where to start.
2. Non-finance backgrounds — the engineer, military officer, or career switcher who is technically strong but has no IB context.
3. Rusty returns — the candidate who prepped a year ago, took a break, and needs a baseline pass before going hard on adaptive reps.

The one profile that should usually skip GOBLIN100 is the working analyst lateraling between banks. Most laterals know the fundamentals cold and benefit more from the Bank & Round filter immediately.

What is in GOBLIN100

10 phases. 100 questions total. Roughly 10 questions per phase, in a deliberate order that mirrors how banking technicals are actually taught:

1. Orientation — what investment banking is, what an analyst does, why questions are asked the way they are.
2. The three statements — income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and how they link.
3. Working capital and operating mechanics — the parts that break first under interview pressure.
4. Valuation fundamentals — enterprise value, equity value, and the bridge between them.
5. Multiples — EV/EBITDA, EV/Revenue, P/E, and when each applies.
6. DCF — projection mechanics, WACC, terminal value, and the standard 60-second walkthrough.
7. Capital structure — debt versus equity, free cash flow, capital allocation.
8. M&A basics — accretion versus dilution, synergy categories, deal mechanics.
9. LBO basics — the paper LBO framework and the value-creation drivers.
10. Markets context and fit — sector trends, behavioral framing, and why-banking foundations.

The questions are not random. They are sequenced so that each builds on the prior — accounting before valuation, valuation before DCF, DCF before LBO.