Blackmore Partners

BLACKMORE PARTNERS

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Blackmore Partners

Blackmore Partners Inc. is a new kind of advisory firm that partners with senior executives to build successful businesses and create unique opportunities to deploy capital for institutional investors. Traditional financial advisors represent buyers or sellers of businesses. We at Blackmore Partners recognize that the most important reason for a financial sponsor to invest in a business is to create wealth via a compelling and defensible business strategy executed by an outstanding executive team.

Blackmore Partners provides the following services to executives:

· Education in M&A Industry

· Teaser and Pitch Book Development

· Ideation and Strategy Development

· Institutional Fundraising- access to over 8,000 private equity groups

· Creating Defensible Business Proposals

Internship Program:

The internship program at Blackmore Partners (BMP) is designed as a vocational program for enthusiastic candidates to gain hands on experience at a private equity intermediary firm. It is important to note that this is a full-time (Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm) unpaid position that requires a significant commitment to build up your career and/or get the full benefit of what we offer at BMP.

Candidates are admitted to our internship program through a vigorous screening procedure, including but not limited to diligent screening of their qualifications presented in their resume, survey, and interviews. BMP Hiring team receives more than 2,000[1] resumes every year, conducts interviews with approximately 500[2] of these candidates and around 250[3] interns successfully complete the hiring process and join our program.

Interns joining our program go through a well-structured training program during the first week of their internship. Upon successful completion of the training, interns join teams that form the front-end (deal sourcing) part of company structure, where they learn and manage the tools and utilities for managing our databases and marketing to our potential clients to source deals with different side projects depending on the individual’s background and abilities. Briefly, the two teams of the deal sourcing part are the Salesforce and Social Media teams, where interns handle responsibilities of the Salesforce database for managing our C-level executive profiles, and utilize Social Media capabilities for managing and expanding our database, respectively. A third team of the front end is the Hiring Team, where we ensure proper furnishing of talent (interns) for our firm and train our hiring team members to be able to present our company with good questions and decision making ability. (Not every intern at the front end will be able to rotate to the hiring team unless they have a full understanding of our company and the internship program, as well as good communication skills to answer the candidates’ questions). Interns rotate among these teams assuming more responsibilities and occupations, where eventually they may obtain the team leader role in one of these teams. M&A and Marketing Interns successfully completing their front end team rotation continue their program at the back end, for which further training and instructions will be provided to interns who outperform and show their proficiency. HR Interns will remain on the front end teams increasing their responsibility to interviewing potential future interns as well as working with BMP recruiters in sourcing and placing candidates into currently open positions.

Upon successful completion of the program, interns will receive a letter of recommendation from our Managing Director, Gerald O'Dwyer, documenting their accomplishments in the program upon their requests.

What you will learn

Industry Skills/Experience

1)Client Relationship database management

2)Deal marketing materials Preparation

3)Financial language and variables of deals

4)Industry expectations

5)High touch/hands-on communication

6)Confidence in communication

7)Presentation skills

8)Knowledge about PE groups' and M&A communities’ needs and criteria in deals and talent acquisition

Professional Growth

1)Critical thinking

2)Organization skills

3)Leadership abilities

4)Sales negotiations

5)Account management (managing PE clients)

6)Insight into the hiring process

7)Networking skills

8)Communication skills

9)You will differentiate yourself…

Attendance Policy

Diligent attendance to the program is required and expected. Time off must be arranged with management and team leaders at least 2 weeks prior to the day requested, excluding the first month of the program, for which a complete attendance performance is required. Please note that, intern's attention to their attendance is considered as a significant sign of their dependability, which will be an important factor for your progression in the program.

Team Leaders keep a record of the interns' attendance. Notice must be sent by email to the team lead notifying them of the intended time off. The managing director Gerald O'dwyer must also be included on these emails as well. It is of utmost importance that our interns come to office on time. Considering possible weather conditions, please make sure to plan ahead, and give yourself sufficient travel time to arrive at the office on time, if not a couple of minutes before 8:00 am.

Each intern has five vacation days throughout the 6-month internship period. The days are earned at the rate of 1 day per 4 weeks served. Being late for three times will count as an absence. Any workday missed by the Intern shall be counted against the vacation days. Upon successful completion of the program the Intern will be eligible to receive the potential recommendation letter from the Managing Director.

Conduct and Behavioral Expectations

Contact via email is the preferred method of communication. Expected turn-around time for email replies is 2 hours during work hours, 12 hours after normal work hours and weekends. If email is not appropriate venue for communicating a specific situation, please send an email to the desired person to schedule a meet-up time.

Proper business etiquette is expected of all interns. In order to facilitate our company culture, it is important for us to get to know each other's names. Name tags will be provided, and should be worn while in the office.

Please note that we expect our interns to excel in their communication skills. Your communication with the executives will be in English. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for you to improve your communication skills, especially in English, therefore please keep your communications in English during the office hours while in the office area.

Throughout the internship, there will be numerous occasions that you will need to attend a meeting, answer a phone call, etc. Please keep in mind that it would be very useful to take notes during these meetings to refer to important information afterwards. Therefore, please keep a notepad and pen handy.

During the internship program your agility and energy would be among your best assets. Therefore, please pay attention to "thinking outside the box", and show enthusiasm in your daily tasks. Pay attention to asking questions, and being curious. This is how you will stand out in the crowd, and advance in your program.

Finally, another important indication of your enthusiasm in the program is your attitude for new projects. Please be proactive and inform your team leader if you're done with your daily tasks to acquire more responsibility

Table 1. Intended Internship Schedule M & A (6 months)

TIME / INTERNSHIP PROGRESSION / TRAINING SECTIONS
* Comprehensive Training
(Please see Table 2) / WEEK 1
* Listening Conference Calls
* Taking Notes / * Daily Tasks in Team 1 / WEEK 2 (TEAM 1)
WEEK 3 (TEAM 1)
WEEK 4 (TEAM 1)
* Listening Conference Calls
* Taking Notes / *Daily Tasks in Team 2 / WEEK 5 (TEAM 2)
WEEK 6 (TEAM 2)
WEEK 7 (TEAM 2)
53 min + Q&A / Back-End Introduction Presentation / * Back-end Training / WEEK 8
45 min + Q&A / Section 1 - Qualifying Deals
34 min + Q&A / Section 2 - Building Strategy + Approaching Owner
26 min + Q&A / Section 3 - Marketing Materials
Shopping List Generation
44 min + Q&A / Deal Shopping (part one) / * Back-end Training / WEEK 9
47 min + Q&A / Deal Shopping (part two)
18 min + Q&A / Deal closing
30 min / * Test
1 hour + Q&A / Deal Shopping Training / * Deal Shopping
* Add-on Projects
* Talent Acquisition Research / WEEKS
10 - 16

NOTE: Starting with the second week, new interns will stay in each team (Sales force and Social Media) for 3 weeks. During the first seven weeks, M&A and Marketing interns need to make conference calls, take meeting notes and prepare meeting recap, make PE presentations, go through a deal thesis and lead at least one project.

In the eighth week, qualified interns can take the advanced training and will need to pass the advanced training test by the end of eighth week. For interns that are unable to pass the test, there will be another test at the end of ninth week. Starting from the ninth week, deal manager can select the interns that they want for their teams. For HR Interns after the third week of being on either the Sales Force or Social Media Team, they will be moved to the Hiring team to enhance skills in recruiting, sourcing, and posting of job requisitions.

Also note, it would be better if everyone attending the back end training had prior leadership experience of either being a team leader or any potential project leader.

Table 1. HR Internship Intended Schedule (6 months)

TIME / INTERNSHIP PROGRESSION / TRAINING SECTIONS
* Comprehensive Training
(Please see Table 2) / WEEK 1
* Review of interview structure
* Sitting in on interviews
* Taking Notes
* Executive phone screens / * Interviewing / WEEK 2 (TEAM 1)
*Conducting interviews / *Interviewing in practice / WEEK 3 (TEAM 1)
* Preparing intern contracts
* Setting up email accounts
* Uploading signed documents / *Onboarding Training / WEEK 4 (TEAM 1)
* Listening Conference Calls
* Taking Notes
* Getting sourcing information
* Conducting sourcing for talent / *Talent Acquisition Research / WEEK 5 (TEAM 2)
* Facilitate training of a topic / *Orientation Training New Interns / WEEK 6 (TEAM 2)
* Sit in on current intern evaluations / * Performance Evaluations / WEEK 7 (TEAM 2)
* Schedule back end training for current M&A interns / * Back End Training / WEEK 8
* Research team building activities for the group / * Team building / WEEK 9
* Follow up and reinforcement on everything learned during training / * Follow Up / WEEKS
10 - 16

NOTE: Marketing interns will be given assignments on a per project basis. However, the marketing intern will still need to acquire the skills listed on the Specific Objectives and Requirements for Interns outline.

[Guideline 1]-Intern Self Reading part

The guidelines below are in place to evaluate intern performance and promote interns based on their accomplishments and skills development.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS OF

BLACKMORE PARTNERS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

FRONT - END

(Deal Sourcing)

SALESFORCE TEAM /

1. Scheduling one-on-one meetings for the Managing Director with qualified executives

 Check Inc account and confirm appointments made with the managing director and the executives

 Respond to email and phone inquiries

Email required meeting documents to executives to prepare for phone meetings with the managing director

2. Updating and expanding BMP’s Sales Force database

Requires high level of attention to detail

Titling and classifying executives resumes and entering them into Sales Force

Record activities according to various development stages of the executives

3. Complete multiple daily tasks efficiently

Checking and forwarding voice mails to the appropriate party

Look up NAICS codes per clients request

4. Sending out Mandates

Create Mandate according to the Deal Partner’s criteria from PE or Executive requesters

Generate Finder’s List on SF

Sending out mandates to qualified executives

Social Media Team /

1. Making phone calls with C-level executives

Must show adequate communication skills to lead a conversation with an executive

Answer phone professionally

Be confident and comfortable when talking with various parties

2. Must be able to answer different questions and collect executive’s information using the BMP

business email account.

 Show understanding of the BMP process and be able to explain the process to both PE firms and executives

Respond to emails properly and in a timely fashion

Must be familiar with BMP’s pitch and be able to clearly explain BMP’s process and the value of the BMP deal flow

3. Utilizing LinkedIn capabilities for managing and expanding our database

Ability to use LinkedIn functions skillfully to get connected with executives and PE firms (e.g. In-mails, and recruiter profiles)

Post PE news and discussions in BMP’s deal flow LinkedIn group and invite executives to join in.

Post open job opportunities on BMP company page to acquire more executive resumes

HIRING TEAM /

Interview comprehension

Must be able to verbalize the goals of BMP

Must have mastered good communication skills

Be able to input applicant information accurately

Must have good listening skills

Be able to analyze the qualifications of an applicant

Perform phone screens

Leadership skills

Must be able to verbalize policies and procedures of BMP

Must be able to delegate assignments as need

Execute the goals and objectives of the managing director

Create a cohesive team environment

Must be able to complete verification of employment for previous employees

Facilitate or revise various contract agreements

Training & Development

Must be able to conduct orientation training

Maintain training materials

Facilitate on-going training

Communicate goals and objectives via email and verbally

Talent Acquisition

Perform candidate searches based on the clients requirements

Be able to screen candidates to make sure they meet company standards

Arrange and organize meetings with recruiters

Perform background checks and reference checks

Performance Evaluations

Must be able to verbalize BMP’s goals and objectives

Speak in person to interns about their goals and objectives

Evaluate if more training is necessary

Complete 360 evaluation forms

Upload and maintain Sales Force database with signed documents

On Board Training

Able to acquire signed contracts

Upload signed documents to Sales Force profiles

Transition states in Sales Force to reflect current applicant status

BACK - END

(Deal Shopping)

ADD-ON AND PLATFORM DEAL TEAM

1. Communication skills

Answer phones professionally·

Send out emails with professional language and no grammatical errors

Deep understanding of Blackmore Partners

Be able to communicate our value to PE firms

 BMP’s operation process (e.g. Deal cycle)

BMP’s expectations (need of PE to take action early rather than waiting for full-fledged Pitchbook deals)

Understanding the deal

Understands why seller is selling and what are the issues with the deal

Mitigation of risks

Must pass mock phone call

Know how to create teaser (industry, strategy, deal highlights)

Familiarize PE firms of who will be contacted

Understand PE operation process (e.g. fundless PE firm, funded PE firm)

Research skills

a. Able to do research on PEG’s, understand their investment criteria

Attention to detail

EBITDA/ Revenue

Industry focusing

2. Deal Manager

Have shopped deals in the past

Showed understanding of PE firms’ operations

Capability

Ability to multitask

a. Able to do front-end tasks while also managing other tasks as assigned on a daily basis

Able to organize data in a meaningful way

Use Outlook for email and setting up meetings

Use Excel to organize data

Presentation & Communication Skills

Able to communicate ideas clearly

Able to organize data and info by using either PowerPoint or Excel in a simple way

Able to communicate with team members

Follow-up

Proactively update PE firms

Get answers regarding deals from BMP management

Proactively maintain conversations with executives

Suggestion

Must be able to voice suggestions and keep process documents updated

3. Deal Assistant

Want to join a PE firm, Investment Banking, M&A consulting industry, or start own business

Has shown interest in the industry and the person is willing to go beyond what is required

Industriousness

Willing to put in extra time beyond the regular 8-5

Ability to understand Blackmore Partners

Understand what Blackmore’s ling-term goals are

Understands the organization's culture

Understands the value of learning the entire process (thinks beyond the deal shopping experience)

Need to pass the advanced training exam

Leadership skills

Ability to motivate team members (not a negative thinker)

Ability to train staff

Full understanding of the value of BMP

Self-Motivated

Has improved at least two processes

Has had at least two process improvement suggestions

Organizational skills

Ability to prioritize tasks

Must have progressed to the six other stages in order to become a manager or have shown exceptional ability to do so

Communication

Presentation

Understanding of Blackmore Partners

Willingness to learn

Resume Titling Category

Where to locate the resumes: Google Drive

Resumes-> Untitled Resumes

First thing to do is to use the executive name and email address to put in SF to see if the executive is already in the database we have.

Title them and attach them to SF when you create an account. then move the titled resumes to finished resume folder under your name folder.

Document Title: “FirstName LastName, Category P&L Title Industries”

DECISION: must be in capital

• YES: ≥ 100M P&L, operational back

• EBITDA/P&L: P&L responsibility needs to be followed up.

• FINDER: <100M P&L, but need to have P&L number or the experience/titles may have a large network and able to us bring deals

• FOREIGN: foreign executives except from US, Canada and Mexico.

**P&L: the highest operating P&L the executive has been responsible for.

**Title: most relevant title (or the most recent title)

• CEO, COO, CFO, VP, EVP, MD, GM, President, Plant Manager, etc.

Consulting less than 3 years with the titles above, use the recent title before his consulting experience.