Each summer, RF welcomes interns to work alongside our team and to observe the day-to-day work of middle-market investing. This summer, we welcomed Shivam Desai and Lily Ogawa as our 2026 summer interns. They both brought their curiosity, fresh perspectives, and an eagerness to learn and contribute.
Shivam is a student at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, where he serves as vice president of the Michigan Private Credit Group. Lily studies economics at Davidson College, where she serves as an M&A research assistant in the Economics Department and leads client engagements through Davidson’s Hurt Hub Student Consulting program.
From building financial models and observing board and investor meetings to working alongside the RF team to evaluate new investment opportunities, Shivam and Lily gained firsthand exposure to the analytical rigor, collaboration, and relationship-building that shape RF’s approach to investing.
As their internships came to an end, we asked Shivam and Lily to reflect on what they learned, the experiences that stood out, and what they will take with them into their next chapters.
Describe the most impactful moment from your summer at RF — what happened, and why did it stand out?
“Attending my first portfolio company board meeting was the most impactful moment of my summer. For four hours, I listened as senior members of RF and the company’s leadership discussed performance, weighed opportunities, and worked through the decisions ahead. The familiarity between the two teams made clear how closely RF works alongside management. I could see how the models and diligence I worked on fit into the much larger process of supporting a company after the investment. I thought back to that meeting as I evaluated every opportunity and learned about each portfolio company afterward. From then on, I considered the relationship RF could build with management alongside the business’s financial merits. By the end of the summer, I understood that the relationship itself is part of the investment.” – Shivam.
“My most impactful moment this summer was completing a modeling exercise where I conducted an investment analysis on a company. I looked at comparable companies, created assumptions on the company’s growth, and built out the financials and capitalization table. It was a great opportunity to put together everything I had learned at RF throughout the summer. Coming from a liberal arts school, I had limited experience with finance, especially in modeling. Thus, through this experience, I gained a deeper understanding of the analysis that goes into an investment opportunity.” – Lily.
What is one thing about private equity that you learned this summer that surprised you versus what you expected based on what you learned in your classes?
“Before this summer, I understood diligence as an exhaustive review of a company’s financials, market, and competitive position. At RF, I learned that those analyses are only the starting point and that developing conviction often requires reconstructing a business from its smallest operating units. On one occasion, our diligence analysis moved beyond consolidated results and examined the company at the level of individual franchise territories, customers, patients, and referral relationships. That degree of detail made it possible to trace where revenue actually originated and assess the operating relationships supporting it. The depth of that work surprised me. In class, an investment thesis is often built from a defined set of financial and market information. In practice, I learned that the broader thesis is only as credible as the individual locations, customers, and relationships beneath it.” – Shivam.
“One thing about private equity that surprised me is how important relationship building is. What differentiates RF is the connections the firm has with people, whether that be for sourcing new deals or building out a new management team for a portfolio company. I had the opportunity to sit in on quarterly investor meetings or monthly update meetings with RF’s portfolio companies. While there is a lot of quantitative work, it was interesting seeing the qualitative side of supporting a portfolio company, which was an aspect my classes did not cover much. “ – Lily.
How would you describe RF’s culture and mentorship, with a specific example if you can?
“RF’s close-knit culture makes it feel natural to ask questions and learn from anyone around you. Whenever I was stuck or wanted to understand why the team was viewing a business a certain way, I felt comfortable reaching out to whoever had the most relevant perspective. Everyone was generous with their time, and conversations usually gave me much more than a direct answer. I would come away with a better understanding of the business and a clearer sense of where my own thinking needed to improve.
I experienced that while working on a pro forma forecast. As I developed the assumptions, I spoke with different members of the team to test my reasoning and identify anything I might have missed. When I presented the forecast, their questions made me return to several parts of the model and think more carefully about the logic behind what I had built. The team took the time to explain where my reasoning held up and where I needed to go further. That experience captures what mentorship at RF was like throughout the summer. It was accessible, thoughtful, and built into the work itself.” – Shivam.
“The culture at RF is both supportive and encouraging. I felt that the people at RF invest in and care about your growth. After attending my first-ever Monday meeting, I had many questions. Luke took the time to sit down with me and answer my questions. Even by the end of the internship, Griffin and Luke encouraged me to ask questions and to always reach out if I needed help. Through their mentorship, I have learned so much from developing technical skills, such as Excel skills, to gaining a deeper understanding of private equity.” – Lily.
What’s one specific skill or experience from your RF internship that best prepared you for your next step, professionally or academically?
“Building a complete LBO model was the experience that best prepared me for my next professional step. Working through the assignment from the initial build to the final revisions gave me a much fuller understanding of how an investment view develops. The process was highly iterative, and each discussion with the RF team sent me back to the model with a sharper question or a different way of thinking about the business. Over time, I came to see the model as a coherent investment case in which the operating assumptions, transaction structure, and return profile all had to support one another. Completing it taught me how to absorb feedback, reconsider my own judgment, and strengthen an analysis while maintaining a clear view of the broader objective.” – Shivam.
“From my RF internship, the modeling exercise has best prepared me for my next internship. In the modeling exercise, I used the technical skills I learned so far in the internship, such as the Excel shortcuts that I learned from Griffin. The challenging part was coming up with the assumptions for the model and presenting it to the Associates. The exercise gave me a glimpse into the work that the Associates were conducting, and it was especially helpful to hear their feedback on my model.” – Lily.
