Purpose. This section explains how venture investors investigate a startup before investing: what they check at each stage, how long it takes, which tests catch the problems that matter, and where venture due diligence differs from private equity. It is written for associates running diligence workstreams, partners deciding how much diligence a deal deserves, founders preparing a data room, and LPs assessing a GP's process.
What the study covers
- 1Overview: diligence on what might happen, not on what already exists
- 2Scope by stage
- 3The workstreams
- 4Key numbers
- 5Landmark cases: what diligence missed
- 6Pitfalls
- 7How an expert thinks about it
Technical exhibits
Worked examples, checklists and case studies included with this study.
VC Due Diligence Checklist
A stage-scaled checklist (pre-seed to growth) across team, market, product, technical, customer, financial/metrics, legal/IP, and regulatory/security, with red-flag markers
Worked Diligence Example SAAS Series a
"Project Fieldnote": a Python-computed Series A diligence on a SaaS company, covering the ARR bridge, ARR quality adjustments, NRR/GRR, cohorts, burn multiple, CAC payback, concentration, and the effect on price