The Diligence Review · Revenue Screen (1 wk) or Full Review (3–4 wks) · $20,000 / $50,000
Pressure-Test the Revenue Before You Invest
You're about to write a check, and the revenue story sounds good... maybe too good. The deck shows growth. The leadership team is confident. But you need to know whether you're looking at a revenue system or a revenue story, a team that can scale or one that's already at its ceiling. A generic checklist won't tell you that. You need someone who has seen the patterns across stages and sectors and can read what's actually there.
I'm a systems thinker who has worked GTM motions across 0-to-1, 1-to-5, and scale-up-to-pre-IPO, across multiple sectors. I read the revenue system for what it is (repeatable or improvised, defensible or fragile), and I give you an honest read with a clear point of view, not findings shaped to fit a thesis you've already committed to.
The plan: two depths, one engagement.
| Depth | Timeline | What happens | You leave with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Screen | 10 business days | Document review + 2 leadership interviews (1 hr each) + 1 debrief. I read the GTM motion, revenue integrity, PLG architecture, leadership capacity, and competitive moat. | Written GTM Diligence Report · Executive summary for investment committee · Red flags with evidence · First-90-days recommendations |
| Full Review | 3–4 weeks | Deeper data analysis, expanded interviews (up to 4 leadership), full-funnel and cohort review, end-to-end defensibility read, ICP and positioning analysis. A complete pre-investment diligence read, not a subset of the Screen. | Full written diligence report · IC-ready deck · Risk register with evidence · Value-creation and first-100-days plan |
Post-acquisition GTM integration is a different engagement (see The Transition).
What I look at.
Whether the go-to-market is a system or a story. Revenue system integrity: repeatability, scalability, single points of failure. PLG architecture (does the product actually drive its own growth, or is that aspirational?). Leadership team capacity: can this team execute the next stage, or did they reach their ceiling getting here? And competitive positioning: is the moat real?
What you bring
Access to the data (revenue, pipeline, team structure, competitive landscape), leadership interviews (2 x 1 hr for the Revenue Screen; up to 4 for the Full Review), and honest context from the firm side (what you're seeing and what you're concerned about).
What you won't get
Implementation support, ongoing retainer access, or findings shaped to support a conclusion you've already reached. The value is an honest read.
Graduation Condition
You have the information to make the decision. Built in.
The cost of staying stuck: the difference between a revenue story and a revenue system is the difference between a return and a write-down. You find out either way. Better before the check clears than after.
Often fundable from the deal/close budget.