🧪 Tech Due DiligenceTech Due Diligence

⚙️ What Is Tech DD?

It’s not about linting or tabs vs. spaces.
It’s a risk assessment:

Is this thing safe to invest in? Can it scale? Or is it held together with duct tape and hope?

The auditor doesn’t care how clever your abstraction is.
They care if your system survives growth, audits, and real-world chaos.

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💸 Why Tech DD Happens

Tech DD shows:

• What could break and cost real money 💥
• Whether the tech backs up the valuation 📈
• How strong (or fragile) the team, process, and code are 👥
• If the product can survive scale, regulation, or both 🏗️
• What needs fixing before a deal closes 🛠️
• If the team can be trusted to deliver and evolve the product 🤝

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🔍 What the Process Looks Like

1. Docs & NDAs
   Legal stuff first. You’ll share everything in a secure data room.
2. Kick-off Call
   Scope, timeline, expectations. This sets the tone.
3. Document Review
   Auditors comb through architecture, codebase, security, infra, org charts, IP docs…
4. Interviews
   CTO and senior engineers are grilled. They’ll check what’s written matches reality.
5. Analysis & Tests
   Static/dynamic code checks, performance, infra, sec. Expect deep dives.
6. Clarifications
   Follow-ups, patches, “can you walk us through that again?”
7. Final Report
   A clear summary of what’s working, what’s risky, what needs fixing — and how much it might cost.

⏳ Usually takes 2-4 weeks. Sometimes longer if skeletons are found.

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🧠 What They’ll Dig Into

• Tech Roadmap & Strategy: Are you building towards anything real?
• Infra & DevOps: Is your stuff reliable? Scalable? Backed up?
• Code & Architecture: Is it readable? Extendable? Or spaghetti-tier?
• Security & Privacy: Any leaks? Any GDPR nightmares waiting?
• Engineering Process: CI/CD, tests, deploys, incident handling.
• Team & Culture: Can the current team execute? Are they replaceable?
• IP & Licensing: Are your contracts airtight? Any license violations?

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📦 How To Prepare (If You’re Smart)

• ✅ Start early — as soon as you’re thinking about raising or exiting.
• ✅ Self-audit — find your own skeletons before someone else does.
• ✅ Document the hell out of everything — org chart, architecture, security policies, process docs, IP agreements.
• ✅ Clean your codebase — no secrets in code, clear ownership, tidy up tech debt.
• ✅ Train your team — they’ll be interviewed. Make sure they know the why behind your tech decisions.
• ✅ Don’t lie — Auditors are bloodhounds. Be honest, offer remediation plans.
• ✅ Use the right tools — for license compliance, code quality, security scans.
• ✅ Be responsive — delays hurt trust and momentum.

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🧱 TL;DR

Tech DD isn’t about perfection.
It’s about trust, resilience, and fit.

You’re not just showing your code.
You’re proving your tech can survive scale, audits, and success.

So prep like a pro. Or don’t — and roll the dice. 🎲