Speed is a signal
Investors read a 48-hour response as competence and a two-week response as risk. Assign one owner per workstream — financial, legal, commercial, technical — and keep a live question log with owners and due dates.
Common failure modes
- Cap table that does not reconcile with the option ledger
- Missing IP assignments from early contractors
- Revenue recognition that differs between deck and accounts
- Customer contracts with change-of-control clauses nobody had read
Fix before you open
Run your own diligence first. Every issue you find and fix in advance is an issue that does not cost you leverage later.
Key takeaways
- Answer speed is itself a diligence signal
- One owner per workstream prevents contradictory answers