Technical Due Diligence That Ends With a Number
You have an LOI and a clock. I read the code, meet the team, and tell you what you're buying: what actually exists, what it's worth, and what it will cost, in dollars and weeks, to get it to launch or to scale.
The question most diligence doesn't answer
Most technical diligence tells you what's wrong. That's the easy half. The hard half is what it costs to fix, how long it takes, and whether the team you're inheriting can do it.
I've spent twenty years on the build side: architecting platforms, shipping products, running engineering teams, and carrying a medtech client through an IPO. I read a codebase the way someone who will have to maintain it reads a codebase. Then I price the remediation the way someone who has actually had to do the work prices it.
You get a report your investment committee can act on: a risk register, an effort estimate in engineer-weeks, a dollar range, and a clear answer on whether the technology supports the thesis.
What I assess
1. Architecture and scalability: Will this hold at 10× the load and 10× the customers, and what does it cost if it won't?
2. Code quality and maintainability: Real review, not a static-analysis dump. How fast can a new team move in this codebase?
3. Team and key-person risk: Who actually knows how this works, and what happens if they leave at close?
4. Security and compliance posture: SOC 2 readiness, data handling, regulatory exposure. I've built a SOC 2 Type II program from scratch and guided FDA De Novo submissions to approval, so I know what a real gap looks like versus a checkbox gap.
5. Infrastructure, cost, and vendor lock-in: Cloud spend trajectory, single points of failure, contracts that bite post-close.
6. Roadmap credibility and time-to-launch: If something isn't shipped yet, what does it genuinely take to get it out the door? This is the estimate most diligence gets wrong.
What you get
- A written report: risk register scored by severity and remediation cost, architecture assessment, team assessment, and a bottom-line recommendation.
- An effort and cost model: remediation and roadmap work priced in engineer-weeks and dollar ranges, not adjectives.
- A one-page IC summary: the version you put in front of your investment committee.
- A live readout: I walk your deal team through it and take the hard questions.
- A first-90-days plan: if you proceed, what to do on day one.
Engagement formats
| Format | Timeline | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 3–5 business days | Pre-LOI gut check or a competitive process where you need a fast read |
| Full diligence | 2–3 weeks | Standard pre-close technical diligence |
| Post-close remediation plan | 2–4 weeks | You've closed; now you need a costed, sequenced plan |
| Interim / fractional CTO | Ongoing | Portfolio company with a leadership gap or a stalled roadmap |
Why me
- 20+ years hands-on: defense research at CERDEC and L3, VP of Engineering at Treeline Interactive, now independent.
- Carried a medtech diagnostics client through IPO as primary technical lead.
- Two FDA De Novo submissions guided to approval; built a SOC 2 Type II program from zero and supported client certifications.
- Deep experience across web, mobile, connected hardware, and data platforms, so I can assess a stack that isn't pure SaaS.
- Still in the code. I'm not reviewing this from a slide deck.
Sample report
A redacted sample report, built from an anonymized composite engagement, is available on request:
Investor FAQ
How fast can you turn a screen around?
A Screen takes 3-5 business days. Full diligence runs 2-3 weeks. Both start as soon as I have repo access and a short intro call with your deal team.
Do you sign an NDA?
Yes, before I get any repo or infrastructure access. I'll work under your standard NDA or mine, whichever you prefer.
How do you handle conflicts of interest?
I'll tell you upfront if I have any connection to the target, its team, or a competing bidder. If there's a real conflict, I decline the engagement rather than disclose it after the fact.
Do you work directly with the target company's team?
Yes, typically 2-3 short interviews with key engineers, plus read-only access to the repo and infrastructure. I can coordinate through you or directly with the target, whichever you prefer.
What access do you need?
Read access to the repository (or a static export if the deal isn't ready for that), 2-3 engineer interviews, and read-only access to infrastructure: cloud console, CI/CD, monitoring. No write access, no production credentials.
How are fees structured?
A Screen is a fixed fee. Full diligence and remediation plans are scoped to the target's size and stack, priced before you sign anything. No hourly billing surprises.
Portfolio company already closed?
Interim and fractional CTO support for portfolio companies with a leadership gap or a stalled roadmap is a separate engagement, same buyer, different moment. See Portfolio Support →.
Deal on a clock?
Same-day response commitment.