Here are some interesting articles and blogs from us. These will help you know more about Technology, Risk Assessment & Mitigation, Leadership and a lot more.
When was the last time you did Tech-DD for your portfolio companies?
Often, funds are very vigilant about the tech-stack and capabilities of the entity while they are investing into it. But technology is not a static thing. Not only it changes rapidly, it advances at an unprecedented speed.
Quick guide on Tech DD Terminologies
Even if you are in a rush and don’t have the required time and budget to perform detailed Tech DD, there are certain things you should not skip.
Working with Aggregators – 3 Mistakes to Avoid.
In last 6 months, we have done Tech DD for 2 VC funds that were investing into aggregators. Both aggregators belong to separate business domains but essentially they were solving the same demand-supply problem.
Quite often, Tech DD exercise is looked at something which is very costly and time-consuming activity. So sharing top 5 industry names where Tech DD can’t be optional and Tech DD should be performed while investing in such industry platforms.
Tech DD is only done by Investment Funds, but we are a Start-up or an Enterprise.
Recently I was talking to a CDO - Chief Digital Officer of an Enterprise that is into consumer products and services, about how Virtuoso can help them.
Tech DD is only useful for IT Platform Companies OR We do not invest into IT or Tech Companies so it is not useful for us.
One investor manager I was speaking with, was quick to point out that they don’t need a Tech DD service, as “they do not invest in Tech Companies.” Often, when I speak to investment partners/managers whose fund is investing outside IT industry, they think they do not need a technology due diligence.
Tech DD only brings the Bad News.
The biggest surprise I have found investor partners/managers get during our initial call for Tech DD is the possibility of positive outcomes post DD. Often investor partners/managers agree to me in a low voice, “You know what Preeti, No one really likes to know the Bad News much!”.
Tech DD is a highly Time Consuming activity that may eat up all top resources of the entity in a few weeks.
The last thing an investor wants to do in a company they have invested in; is to waste their time on activities that might not bring high ROI. “How long will it take, and how many of my top team members do you need to get involved?” This is an often asked question in my conversations with the investment fund managers/partners.
Tech DD is a One-Time activity that is to be done, only while investing in or acquiring a company.
Technology due diligence is often seen as some activity that needs to be done only when there is a major event - related to valuation - like fund raising or acquisitions. But it's not. Read on to find out!
I am funding a start-up, so I might not require a Tech Due Diligence.
Often when we discuss with investors, especially individual investors/ angels or small funds, they ask if they can skip a Tech DD - as they invest only in start-ups. But that is not true. Let us explain why !
Tech DD is only for Large Investment Funds ?
Often when I talk to investment fund partners about their processes of Technology Due Diligence for an entity, they ask "But isn't it something for large funds at a later stage?"
I get it. Given the significant coverage and efforts required in Tech DD, funds may think that it's only for big investments. But the reality is exactly otherwise.
Often 3rd party plug-in solutions seem a great choice for rapid development, but it comes with a catch.
In most of our tech DD cases, our common finding has been less protected data sharing mechanisms; between the platform and 3rd party plugins/integrations. Tech teams tend to integrate with 3rd parties in the rush to take the feature life or in rush to respond to business needs, but areas like secure data sharing and data handling with 3rd party solutions/plug-ins get ignored.
As an investment fund, how do you ensure that the entity you are investing is prepared to face the unexpected and unannounced calamities - from covid to a war?
In this article, we explain you what to look for in a 'Business Continuity and Disaster Management Plan' while doing the due diligences.
Would you risk investing into a startup that shares the Personal Information of its users?
In our recent Tech Due Diligence for an Investment fund, the potential startup entity was a tech platform that had to capture end user's PII data as part of on-boarding new users. Read on to know how we helped them identify risks !
When any Investment Fund asks us to audit the Tech used by their potential start-up investee, the first question we seek answer for; is "How much is their Tech Debt?"
Let's first understand what is Tech Debt or Technical Debt.
