Key takeaways
- Scale diligence to the stage and cheque; not every item applies at seed.
- Write down each metric's definition before checking the number.
- Pick at least one customer and one reference yourself.
- Finish with a decision record: every key claim labelled and every open item owned.
VC due diligence checklist to copy
(S) marks items most funds need at pre-seed and seed; (A) marks items usually added from Series A. Mark each item Done, Not needed at this stage, or Open.
VC DUE DILIGENCE CHECKLIST Company: [ ] Round: [ ] Deal lead: [ ] Started: [date] Mark each item: Done / Not needed at this stage / Open. Note who checked it and where the evidence is. (S) = usually needed at pre-seed and seed. (A) = usually added from Series A. TEAM [ ] (S) Founder interviews completed, notes filed [ ] (S) Roles and time commitment of each founder confirmed [ ] (S) Two or more references per founder, including at least one the founder did not suggest (tell founders you do this) [ ] (A) Key hires and open roles reviewed against the plan CUSTOMERS AND REVENUE [ ] (S) Definition of each traction metric written down (paid, pilot, free; monthly or annual) [ ] (S) Revenue figures reconciled to a billing export or invoices [ ] (S) Calls with two to five customers, including at least one chosen by us [ ] (S) Customer concentration: share of revenue from the top three customers [ ] (A) Cohort retention and net revenue retention recalculated from customer-level data [ ] (A) Pipeline reviewed: stage definitions and conversion history PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY [ ] (S) Product demo, including the parts customers use most [ ] (S) Who wrote the code, and whether IP was assigned to the company [ ] (A) Architecture, security practices and third-party dependencies reviewed [ ] (A) Open-source licence review where it matters to the product MARKET AND COMPETITION [ ] (S) Bottom-up market size with assumptions checked [ ] (S) Competitors listed, with why customers choose this company [ ] (A) Pricing compared with alternatives customers actually consider FINANCIALS [ ] (S) Current cash, monthly net burn and runway [ ] (S) Use of funds for this round and the milestones it should reach [ ] (A) Management accounts for the last 12 to 24 months [ ] (A) Financial model reviewed: key assumptions tested LEGAL AND CAP TABLE [ ] (S) Certificate of incorporation and constitutional documents [ ] (S) Fully diluted cap table, reconciled to share issues and board approvals [ ] (S) All SAFEs, convertible notes, warrants and option grants, with terms [ ] (S) Founder IP assignment and employment or contractor agreements [ ] (A) Material contracts: customers, suppliers, partners [ ] (A) Litigation, regulatory licences and compliance relevant to the sector [ ] (A) Data protection: what personal data the company holds and on what basis DECISION RECORD [ ] Every key claim in the memo marked Founder reported, Corroborated, Disputed or Unresolved [ ] Open items listed with owner and date [ ] Checklist filed with the memo
When to use the checklist
Open it after a strong first meeting, when the team decides a deal is worth real time. Use it internally to plan who checks what. The founder-facing version, phrased as requests with reasons and deadlines, is the diligence information request list.
How to scale it by stage
- Pre-seed: team, problem, early customers, cap table and IP. Many items will be Not needed.
- Seed: add revenue reconciliation, customer calls and all convertible instruments.
- Series A and later: add cohort data, management accounts, material contracts and a technical review.
- Following another fund's lead: still check the claims your own memo relies on.
What to leave out
- Requests for documents you will not read. Each one costs founders time.
- Founders' personal financial records or background checks, unless you have a clear need, a lawful basis and their knowledge.
- Employee-level personal data. An anonymised payroll summary usually answers the question.
- Customer personal data. Ask for redacted contracts or aggregated exports.
Running the checklist with or without software
A shared document or spreadsheet is enough to run this checklist. If you want each item tied to a request and a file, Delsivo's founder requests and data rooms are designed for that: basic request forms and scoped file requests are planned for the Pilot release, and full data rooms with guest access and activity logs for the first release.