First-pass diligence checklist

1. Identity & corporate footprint

• Legal name, trade names, jurisdictions of incorporation
• Ultimate parent / subsidiaries visible in public filings or registries
• Leadership team consistency across site, LinkedIn, filings
• Domain age, DNS hygiene, obvious brand impersonation risk

2. Financial & commercial signals

• Revenue / growth claims vs any public filings or credible third parties
• Customer concentration hints (case studies, logos, references)
• Pricing page reality check vs positioning
• Burn / fundraising narrative consistency (startups)

3. Legal / regulatory flags

• Litigation, sanctions, enforcement headlines
• Licenses required for the model (fintech, health, etc.)
• Privacy / security incident history
• IP ownership ambiguity in public materials

4. Market & competitive position

• Category definition the company claims vs how buyers search
• 3–5 real competitors and differentiation that is falsifiable
• Switching costs and distribution motion

5. Kill-gates before deep dive

• Any non-negotiable compliance or integrity red flag?
• Is the data room even worth opening this week?
• What 3 diligence questions must management answer first?