Technical Due Diligence Checklist for the Investor and Founder
For founders before a fundraise or deal: what technical reviewers inspect in a 2 week diligence window, what evidence to prepare, and which risks can change terms.
Technical due diligence can change a funding round. Investors want evidence that your technology is an asset, not a liability. You get a preparation checklist for the architecture, security, team, and IP questions reviewers use to price risk.
Use this checklist when
You need proof that architecture, security, team, and IP risk are understood before investors ask.
Not a fit if
You need legal, financial, or compliance diligence rather than technical evidence.
1. Architecture & Scalability
What they're asking: Can this system handle 10x growth without a rewrite?
Checklist:
- Architecture diagram exists and is current
- Database can scale (sharding strategy, read replicas)
- Horizontal scaling is possible (stateless services)
- No single points of failure identified
- Load testing has been performed
2. Code Quality & Technical Debt
What they're asking: Is this codebase maintainable, or will we need to rewrite it?
Checklist:
- Codebase follows consistent style guidelines
- Test coverage exists (aim for 60%+ on critical paths)
- Technical debt is documented and prioritized
- Dependencies are up to date (no critical vulnerabilities)
- README and documentation exist
3. Security & Compliance
What they're asking: Will this company end up in the news for a data breach?
Checklist:
- Authentication uses modern standards (OAuth, JWT, not custom)
- Sensitive data is encrypted (at rest and in transit)
- Security audit or pen test completed (or scheduled)
- GDPR/CCPA compliance addressed if applicable
- Secrets management in place (not hardcoded)
4. Infrastructure & DevOps
What they're asking: Can the team ship reliably and recover from failures?
Checklist:
- CI/CD pipeline exists and is used
- Infrastructure is code (Terraform, Pulumi, etc.)
- Monitoring and alerting in place
- Backup and disaster recovery plan exists
- Deploy frequency tracked (aim for weekly+)
5. Team & Knowledge
What they're asking: If the CTO leaves, can the company survive?
Checklist:
- No single person holds all critical knowledge
- Onboarding documentation exists
- Code ownership is distributed
- Team can articulate technical decisions and tradeoffs
6. IP & Licensing
What they're asking: Does the company own its technology?
Checklist:
- All code written by employees/contractors with IP assignment
- Open source licenses are compatible with business model
- No copyleft (GPL) code in proprietary product
- Third-party API usage within terms of service
Preparing for Due Diligence
Don't wait until you're fundraising to address these items. Start now:
- Run a self-audit — Use this checklist to identify gaps
- Document everything — Architecture, decisions, known issues
- Fix critical issues — Security vulnerabilities, single points of failure
- Create a data room — Organize documentation for easy access
What you get ready before diligence
Technical due diligence is about showing investors that you understand your technical risks, have a plan to address them, and can articulate tradeoffs with evidence.
You get a stronger diligence package when architecture notes, security gaps, team dependencies, IP ownership, and remediation plans are ready before reviewers ask.
Need a technical risk review before diligence?
Technical Due Diligence reviews architecture, security, team capability, scalability, and remediation cost before terms are final.
View Technical Due Diligence