Technical due diligence for SaaS acquisitions.
A written assessment by senior engineers, sized for the deal.

FAQ

Common questions.

How is this different from a SOC 2 or security audit?

A SOC 2 audit assesses whether the organization has frameworks and controls in place. We assess the code itself: what it does, what it depends on, what it inherits, and what it costs to keep running. The two are complementary. SOC 2 covers governance. This covers the engineering substrate underneath. Buyers typically need both; they answer different questions.

How do you handle confidentiality?

Mutual NDA before any code or documentation moves. Repository access is read-only and time-bounded to the engagement window. Access is revoked and any local working copy is deleted on delivery. The written report is the property of the commissioning party. We retain no copy beyond the engagement and do not reuse client material in marketing without written consent.

What is your conflict-of-interest policy?

We will not run an assessment on a target where we have an ongoing engineering relationship with the seller, the buyer, or a competing bidder on the same deal. Conflicts are disclosed and resolved on the intro call before NDA. Where a conflict exists, we refer the engagement to a peer firm.

Can you work for the buy-side, the sell-side, or both?

Both, but never the same deal. Most engagements are buy-side: a strategic acquirer, PE platform, or vertical aggregator commissions the assessment ahead of close. Sell-side engagements are typically founders running pre-LOI diligence on themselves to surface and price issues before an acquirer finds them. The deliverable is structurally identical. The audience and the framing of the executive summary differ.

What if the target stack is outside the list above?

We refer to specialists rather than fake the expertise. Our scope is intentionally narrow: JavaScript ecosystem, Elixir/Phoenix, Rails, Laravel, Django. For .NET, Java, Go, Rust, mainframe, and Kubernetes platform diligence we maintain a referral list of firms with the right depth. Confirm the stack on the intro call. If it is outside our scope, we will say so on that call before any commitment.

Who writes the assessment?

Senior engineers with 15+ years on the in-scope stacks, working under Marcel Fahle's review. Not generalist consultants, not analysts working from a checklist, not offshore farmed-out review. The engineer who writes a finding is available on the walkthrough call to defend it.

Can the report be shared with our investment committee, lenders, or QoE provider?

Yes. The report is structured for buyer-side legal, technical, and financial review and may be forwarded internally without redaction. For onward sharing with parties outside the original engagement, such as lenders or additional advisors, the commissioning party owns the distribution decision.