Checklist

Investor due diligence checklist

43 documents in the ten folders investors expect. Pick your stage, tick what is uploaded and see what is left.

01Company and governance Certificate of incorporation and any name changes Pre-seed Bylaws, articles or constitution, current version Pre-seed Board and shareholder minutes and written consents Seed Group structure chart with every subsidiary Series A Good standing certificates for each entity Series A

02Cap table and securities Fully diluted cap table, reconciled to signed documents Pre-seed SAFEs, convertible notes and their conversion terms Pre-seed Shareholder agreement and previous round documents Seed Option plan, board approvals and every grant letter Seed 409A or other share valuation reports Series A

03Pitch and strategy Current pitch deck Pre-seed One-page summary with key metrics Pre-seed Business plan or strategy memo Seed Competitor overview and market sizing sources Series A

04Financials Monthly P&L and cash balance, last 12 months Seed Financial model with assumptions tab Seed Budget for the next 18 to 24 months and use of funds Seed Annual accounts, audited where available Series A Debt, grants and loan agreements Series A Quality of earnings report Series B+ / PE

05Customers and revenue Revenue by customer and cohort retention Seed Top 10 customer contracts Series A Sales pipeline with stages and probabilities Series A Pricing and discount policy Series B+ / PE

06Product and technology Product overview and roadmap Pre-seed Architecture overview and hosting providers Series A Security policies, pen test summary, SOC 2 status Series A Open source licence review Series B+ / PE

07Intellectual property IP assignment agreements from every founder Pre-seed IP assignment from employees and contractors Seed Patents, applications and trademark registrations Series A Inbound and outbound licence agreements Series A

08Team and HR Founder and leadership biographies Pre-seed Organisation chart and headcount plan Seed Employment and contractor agreement templates Series A Payroll summary and benefit plans Series B+ / PE

09Legal and compliance Material contracts list (suppliers, partners, leases) Series A Litigation, claims and regulatory correspondence Series A Privacy policy, data processing agreements, GDPR records Series A Insurance policies Series B+ / PE

10Q&A and investor updates Answers to common investor questions Seed Past investor updates and board decks Series A Reference customer contacts (shared on request) Series A

How to use the checklist

Start with the stage you are raising. Investors at that stage usually ask for the items marked with it and all earlier stages. Upload each item into the matching numbered folder, keep file names plain (date, document, version), and set the cap table, contracts and payroll files to view-only.

Two things decide how fast diligence goes: whether the cap table reconciles to signed documents, and whether the numbers in the deck tie back to the accounts. Fix both before you invite the lead investor. Read our pre-seed checklist guide and the VC due diligence process for what happens next.

Checklist FAQ

What should be in a startup due diligence data room?

Ten folders cover most rounds: company and governance, cap table and securities, pitch and strategy, financials, customers and revenue, product and technology, intellectual property, team and HR, legal and compliance, and Q&A with investor updates.

What do investors check first?

The cap table and the documents behind it, the financial model and monthly accounts, IP assignment from the founders, and the largest customer contracts.

Does a pre-seed round need a full data room?

No. A short pack is enough: incorporation documents, a cap table, the deck, founder IP assignments and a product overview. Add folders as the company and the rounds grow.

Is my progress saved?

Ticks are saved in your own browser on this device only. Nothing is sent to us.