/due diligence/

Because we focus on the early stage of growth, diligence can sometimes be approached subjectively in a number of ways, as well as be interpreted in many forms.

Here at Metagrove, we take a more systematic approach to diligence that ensures we capture and assess all available information at the given time across four key categories.

Founders

Founders are at the epicenter of their companies. They are the ones who drive the vision, culture, and product in more ways than one. If there is more than one founder, we ensure that there is a strong bond amongst them and understand how they met. This gives us a better perspective on their history working and knowing each other, and especially a sense of how they deal with stress and conflict.

Getting a good sense of their history (background, experience, etc.) is a core tenet in ensuring they’re the right people to build this company and why they’re better than everyone else.

Problem

They have to be passionately obsessed with the problem, and why it’s so important for the founders(s) to solve it. In many cases, focusing on the problem at hand gives more insights into a solution, as opposed to concentrating exclusively on how to fix it.

Timing

Timing is everything. We’ve seen this over and over again across different sectors and companies e.g. Uber, Airbnb, Tinder, Coinbase, Amazon, etc. Getting the right timing ensures that the founders and their companies are solving the right problem given the right market conditions and technology available to be scalable. We ensure that timing is prime to be solving these problems.

Value

We don’t focus on the specific solution as much as we do on the value the founders and their companies can provide. The value automatically encompasses the solution but includes so much more from GTM, PMF, partnerships, core team, technology, company culture, etc. A company’s value isn’t just in its product on offer but goes beyond this. If the founders can bring all of this together with the right mix and balance then they can certainly have something very potent for a successful future.