Project 13 of ~34

πŸ“Š Due Diligence Lite

Investor Research Package for early-stage deals. Standardized research on founder background, market size, competitive landscape, customer interview synthesis, and financial projection sanity checks β€” delivered as a structured report.

B2B SaaS Angel / VC Research Startup Investing

πŸ“‹ Overview

What It Is

A standardized research package service for angel investors and micro-VCs evaluating early-stage deals. For $299–499 per deal, the agent compiles: founder background checks from public data, market size estimates (TAM/SAM/SOM), competitive landscape analysis, customer interview synthesis (from cold outreach), and financial projection sanity checks. Delivered as an investor-friendly report in 48 hours.

Problem It Solves

Target Outcome

An investor who previously spent 4 hours researching each deal now has a structured 10-page report in their hands in 48 hours, freeing them to focus on pattern recognition and founder judgment rather than data gathering.

πŸ‘₯ User Personas

🎯 Primary β€” Angel Investor: Invests $10K–$50K per deal, sees 20+ deals/year. Doesn't have time to deeply research each one. Wants standardized comparable data to compare deals quickly. Values speed + consistency.
πŸ‘” Micro-VC / Scout: Represents a fund or invests their own capital. Needs to present deals to partners or LPs with supporting data. Uses the report as deal memo material.
🏒 Angel Syndicate: Group of angels pooling capital ($100K–$500K rounds). Uses shared research to vote on deals. One research package serves the whole group.
🏫 University Angel Network: Alumni investors evaluating startups from their university. Want founder background verification (are they really alumni? did they actually work where they say?). Agent cross-references LinkedIn, Crunchbase, news.

✨ Core Features

πŸ” Founder Background Check

Agent compiles founder profiles from: LinkedIn (employment history, education, connections), Crunchbase/AngelList, Twitter/X activity patterns, news mentions, SEC filings (if public company), and academic publications (for technical founders). Output: 1-page founder bio with red flags highlighted (discrepancies, gaps, negative news). Checks: timeline consistency, credential verification, social proof analysis.

πŸ“ˆ Market Size Analysis

For the startup's target market, agent calculates: TAM (top-down from industry reports), SAM (serviceable addressable market), and SOM (shareable obtainable market). Sources: IBISWorld, Statista, Gartner, SEC filings from public comparables, and academic market research. Includes 3-year growth rate projections with source citations.

βš”οΈ Competitive Landscape

Agent maps the competitive terrain: direct competitors (similar product, similar customers), indirect competitors (same customers, different product), and adjacent players (same market, different layer). Includes: market positioning, pricing comparison, estimated market share, and 3 key differentiators for the target startup. Uses LinkedIn, G2, Capterra, and public company data.

πŸ’¬ Customer Interview Synthesis

Agent conducts 5 "discovery calls" β€” cold outreach to current customers of the target startup (found via LinkedIn, Twitter, or from startup's case studies). Asks: how did you find them, what's your usage like, what alternatives did you consider, what would make you leave? Synthesizes patterns. This is the most differentiated part β€” most investors never talk to real customers before investing.

πŸ“‰ Financial Projection Sanity Check

Agent receives founder's financial model (or constructs one from their pitch deck numbers). Benchmark against: public comps at similar stage, industry average growth rates, typical SaaS metrics (Magic Number, Burn Multiple, Rule of 40). Identifies the 3 most aggressive assumptions and provides a revised base/bear/bull scenario. Not an audit β€” a sanity check.

πŸ“‹ Investor-Ready Report Format

All findings compiled into a structured PDF report: Executive Summary (1 page), Founder Assessment, Market Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Customer Voice, Financial Review, Red Flags Summary, and Investment Recommendation Framework. Report is designed to be inserted directly into a deal memo or LP update.

πŸ”„ Ongoing Monitoring

For $499/month, investors get ongoing monitoring of their portfolio companies: monthly news alerts, competitor moves, hiring signals from LinkedIn, and quarterly "health check" reports. Keeps investors informed without active monitoring effort.

πŸ’° Pricing Model

TierPriceIncludes
Standard Deal $299 per deal Founder background, market size, competitive landscape, projection sanity check. 48hr turnaround. PDF report.
Deep Dive $499 per deal Everything in Standard + Customer Interview Synthesis (5 real customer calls with written summaries). 72hr turnaround.
Portfolio Monitor $499/month Monthly monitoring of up to 10 portfolio companies. News alerts, competitor tracking, quarterly health reports.
Unlimited $999/month Unlimited deal reports + portfolio monitoring (up to 20 companies). Best for active angel investors doing 5+ deals/quarter.

For Series A+ deals requiring deeper financial modeling and human analyst review, partner with a human analyst network at $1,500–3,000 for the engagement. Agent handles the 80% of research that is standardized; human handles the 20% that requires judgment.

πŸ“Š Success Metrics

48hr
Report Delivery SLA
>85%
Report Completion Rate
>60%
Repeat Customer Rate
>30%
Report β†’ Follow-Up Deal Rate
MetricWhy It Matters
Report Completion RateSome companies don't have enough public data β€” identify these early so investor isn't surprised
Customer Call Acceptance RateWhat % of cold outreach customers agree to talk? High rate = credible product with engaged users
Repeat Customer RateDo investors come back for their next deal? Best signal of report quality
Report β†’ Follow-Up Deal RateDoes the research lead to actual investment? Aligns incentives
NPS from InvestorsWould they recommend to fellow angels in their network?

πŸ—ΊοΈ Launch Roadmap

Phase 1 β€” Research Infrastructure (Week 1–2)
Build the research agent: connect to LinkedIn, Crunchbase, IBISWorld, news APIs. Train the prompt chain for founder background checks. Test on 5 known deals to calibrate quality.
Phase 2 β€” Pilot with Angel Network (Week 3–4)
Offer free reports to 5 angels in exchange for feedback. Iterate on report format based on what they actually use. Refine the customer call script for higher acceptance rates.
Phase 3 β€” Paid Launch (Month 2)
Launch at $299/deal. First paying customers from the pilot network. Add Stripe checkout and a simple web order form (company name + pitch deck upload).
Phase 4 β€” Scale (Month 3–6)
Add more data sources (PitchBook equivalent via open data), expand team of human analysts for deep dive tier, build investor community forum.

⚠️ Risks & Mitigations

RiskMitigation
Limited public data on early startupsBe transparent about data confidence levels in reports; flag where data is thin
Customer cold calls are intrusiveFrame as "independent investor research" not startup booster; offer no incentive to customers
Investors use report to avoid doing workPosition as decision-support, not decision-making; investor still applies judgment
Startup founders object to researchReports are for investors only; not publicly available; NDA available on request
Accuracy liabilityClear disclaimer: "research from public sources, not a guarantee of accuracy"

← Back to All Projects  |  Next: Architecture β†’