Venture Capital
Seize opportunities without fear.
In venture capital, where reward is maximized by a willingness to take on calculated risks, good intelligence is key.
How well do you know the entrepreneurs you are thinking of funding?
A surface-level picture can often give a misleading impression. An early-stage company’s success hinges on having not only a good strategy and market opportunity, but also the having the right people in the right positions.
As a dedicated investigations firm led by its co-founders, we have particular insight into the risks and opportunities facing a company breaking into an established market.
Forward Risk is uniquely positioned to provide actionable intelligence into startups and their leadership teams, helping venture capital firms make confident investment decisions.
How We Help
Investigative due diligence into startups, founders, and other key people.
Forward Risk provides research into promising startups with an approach that blends open-source, public record, and human intelligence capabilities. We apply a creative approach to investigations that is tailored to the concerns of venture capital investors, such as the track record of founders and other key personnel.
Mitigating risk to preserve value.
We conduct an examination of a prospective investment’s leadership team, culture, overarching business strategy, and market reputation.
Through meticulous research and interviews with former employees and other relevant individuals, we obtain valuable insight into the founders and the company as a whole. Our research uncovers potential conflicts of interest, undisclosed relationships, and other potential red flags or adverse matters.
We also provide regulatory intelligence and industry analysis to better inform investment decisions.
Plugging in to venture capital deal teams.
Forward Risk goes beyond the typical “checklist” approach of other investigative firms, leveraging our extensive experience with venture capital clients to analyze findings from their perspective, and highlight data points relevant to early-stage investments.
Our Experience
Source Inquiries Shed Light on Production Executive’s Lackluster Professional History
Forward Risk investigated whether a startup’s Chief Content Officer had sufficient levels of skill and expertise to drive content output. Our human intelligence gathering revealed weaknesses in the executive’s resume and the caliber of his work, calling into question whether he was truly a good fit for the target company.
Reputational Risks Revealed by Detailed Social Media Investigation
At the request of a client considering a minority-level investment, Forward Risk assessed the veracity of a subject’s social media connections to several public figures and, in the process, discovered several potentially controversial “jokes” that were flagged to the client for purposes of reputational risk management.