Services
Technical Due Diligence by Someone Who Has Operated the Assets You Are Evaluating
SproutVest delivers product and technology assessments for investors and acquirers evaluating deep tech deals. Not a checklist audit: an operator's judgment on whether the product, the team, and the claimed moat survive contact with the market.
30-min call · No commitment · Or send the deal brief confidentially →
What you receive
A written assessment delivered in one to three weeks covering product-market fit evidence, technical defensibility, team capability, key risks, opportunity upside, and a clear recommendation. The process combines document review, founder interviews, and market analysis. Reports are written to be forwarded: your IC reads a conclusion, not a hedge.
Who this is for
Family offices evaluating AI, blockchain, or SaaS investments without deep technical staff in-house. VCs conducting pre-investment technical diligence. Strategic acquirers assessing deep tech targets where the data room says one thing and the demo says another.
Why an operator, not an audit firm
Erick Watson has sat on every side of this table: as diligence lead for angel-conference funds, as a founder whose company was acquired (Trensant, by Interos.ai), as a board director during a $15M debt financing at G.A.E.M.S., and as the operator who commercialized research assets at Protocol Labs and Google. Pattern recognition from 15+ years of operating is the product; the report is the packaging.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can you turn a deal around?
Standard delivery is one to three weeks depending on scope. Flag the timeline on the discovery call; compressed reads are sometimes possible on a reduced scope.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes, mutual NDA before any material is shared.
What do you need from the target?
Typically data room access, two to four founder and technical-lead interviews, and product access. A useful read is possible with less; the report states its evidence limits explicitly.
Do you invest or take success fees?
No. The assessment fee is flat and independent of the deal outcome, which is precisely what makes the recommendation worth reading.
Have a deal on the table?
Bring the timeline and the thesis; we will tell you on the call whether a useful read is possible in your window.
Advisory relationships for funds and family offices also available · Industries we serve →