What investors check in technical due diligence
Angels and VCs increasingly ask for repo access and architecture diagrams. This guide lists what they look for in a fundraising demo or early MVP.
Last updated: 2026-06-13
Technical due diligence on startup products
Investors verify that a demo is compiled code, that infrastructure lives in the founder's AWS account, and that IP is assignable. The Investor Demo from Stantons Dev House ships React source and deployment in your cloud for that conversation. The Core Engine adds production auth and payments when diligence shifts to revenue readiness.
Code and repository questions
Expect requests for GitHub or GitLab access, dependency audit, and whether contractors signed IP assignment.
Mock data should be clearly labeled. Production secrets should not appear in a pitch build.
We deliver repos in your org with documentation suited to external reviewer read-only access.
Infrastructure and data residency
Reviewers ask which AWS account owns resources, which regions store data, and how IAM limits blast radius.
EU founders face extra GDPR questions. Deploying to your account with IaC answers who controls keys.
See our startup AWS ownership guide for founder-facing language on the same topic.
Demo vs production honesty
Sophisticated investors distinguish simulated billing from live Stripe. State what is mock in the data room.
Upgrade path to The Core Engine should be credible: shared components, not a throwaway prototype.
Smart Trady case study shows a live product that passed real customer and investor scrutiny over time.
What to grant in a data room
Offer read access to the repo, an architecture summary, and a list of third parties with data access. Keep mock versus live labels visible in docs.
If you used contractors, show IP assignment or work-for-hire status. Owned code in your org simplifies this narrative.
Questions technical angels ask live
Expect queries on auth model, deployment process, and how mock data is seeded. Compiled React in your AWS account answers better than a design export.
Investor demo checklist on this site lists prep steps before your first diligence call.