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Pre-investment background checks

What you should know about the people behind a company before you invest, sign a partnership or acquire.

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What you should know about the people before you put money in.

Negative information on sharehol…Business history and previous co…What lies behind changes in mana…
About this service

Pre-investment background checks

Financial statements tell part of the story. The other part lies with the people: the shareholders, the managers, their previous companies and how those ended.

From open sources I review the business history of the key people, look for negative information, and check what lies behind management changes or moves between companies. Any red flags are shown with their sources.

The deliverable lets you go into the investment with a clear picture, or ask the right questions before you sign.

When you need it

When clients come to me

  • Before investing in a startup or private company
  • Before a new business partnership
  • Before an acquisition or merger
  • When a CEO leaves and the official reason doesn’t convince
What I check

What the research covers

Negative information

Negative publications on shareholders and managers.

Business history

Previous companies, and how they ended.

Management changes

What lies behind departures and appointments.

Conflicts of interest

Ties between key people and other bodies.

Related companies

Other companies the same people are involved in.

Example questions

Questions you can ask

No identifying details, like every example on this site.

  • “Is there negative information on the shareholders of a startup?”
  • “Why did the CEO of a public company leave, when the media presented the departure as a “change of direction”?”
  • “Does a company’s CEO have a conflict of interest, given that he privately owns a company in an adjacent field?”
How it works

From information to intelligence, in four steps

  1. 01

    Define the question

    What exactly do you need to know, and for which decision?

  2. 02

    Collect and analyze

    I gather from every relevant open source, filter out the noise and cross-check the findings.

  3. 03

    The deliverable

    A business intelligence report, an intelligence picture or a direct answer, with conclusions and recommendations.

  4. 04

    You decide

    You act on a clear, verified picture.

Further reading

Related article

Due diligence · 2 min read

Due Diligence Before Investing: What to Know About the People Before You Put Money In

The numbers are checked in the financial statements. The people are checked in open information. Before you invest, know who you are investing with.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Didn’t find your answer? Send me a question on WhatsApp and I’ll get back to you.

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All FAQs
How is a background check different from financial due diligence?

Financial due diligence examines the numbers. A background check examines the people: business history, negative information and ties, from open sources.

Does the check cover other countries?

Yes. When needed, and with your approval, a local investigator and professional translation can be added, priced separately. Add-ons.

Will the person being checked know?

The check uses open sources, and the client’s name is kept strictly confidential.

More services

Other research areas

Company research & competitive intelligenceConflict-of-interest checksLocating people and heirsAsset tracing & following the moneySupport for lawyers & private investigatorsMonitoring & alertsVerification & fake-news detectionGeolocation & aviation data
Glossary

Business intelligence glossary

Core concepts, in brief

Due diligence

Investment

A check before an investment, acquisition or partnership. On the intelligence side it focuses on people: who the shareholders are, what their business history is, and whether there is negative information you should know in advance.

Pre-investment background checks

Conflict of interest

Integrity

When a decision maker has a personal, business or family tie to one of the parties. Open-source research can reveal past work together, family ties and social connections.

Conflict-of-interest checks

Open-source intelligence

OSINT · Core concept

Collecting and analyzing information that has been published openly and legally: media, social networks, websites and official publications. The value is never in a single piece of information, but in cross-checking many of them.

What is OSINT

Facts vs. assessments

Analytic thinking

A ground rule of intelligence analysis: separate what is known from what is estimated, and go back to the original raw data when an old assessment starts behaving like a fact.

Nine tools from intelligence
Your turn

Have a question that needs an answer?

Send it on WhatsApp, by phone or by email, and I’ll get back to you to define the research question together.

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