The Problem
Most PE/VC firms lack deep technical expertise to evaluate acquisition targets. They rely on the target company's own team to assess technology risk — a clear conflict of interest. That leaves you exposed to hidden technical debt, security gaps, scalability limits, and team capability issues that only surface after the deal closes.
What I Deliver
- Pre-acquisition technical due diligence (architecture, security, scalability, team assessment)
- Post-acquisition technology leadership for portfolio companies
- CTO search support and interim technology leadership during transitions
- Technology value creation roadmaps for portfolio companies
Case Study: Technology Readiness for a $600M Exit
A PE-backed platform was preparing for a strategic sale north of $600M. The investment thesis depended on consolidating fragmented vendor technology into a single, scalable platform — but there were unanswered questions around architecture, security posture, and the team's ability to support the next stage of growth.
I partnered with management and the sponsor to turn technology from a diligence risk into a deal enabler: aligning the roadmap to the value-creation plan, tightening operational discipline, and building the narrative and artifacts buyers would expect to see in a competitive process.
- Defined and executed a technology and adoption growth plan that supported aggressive GMV and margin targets without compromising reliability or security.
- Restructured ownership across a fractured vendor ecosystem into a single accountable platform team with clear SLAs, incident response, and change control.
- Prepared buyer-ready materials: architecture maps, risk register, remediation roadmap, and data-driven KPIs that spoke directly to investment committee concerns.
- Supported management through multiple rounds of technical Q&A and reverse diligence, with no material technology issues flagged as deal blockers.
Why Me
I'm currently serving as CTO for a platform undergoing active M&A due diligence — I understand both sides of the table. My environment is SOC 2 Type II certified. I have hands-on experience with AWS GovCloud and FedRAMP. That means I can assess technology risk, team capability, and integration complexity with the same lens your target's next CTO would use.
I don't just review slides. I review architecture, code quality, security posture, and organizational health. You get an executive-ready report with a risk matrix, recommendations, and effort estimates — so you can make informed investment decisions.
Portfolio Company Advisory
Due diligence is a point-in-time assessment. The real value is created — or destroyed — in the years that follow. I work with GPs as a long-term, equity-aligned partner to help portfolio companies turn technology into a source of durable value, not a hidden liability.
For a select set of portfolio companies, I provide ongoing CTO-level advisory and embedded support: working directly with founders, CTOs, and technology leaders to execute on the value-creation plan, de-risk major initiatives, and build teams and architecture that can withstand the next round of diligence.
- Monthly strategy sessions with CEOs/CTOs plus asynchronous access for time-sensitive decisions.
- Architecture, security, and team roadmaps tied directly to the fund's value-creation thesis for each asset.
- Support for critical board and IC conversations where technology risk, spend, or execution is a central question.
- Engagements with PE/VC portfolio companies are structured to include equity or co-investment rights where appropriate, aligning incentives around long-term outcomes.
What I Look For Before Saying Yes to a Portfolio Company
For GPs, the most important question isn't just whether a portfolio company has a technology problem — it's whether it has a technology leadership problem. In this piece, I walk through how I evaluate potential portfolio engagements, why I structure my work around equity rather than billable hours, and what actually makes a technical advisory relationship valuable at the fund level.
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