Uncover Key Contradictions, Missing Evidence, and Risks
Systematically stress-test all assumptions regarding licensee capabilities, market size, enforcement mechanisms, and financial projections. Highlight missing legal, financial, or operational evidence required to validate the candidates. Categorise material risks, including IP leakage, partner default, exclusivity lock-ins, and regulatory non-compliance.
Completing this action alone surfaces hidden deal flaws, unevidenced assertions, and existential risks before entering binding negotiations. It protects the venture from disadvantageous commitments and identifies precisely where further due diligence is mandatory.
The founder must compile a comprehensive risk and evidence-gap log detailing critical vulnerabilities for each candidate. The log must categorise risks by severity and specify the missing evidence required to resolve each uncertainty.
Five questions an expert would ask when reviewing your output
Use these to challenge assumptions, pressure-test your logic, and check the quality of this action's output in the context of the parent task and wider venture development.
- 1
What unverified assumptions are you making regarding the candidate's legal capacity to enforce IP in their territory?
- 2
How have you stress-tested the licensee's financial solvency and ability to pay ongoing royalties during a market downturn?
- 3
What material risks exist regarding reverse engineering or IP leakages through the partner's supply chain?
- 4
Where are the logical contradictions between the candidate's stated sales forecasts and their historical execution record?
- 5
Which missing piece of evidence poses the single greatest threat to signing a secure, profitable agreement?