The metrics look good.
The codebase doesn't.
You're preparing for acquisition or sale. The financials are clean. The product story is ready. But technical due diligence is a different examination — and most codebases fail it quietly, then lose valuation at the table.
- Buyer's engineering team will review the codebase
- No documentation explaining architecture decisions
- Dependencies outdated or with unclear licenses
- Code quality varies widely across modules
- No deployment or maintenance runbook
- Critical knowledge held by one person
- Architecture difficult to explain to a new team
- Third-party integrations undocumented
Technical due diligence covers: codebase quality and maintainability, dependency risk (outdated packages, problematic licenses, deprecated APIs), architecture clarity and documentation, test coverage and release process, backend infrastructure and data handling, and key-person dependency risk. A codebase that fails this review — even with strong metrics — lowers valuation or creates earnout conditions that shift risk onto you. Preparation is negotiation leverage.
Dead code removed. Inconsistent patterns normalized. Known tech debt addressed in order of acquirer visibility. The codebase reads as professionally maintained.
System architecture documented from an acquirer's perspective. Module map, dependency diagram, data flows, and key decisions with rationale. Written to survive a technical interview.
All third-party dependencies reviewed for license risk, maintenance status, and deprecation. High-risk dependencies replaced or documented with migration paths.
Deployment runbook. Environment setup documentation. On-call guide. Everything a new engineering team needs to take over without a lengthy knowledge transfer.
Exit preparation takes 6–12 weeks depending on codebase size and current state. Starting it during term sheet negotiations is too late. The right time is when you're in early acquisition conversations — or ideally before. Buyers who find a clean codebase close faster and at better terms. Buyers who find a mess use it to renegotiate.
Architecture documentation, dependency report, codebase quality assessment, and known risk summary — the exact artifacts a technical due diligence team will ask for, prepared and ready before they ask.
A codebase you can show without anxiety. No last-minute surprises from a buyer's engineering review. Clean system, stronger position at the table. Every sprint includes GitHub push, TestFlight build, App Store release, and an updated risk report.
before buyers see it.
Book a scoping call. We assess your codebase's due diligence readiness and build a preparation plan with scope and timeline.
Book a Scoping Call