Attracting the right investors for your venture is a long and arduous process. Once they are engaged, you need to maintain momentum as their attention span can be short. Due diligence preparation has a key role to play since an incomplete dataroom and / or a due diligence process in stops and starts can lose you these very investors – and damage your reputation. 

In the due diligence process, founders must demonstrate full transparency and rigorous preparation to secure investment.

What Can Go Wrong?

An incomplete data room, missing key contracts, inconsistencies in financial statements, and unresolved legal issues can quickly turn a promising opportunity into a failed deal. Due diligence demands clear, well-organized documentation and a compelling narrative that aligns both science and business strategy. And the need for due diligence can crop up at any stage – better get prepared and stay prepared.

Common Founder Mistakes to Avoid

1. Disorganized or Incomplete Data Rooms: This signals a lack of preparation and professionalism.

2. Weak Market Positioning: Founders often focus on technology without a similarly strong view on competitive position or market fit.

3. Unresolved Legal and IP Issues: Poor handling of IP rights, unclear ownership, missing key employment contracts or legal disputes can derail investor interest.

4. Inaccurate Financial Forecasts: Incomplete financial data or unrealistic projections undermine your credibility.

In the INSIGHTS Tom Goodman will provide actionable insights on:

• Creating a transparent, investor-ready data room.

• Aligning technology, business potential, and market needs.

• Avoiding critical pitfalls that can derail your deal.

• How to deal with the most sensitive information and confirmatory due diligence

• What do you do when the investor is unwilling to sign an NDA?

Tom Goodman is a partner in the corporate practice at Cooley. He has experience advising domestic and international clients on a range of corporate transactions, including public and private mergers and acquisitions (cross border and domestic), venture capital investments, large scale in country and international restructurings, initial public offerings and various other public financing and strategic transactions. He has particular experience in counselling emerging life sciences and technology companies on their formation, recapitalization, corporate governance and general life cycle, including private and public exits.

The list of deals that Tom has worked on (which is long and distinguished) can be found here. It includes some well known deals such as:

• Bit Bio on its $41 million Series A financing

• Oribiotech Ltd on its £23 million Series A financing led by Northpond Ventures in a syndicate including Octopus Ventures, Delin Ventures and Amadeus

• Azeria Therapeutics Limited on its £4 million series A financing led by Sixth Element Capital

• MacrophOx Limited on its spin-out from Oxford University and related financing by Oxford Sciences Innovation plc

• Heptares Therapeutics Limited in relation to the spin out of G protein receptor technologies for neurological diseases to Orezia Limited and Inexia Limited and combined €40 million financing led by Medicxi Ventures

Mark Jones is an Associate at Cooley. He focuses his practice on representing high-growth companies, founders, investors and management teams in a range of corporate matters, primarily centred on M&A, emerging companies and venture capital, and corporate reorganisations. He has experience in counselling emerging life sciences and technologycompanies on their formation, corporate governance and general life cycle, including private and public exits.Mark was recognised with the Financial Rising Star award at the LMG Life Sciences 2024 Europe, MiddleEast, Africa (EMEA) award ceremony for his work in the life sciences industry, particularly in respect ofventure capital and portfolio company matters. He also is recognised by The Legal 500 UK in its Corporateand commercial – M&A: lower mid-market deals (£50m-£500m) category.

Mark also has spent time on secondment at Medicxi, a leading life sciences investment firm, with more than 1billion euros of assets under management and thus gained valuable experience on the investor's side.

Simon Burr  is a Senior Associate at Novo Ventures Holding. He joined Venture Investments in 2022 as Associate, and is based in our London office. Simon joined from a boutique life science consultancy specialising in competitive intelligence support, market analysis and commercial opportunity assessments. Previously, he worked within financial services at Gerson Lehrman Group providing diligence assistance to investor-clients across pharma, biotech and medtech sectors. Simon holds a PhD and MRes from King’s College London, and a first degree in Pharmacology, which included a year-long placement at AstraZeneca, from the University of Bath.

Campbell Stewart is a VP at Novo Ventures Holding. He joined Venture Investments in 2022 as a Senior Associate. Previous to that, Campbell was an Associate in the Healthcare Team at Rothschild and Co investment bank in London with a primary focus on Biotech transactions. Campbell has worked on a broad range of Biotech transactions including sell-side and buy-side M&A deals, licensing deals, royalty financings and strategic reviews. Campbell holds a degree in Clinical Medicine (BMBCh) and a Masters degree in Medical Sciences with a focus on cardiovascular physiology, both from the University of Oxford.