If you're about to invest in or buy a company and can't tell whether its technology is sound, I can help you find out.
I've been building software for 27 years, and I ran a development agency for 15 of them. I've delivered more than 30 products, and I still review code myself. So I know what to look for in the code and in the team, and how to explain what I find without the jargon.
90-minute call, $500. Refundable in one click.
- Code nobody on your side has read
- A roadmap your money will fund
- A closing date on the calendar
- Code read by someone with no stake
- A roadmap checked against the team
- An answer before the close
What I check
Someone with no stake in the answer should look at the technology before money moves.
Architecture and code quality
What's sound, what's brittle, and what it realistically costs to fix.
Technical depth and moat
How much of the value comes from core components the team built itself, and how much from open-source modules or third-party APIs. Both can be valuable, in different ways. And how hard it would be for someone else to build the same thing.
What it depends on
The outside services, APIs, and open-source modules the product can't run without, and what happens to the costs and the roadmap if one of them changes its prices or terms, or stops being maintained.
Hidden liabilities
Technical debt, open-source and other licensing, AI-generated code, and infrastructure cost traps.
Team and key-person risk
Most product delays aren't tech problems. They're truck number problems. I check who actually built this, and what happens to it if they leave.
Delivery risk
Whether this team can ship the roadmap the valuation assumes.
Fit with the market
Whether what's built, and what's planned, matches what the target market actually needs.
A bottom line
Asset, liability, or fixable, plus what I'd negotiate and what I'd watch in the first 100 days.
Some of the work
The founders had vibe-coded their whole AI app. I led a human review of the front end and the back end, and got it stable enough for a public App Store launch.
I led a client's telehealth platform from its first version to retirement. Through the Covid19 waves, Partners Healthcare, Boston Children's, Mayo Clinic, and municipal healthcare providers across Denmark used it. Along the way, the team went from 13 people in three countries to a remote team of four, and delivery got twice as fast.
A virtual-events platform, built by six teams in several countries. I sat between the founders and the development teams, turned what users needed into what the teams would build, and tied every payment to a milestone we could check. That kept an estimated 30% cost overrun from ever happening.
Clients stay unnamed here. I'm happy to walk you through any of these on a call.
How I work
The deal, the question, and the clock
We talk through the deal, the technical question, and your timeline, under NDA if you like. If a tech screen isn't the honest first step, I'll say so.
A clear picture, fast
A fixed-scope read of the code, the architecture, and the team, on your deal's clock, walked through with you and your deal team before you commit to anything bigger.
Everything that matters, in depth
When the deal warrants it: the code, the architecture, the team, and the delivery risk in depth. The bottom line, what I'd negotiate, and what to watch in the first 100 days.
Making sure the plan happens
A few hours a week after the deal closes, so the first-100-days plan actually happens.
How we'd start
Everything starts with one paid call. By the end of it, we'll both know whether there's more to do, and which of the other two options fits.
A first call
- 90 minutes with me, working on your actual problem.
- Real answers and clear next steps on the calls themselves.
- Up to two follow-ups, with you or the people on your team.
- If it wasn't worth it, one click refunds the full $500.
The right first step for nearly everyone.
If the screen gives you a clear enough picture, you may not need more. That's a perfectly good outcome.
Pre-deal tech screen
A fixed-scope read of the code, the architecture, and the team, in days, on your deal's clock. I walk you and your deal team through what I find on calls.
- The code and architecture, including licensing and running costs
- How much of the value is built in-house, and what it depends on
- Solutions to the problems we find, worked out together with you and your team
Full technical due diligence
When the deal warrants it, everything the screen covers, in depth, before close. I walk you and your deal team through the bottom line on calls.
- The code, the architecture, the team, and the delivery risk, in depth
- What I'd negotiate, and what I'd watch in the first 100 days
- Optional, after close: a few hours a week for 2–4 months
Bootstrapped and pre-revenue? Book a 40-minute Founder Call for $200. It doesn't include follow-up calls, and the same one-click refund applies.
Fair questions
Because it's working time on your problem, and you get real answers on the call itself. It also covers up to two follow-ups, including calls with people on your team if needed.
Good. Keep them in the room. An independent, senior read protects both the deal and that relationship.
Founders believe their own architecture diagrams. That's optimism, not dishonesty. My job is to check the diagram against the code, and whether they both match what the target market needs.
Access to the code and the task tracker, and time with the founders and the people doing the work. A good review that will not strain the relationship you're about to invest in.
Then I'll say so, along with what it would take to fix it. Fixing what's broken is usually easier and better than wholesale replacement. Sometimes all that's needed is adding an expert with the missing skill set.
I was building machine learning, computer vision, and audio systems long before any of it was called AI, so I can usually tell quickly what's realistic, what it will really cost, and what to build first.
Book your first call
Pick a time that works for you. Everything about the deal stays confidential. Bring whoever on your deal team knows the company best.
$500 for the first call
- 90 minutes with me, working on your actual problem.
- Real answers and clear next steps on the calls themselves.
- Up to two follow-ups, with you or the people on your team.
- If it wasn't worth it, one click refunds the full $500.
Need more than one person? Rawzor is my firm, a small senior team of experts that works alongside your people. Explore rawzor.com →