The full breakdown of the 4 risks we evaluate before any capital moves, and how to spot them early.
Risk #1 — Timeline Risk Delays happen in every project. What matters is whether the deal was built to handle them.
If the margin only works on a perfect schedule, it's not a margin — it's a prayer.
Risk #2 — Capital Mismatch
- Investor expects 12 months, project takes 18
- Pressure to return capital early forces bad exits
- The fix is simple: match the timeline to the capital before signing anything
Risk #3 — Decision Risk When problems hit, who makes the call? The best deals define this upfront:
- Who has authority
- What triggers action
- How investors get informed
The worst deals figure it out mid-crisis.
Risk #4 — Execution Risk
- Has the team built this type of project before?
- Do they communicate when things change — or go silent?
- Can you talk to a previous investor they didn't hand-pick?
Track record isn't about how many projects they completed. It's about how they handled the ones that went sideways.