Hidden engineering costs
Technical debt and difficult-to-maintain code can turn a growth plan into a remediation programme.
Independent technology due diligence
Independent Technology Due Diligence for Investors & Acquirers
Evidence-based assessment of technology risks, operational dependencies, scalability, and remediation priorities to support informed investment decisions.
Personally led by Andrey Shedko · Czech Republic
THE INVESTMENT LENS
What’s behind
the recurring revenue?
Can the platform support the growth plan?
Assess system boundaries, data flows, and scaling constraints to identify where growth may require additional investment.
Technical evidenceInvestment clarity
INDEPENDENT BY DESIGNEvidence-led assessmentBusiness-focused reportingConfidential engagement
The investment perspective
A sound business can still carry hidden technology risk.
Recurring revenue tells one part of the story. The software behind it determines what comes next.
An acquisition may bring unexpected engineering costs, fragile infrastructure, or knowledge held by a single developer. An independent assessment helps you understand those exposures before they become your responsibility.
Use the findings to challenge assumptions, inform transaction discussions, and plan the first post-acquisition engineering priorities.
What could affect the investment?
Look beyond the codebase.
Limits to growth
Architecture and infrastructure constraints may require investment before the business can scale.
Operational exposure
Security weaknesses, unreliable deployments, and untested recovery can put continuity at risk.
Critical dependencies
Key people, third-party services, and software dependencies can create risks beyond your control.
Scope of the assessment
Technical depth. Commercial relevance.
A focused review of the systems, practices, and dependencies behind the business.
Engagement options & indicative pricing
Start with the decision. Agree the depth.
Assessments of software products and software engineering operations, including a defined technology workstream within a larger transaction.
Scope & fee
These are indicative ranges, not unlimited fixed-price offers. A written proposal identifies the systems, review questions, evidence sample, interviews, verification depth, exclusions, deliverables, and fee. Company size alone does not determine price.
Timing & taxes
Delivery starts once sufficient agreed access and inputs are available. Complexity, evidence gaps, technical-owner availability, and specialist needs affect the schedule. Prices exclude VAT where applicable.
Personally led
Each assessment is personally led by Andrey Shedko. Additional specialist work requires a separate scope and confirmation of availability. Comprehensive describes broader agreed coverage, not exhaustive testing of an entire technology estate.
AI-built software: a specialization available at either scope, using the same indicative ranges. AI-built describes development with AI coding tools; AI-powered describes a product using models at runtime.
Explore AI-Built Software Due Diligence →Who I work with
Understand the technology risks behind your investment.
Independent technical perspective for the people responsible for the investment decision.
Private Equity & Growth Equity
Search Funds & acquisition entrepreneurs
Venture capital & strategic acquirers
Corporate development teams
M&A advisors & investment teams
A clear process
From initial questions to informed decisions.
Focused: typically 5–8 business days. Comprehensive: typically 2–4 weeks. Both depend on agreed scope and sufficient access.
01Define the scope
Clarify the investment decision, systems, priority questions, evidence sample, interviews, verification depth, exclusions, fee, and timetable.
Outcome: A written proposal with explicit review boundaries.
02Obtain authorized evidence
Arrange confidentiality terms and authorized access to relevant code, documents, operational evidence, and technical personnel. Read-only access is preferred.
Outcome: An access plan and evidence register; gaps are recorded.
03Inspect and verify
Review the agreed areas and perform targeted checks where feasible. Intrusive production testing requires separate written authorization.
Outcome: Observations and reproducible verification results, separated from unverified claims.
04Assess business impact
Relate technical findings to continuity, growth, safe change, ownership dependencies, and remediation priorities. Raise material issues during the engagement.
Outcome: Prioritized findings with severity, confidence, implications, and limitations.
05Deliver the report
Distinguish verified facts, inferences, assumptions, unknowns, and inaccessible areas. Include engineering effort where supportable; cost scenarios require an explicit cost basis.
Outcome: A decision-oriented report and priorities for the first 90 days within scope.
06Findings walkthrough
Discuss conclusions, challenge assumptions, and clarify transaction and post-transaction actions.
Outcome: A direct briefing and Q&A, with unresolved questions and follow-up needs made explicit.
The deliverable
A report you can use in the investment conversation.
A decision-oriented assessment report, followed by a direct briefing.
Recommendations identify immediate actions and priorities for the first 90 days, within the agreed review areas.
Executive summary and prioritized risk register
An overall technical opinion, the issues that could change the investment case, and a prioritized register of material findings. Each finding states its evidence, confidence, recommended action, and decision relevance.
Evidence, business implications, and assessment limitations
See what was reviewed or tested, what the results establish, and what remains unverified. The report connects technical observations to continuity, growth, delivery, and ownership implications, with the limits of each conclusion made explicit.
Remediation priorities and estimated engineering effort
A sequenced action plan with required outcomes, role owners, dependencies, and acceptance criteria. Where evidence supports an estimate, engineering effort is expressed as a range. Budget scenarios require explicit rates, roles, and assumptions; they are not supplier quotes or guaranteed delivery commitments.
Clear separation of verified findings, potential risks, and assumptions
Verified findings are supported within the reviewed scope. Potential risks require further investigation; assumptions are inputs awaiting validation. Areas not assessed remain explicitly open, so missing evidence is never treated as proof that the platform is safe.
Explore the report structure through a clearly labelled fictional SaaS scenario. No real client or transaction is represented.
View fictional sample report →Your independent advisor
Personally led. Directly accountable.
Andrey Shedko is a software engineer based in the Czech Republic, with publicly documented experience at Barclays, Broadcom, and EPAM Systems.
Your assessment is led by Andrey, with findings explained in terms of engineering consequences and investment decisions.
Meet Andrey Shedko →Insights
Better questions before you commit.
Practical guides to evidence, reporting, and AI-built software acquisitions.
Acquisition preparation
Technical Due Diligence Checklist for Software Acquisitions
A buyer’s practical checklist: evidence to request, questions to test, access limitations to record, and findings that should change an acquisition plan.
Read guide →Investment decisions
What a Technical Due Diligence Report Should Tell Investors
How to judge a technical diligence report: decision relevance, evidence, confidence, severity, remediation assumptions, and first 90-day priorities.
Read guide →AI-built software
Buying AI-Built Software: What to Verify Before Acquisition
A practical buyer’s guide to AI-built software: ownership control, critical workflows, security boundaries, maintainability, recovery, and handover evidence.
Read guide →Before you inquire
Practical questions. Clear answers.
What access is needed?
The agreed scope may require read-only source repositories, architecture and infrastructure documentation, dependency information, deployment and incident records, and conversations with the technical owner. Evidence is requested proportionately; credentials and customer data should not be sent through the inquiry form.
Can you assess a business without source-code access?
A limited review can use demonstrations, documentation, operational evidence, and interviews. It cannot substantiate conclusions about code quality or implementation security. The report states these gaps, their effect on confidence, and the access needed to resolve them.
How is confidential information handled?
Confidentiality terms, permitted evidence access, handling, and retention arrangements are agreed before assessment materials are shared. Start with a non-confidential description of the target and your decision. Secure access is arranged separately.
How long does an assessment take?
Focused assessments typically take 5–8 business days; comprehensive diligence typically takes 2–4 weeks after sufficient agreed evidence and access are available. Timing depends on scope, target complexity, technical-owner availability, and follow-up questions. The timetable is agreed before work begins.
How is the price determined?
Indicative fees are €2,000–4,000 for Focused Technical Assessment and €6,000–12,000+ for Comprehensive Technical Due Diligence, excluding VAT where applicable. AI-built specialization uses the chosen scope’s range. Scope and the final fee are agreed in a written proposal before work begins. The proposal reflects the systems to review, available evidence, questions to resolve, and transaction timetable. Remediation effort is a separate engineering estimate. Any budget scenario needs explicit rates, roles, dependencies, and assumptions; it is not an implementation quote.
What will I receive, and what are the limits?
A technical due diligence report and direct briefing, with an overall opinion, prioritized findings, supporting evidence, confidence levels, limitations, and remediation priorities. This is an engineering assessment; penetration testing, security certification, and legal opinions require separate specialist work.
What happens after I inquire?
Andrey reviews the inquiry and replies to clarify the target, decision, timeline, and assessment fit. An initial conversation establishes what evidence is available. Any proposed engagement then sets out scope, deliverables, access, timing, and fee. The practice is currently in preparation; preliminary inquiries are welcome.
Before the next investment decision
Understand what you’re
really acquiring.
Start with a confidential conversation about your transaction.