The Dev is in the Details
Simon Weinberg on the intersection of tech, law, and investment in modern due diligence | The Dev is in the Details #22 | S02
► How do legal and technical due diligence impact business, investment, and deal success? In the next episode of The Dev is in the Details , our guest, Simon Weinberg from Asserson, shares his take on legal and technical due diligence, what’s actually important to investors, and what they look for in the process. In this conversation, we focus on three things: legal, financial, and technical aspects of due diligence, and why business owners and founders shouldn’t treat them separately. Besides, we’re discussing the importance of IP ownership, data mapping, and licenses and how they can impact the deal, the due diligence “hygiene”, and the AI role in today’s investment landscape. Simon highlights not only these three aspects of the due diligence process but also the value of the approach, what’s actually fixable, and best practices for making the most of it. ► Our guest Simon Weinberg is a commercial and technology lawyer, Partner and Head of Technology at Asserson , helping companies in the retail, healthcare, and technology sectors from start-up through investment to eventual exit. Simon specialises in commercial contracts, IT, intellectual property, and data protection. ► In today’s episode: Simon’s take on the due diligence problem and connecting different angles What can potentially stall the funding and what investors pay attention to IP ownership, data mapping, and the importance of contracts in collaboration with third-party vendors How lack of AI understanding can actually impact the business ► Decoding the timeline: 00:00:00 - Risks of treating legal and technical due diligence as two separate things 00:05:52 - Connecting technical, legal, financial, and business expertise during due diligence 00:07:49 - The most frequent issues that occurred while performing due diligence 00:12:09 - When should founders and the leadership team start preparing for the due diligence process 00:15:05 - Is everything fixable? 00:18:51 - AI and the new kind of issues 00:24:12 - Using AI as a method to attract investors 00:26:46 - The nature of the founder - being business and reality aware 00:33:18 - Ability to pivot, flexibility in running a business, and being comfortable making mistakes 00:37:04 - The investor-founder fit 00:41:25 - The structure and language of the due diligence report 00:46:55 - Three things to prepare before due diligence starts ► Resources mentioned in the episode: https://asserson.co.uk/ *** The Dev is in the Details is a podcast where we talk about technology, business and their impacts on the world around us. Do you want to recommend a guest or discuss with us further? Connect with Lukasz on LinkedIn or write to us at podcast@llinformatics.com .
