In my activities as an angel investor, and my work with new ventures seeking investment, I find the “due diligence” stage to be fraught with the most risk. Usually this stage only really starts after an investor has expressed serious interest, or already informally agreed to invest. Most founders consider the story already told and the deal pending, so they aren’t sure what more then can do.
Others schedule long and exhaustive practice and coaching sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone tells the most positive and consistent story. Trying to stack the deck probably won’t work, but some effort makes sense, since I have personally seen more than one deal fall apart due to key team members being totally out of sync.
