The Unfair Advantage
Why invest blind?
In 2025 the best deals aren’t on the surface — they’re buried.
Most investors still do solid DD.
Balance sheet and financials? Good.
Contracts? Looks good.
Growth story and cap table? Seems solid.
But surface checks kill deals. Smart investors and operators go 360°. Every. Single. Time.
In today’s market, due diligence isn’t a formality — it’s your edge. Standard DD is dead. Checking the numbers is just table stakes.
Real due diligence is a 360° deep dive across:
✔️ Digital
✔️ Technology
✔️ Legal
✔️ Financial
✔️ Commercial/Market
✔️ HR
Why? Because the most dangerous risks aren’t on the balance sheet. They’re hidden in code, culture, contracts, and hidden processes.
What’s Happening in the World?
I U.S. – BRICS Tariff Showdown & Trade Limbo
President Trump is signaling another wave of tariffs — 10% on BRICS-aligned countries and expanding trade duties — unless deals are finalized by Aug 1. Markets are bracing for potential escalation; global trade uncertainty remains high.
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/07/trump-tariffs-july-9
II Mega‑Deals Drive M&A Value Amid Falling Volume
Global deal volumes are down ~9% YoY, but values are up 15%, led by a 62% jump in mega‑deals ($10B+) compared to last year.
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/deals/trends.html
III Private Equity Sitting on $1T Dry Powder
PE firms are holding around $1 trillion in unsold assets as dealmaking stalls from rate hikes and trade uncertainty. Still, firms expect late 2025/2026 pickup with clearer policy and lower rates.
IV Collapse of Therme Ontario Place
Therme Ontario Place, a proposed spa and wellness project in Toronto, faced significant challenges due to inadequate due diligence.
The company misrepresented its experience, claiming operations of multiple spas in Europe, while in reality, it had only one operational spa in Romania.
Auditors discovered that the company was operating at a loss with less than €1 million in equity. This lack of thorough due diligence led to a failed project and significant financial losses.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/04/16/new-york-times-investigationontario-place-spa-deal/
Word to Ponder: Forensic
From Latin forensis (of the forum, public).
Meaning: Deep investigation with evidence-based scrutiny.
True due diligence is forensic. You’re not just browsing data rooms — you’re interrogating them.
Go beyond the public face. Dig into what’s hidden in plain sight.
Winners & Losers
Winners:
Operators running 360° DD. They catch hidden risks others miss.
Micro PE & roll-up buyers. Quietly securing SMEs at smart multiples.
Supply chain-resilient businesses. Built to survive shocks, now valued higher.
Deep-dive investors. Those who spot value buried under bad data.
Losers:
Surface-level buyers. Overpaying for polished decks and missing landmines.
Export-heavy firms ignoring tariff shifts. Fragile networks in a volatile world.
Founders without succession plans. Getting squeezed or sidelined post-2025.
Investors who skip digital & tech audits. Tech debt and cybersecurity gaps will kill them.
Two Strategic Takeaways
I Go 360° or get burned
Surface checks kill deals. Smart investors run full-spectrum due diligence — digital, tech, legal, financial, market, and people.
II Own the bottleneck
Don’t chase crowded markets. Control the bottlenecks — the scarce skills, assets, or infrastructure others rely on.
Offers & Opportunities
I 360° Due Diligence
Financial, technology, digital, legal, operational, and commercial audits to pressure-test investments/acquisitions. If you’re PE firm, Family Office or VC, deploying 5m+ into any asset, we should talk. Send us your thesis. Or ask us to vet a deal.
II Startup Digital Branding & Marketing Audit
Is Your Digital Strategy Keeping Up? As a founder, CEO, or marketing leader, have you taken a comprehensive look at your company’s digital health?
Without an accurate, investor-grade clear picture of your digital health, brand positioning, and marketing performance, every step you take could be a costly guess…
Eligibility criteria:
Pre-seed to Series A
(Actively fundraising/preparing for scale).Working MVP
(Product with real users and measurable activity, not a prototype)Min 2 co-founders actively involved in growth
Min +€100k ARR OR 10 paying B2B clients / 500+ B2C customers
Existing marketing tech stack in place (CRM, email marketing, website analytics, etc.)
Today €4,497, but first 1,000 Startups get additional 50% discount (price is €2,248). Slots are filling rapidly.
Start your audit now ⟶
A Captivating Video | QLA Podcast #54
In this episode, I sat down with Attila Tóth – Digital Due Diligence Expert, Author of HYPER, and Co-Founder of Cognitive Creators.
We unpacked how investors are losing millions when the digital and tech sides of deals are not properly audited.
And also broke down what early-stage startups are missing in their branding and marketing — and why this is costing them investor attention, competitive edge, and sales growth.
This newsletter is for those who refuse to settle.
P.S. Make sure to hit that notification bell 🔔 as well, I look forward to connecting with you in next issue.
- Stay ahead.