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Distributing the work

The best DD processes distribute work across angels with relevant expertise — a lawyer on legal and operations, a finance professional on the financial model, a sector expert on market and competition. AngelHub does not have a formal work assignment feature. Coordination happens through the project Discussion and directly between the Project Lead and individual angels. How to use project Discussion for DD coordination:
  1. Open the project and go to the Discussion tab
  2. Start a thread for each DD area you want to coordinate (e.g. “Financial model review”, “Legal and cap table”)
  3. Tag the relevant angel in the thread and agree what they will cover
  4. Angels add their findings to the coverage map and their notes; the Project Lead tracks overall progress
The project Discussion is separate from Q&A (entrepreneur-facing) and private notes (personal). It is the right place for the deal team to talk to each other. The entrepreneur never sees it.

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Tracking progress

Check the coverage map at the start of each week. It shows which of the 11 DD topics have been addressed (green), partially addressed (amber), or not yet investigated (red). Use Discussion threads to follow up on red areas.

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The WNTBB framework

At the end of DD, present your recommendation using the What Needs to Be Believed (WNTBB) framework. This identifies the specific assumptions that must hold for the investment to succeed and assesses the evidence for each.

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Step 1 — Identify the critical assumptions

Every investment thesis rests on 3–6 assumptions that are material (if wrong, the investment fails), uncertain (not yet proven), and specific (“there are at least 5,000 UK businesses who will pay £500/month for this”). Assumptions fall into five categories: Team, Market, Product, Commercial, and Financial.

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Step 2 — Assess the evidence

For each assumption identify: what evidence supports it, what evidence suggests it might not be true, and what would increase your confidence.

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Step 3 — Assign a verdict

  • Believed — evidence is sufficient; invest on this assumption
  • Believed with reservation — broadly supported but a specific gap remains
  • Not yet believed — more DD needed before deciding
  • Not believed — evidence is inconsistent with the assumption being true

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Step 4 — Reach the overall recommendation

  • All believed or believed with reservation → recommend investing
  • One or more not yet believed → defer; define specific additional DD
  • One or more not believed on a material assumption → decline or reprice

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Presenting to the group

  1. Open with the 3–6 assumptions — state them clearly
  2. For each: the evidence found, the verdict, and any reservation
  3. Overall recommendation with brief rationale
  4. Any specific conditions you would attach to an investment
Use AngelAI to build the WNTBB. Describe the DD findings and ask: “Help me identify the key assumptions for this investment and structure them as a WNTBB assessment.”

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After the recommendation

Invest — move to Closing and begin the legal process. Defer — document specific information or events required before revisiting. Set a review date and communicate it to the entrepreneur. Decline — record the reason, move to Archived, and communicate the decision promptly and professionally.