- Data-room documents
- A founder interview
- Manager interviews
- An anonymous staff survey, where the seller agrees
For buyers and investors
The first 100 days of a founder-led business.
When you buy a founder-led business, I measure what still rests on the founder and run the handover with your team in the first 100 days.
Freedom Architects: from one person's head to a system your team runs.
What the accounts do not show
Financial due diligence checks the numbers. The Survey checks who holds them up.
- Customers who deal only with the founder.
- Decisions that still end on one desk.
- Know-how that lives in one head.
28%
of UK deals in 2025 had an earn-out, so part of the price waits on how the business runs after completion. Source: CMS European M&A Study 2026
Before signing · Pre-deal Survey · 3 weeks What it uses What you get
What rests on the founder, with evidence.
- A scorecard of 20 indicators, each with its measured value and evidence
- The five riskiest dependencies, and what each bears on in the deal
- A 100-day transfer calendar, with the founder's hours for each step
- What could not be confirmed, stated plainly
The worse answer counts. Where the founder and the managers give different answers, the colour follows the weaker one. An area counts as covered only with a document and confirmation from someone other than the founder.
Open a sample report (PDF, 3 pages) Illustrative example: Example Services Ltd is not a real company.
After completion · 100-Day Transfer · 14 weeks
The handover, run with your team.
Two days a week alongside the management team, readying the people who take over, with a monthly board report.
- Week 1
A three-way kick-off. The founder drafts the transition calendar; you approve it.
- Weeks 2 to 12
Introductions, joint meetings and four-week tests, area by area. A monthly board report.
- Week 13
The founder absence test: one to two weeks fully offline, with one emergency contact.
- Week 14
A final scorecard on the same 20 indicators. Anything left gets an owner and a date.
Where there is no second line yet, the plan names who steps in: an internal promotion, a hire or a time-limited interim. The founder sees the same monthly scorecard as the board.
Proof · a real client
Mike's property business, scored twice.
A real client, not an illustration. Turnover around £40M a year, now in seven countries. The same 20 indicators a Pre-deal Survey uses, at the start of our work and today. Approximate figures. Mike is happy to take a reference call.
Area · indicatorAt the startToday
CustomersFounder-held customers RedHalf of the largest customers dealt only with Mike Amber4 of the top 10, about 20% of revenue, still with Mike
DecisionsFounder's final say RedFinal say on 20 of 20 recurring decisions Amber10 of 20; the other 10 handed over
KnowledgeWritten processes RedNo critical process written down Amber55% of critical processes written and current
TeamFounder absence RedNo holidays; weekends worked GreenA four-week holiday, October 2026
SystemsMonthly figures RedPrepared by Mike himself, on his Sundays GreenProduced automatically by the system each month
How I work
One side of the deal, yours.
- 01
One side per deal
Never the buyer and the seller of the same business.
- 02
No price or deal advice
That stays with your corporate finance adviser and lawyer.
- 03
One client
The client is whoever commissions the work. Every report says who that is.
- 04
Interim managers and new hires
Where a second line is missing, I work alongside the interim manager or the new hire.
Gökhan Üç, Business Architect. Fifteen years in corporate and structured finance at BNP Paribas Group, assessing businesses the way lenders and investors do. AoEC-certified executive coach. Working in English across the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. About me
Questions buyers ask
Before you sign.
What is a Pre-deal Survey?
A three-week review, commissioned by the buyer before signing, of what still rests on the founder: 20 indicators across customers, decisions, knowledge, team, and systems and authorities, each with its measured value and the evidence behind its colour. It ends with the five riskiest dependencies and a 100-day transfer calendar.
How is it different from financial due diligence?
Financial due diligence checks the numbers. The Pre-deal Survey checks who holds them up: which customers deal only with the founder, which decisions still end on one desk, and which know-how lives in one head. It sits alongside your financial, legal and commercial work.
What do you need from the seller?
Data-room documents, a founder interview, manager interviews and, where the seller agrees, an anonymous staff survey. We never ask for or hold email logs, WhatsApp, Slack, internal chat or phone records. Survey results are shown only for groups of five or more.
Who do you work for?
The buyer who commissions the work, and every report says so. One side per deal: never the buyer and the seller of the same business, and no Pre-deal Survey on a company we prepared for sale. Price and deal advice stay with your corporate finance adviser and lawyer.
What happens after completion?
The 100-Day Transfer: fourteen weeks, two days a week, alongside your management team. Introductions, joint meetings and four-week tests, area by area; a founder absence test in week 13; a final scorecard on the same 20 indicators in week 14; and a monthly board report throughout.
Why does founder dependency matter for an earn-out?
In an earn-out, part of the price waits on how the business runs after completion. According to the CMS European M&A Study 2026, 28% of UK deals in 2025 had an earn-out. When the business still runs through its founder, that part of the price depends on one person.
Can I run the Self-Check on a target?
Yes. The free Self-Check has a buyer mode: answer what you know about the target and treat each unknown as a diligence question. It takes about ten minutes, and the report appears on screen.
Related reading: key-person risk, selling a founder-dependent business, and how I work with deal advisers.
20 minutes, no pitch.
Buyers usually start with the Pre-deal Survey. Fixed fees and a finish date, agreed in writing before the work starts.