20 questions for your due diligence about founders, owners and key personnel

The most important part about a business is not the product but the people behind the company. The team. The founders, the owners and the key personal. Whenever I do my Due Diligence in a company I always remember to ask these 20 essential questions:

• Who are the current owners and what are their backgrounds (profiles)?
• What are the owners core competencies?
• Are the owners also the founders?
• Are the owners running the business?
• How dependent is the business on its owners?
• Is there any conflict of interest or non-compete to be aware of?
• Do any of the owners or key personnel own majority shares in the business?
• Has the business had any previous owners? If yes:
  • What is the reason for this?
  • Why are the original founders no longer there?
• What are the owners/founders weak spots?
• Is this the first time that the owners/founders have run a business?
• How are the owners/founders themselves involved in the business?
• Do the owners/founders have other projects that they are also involved in? If yes:
  • Is the business getting their full attention?
• Is there anything that prevents or holds back the owners/founders from working 80 hours a week on this business?
• Do the owners/founders have the support from their family with this business?
• When was the last time the owners took a holiday?
• What are the owners paying themselves?
• Are the owners/founders proud of the business?

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