Reference Check

Run founder reference checks that surface real signal, not just polished praise.

tinyhumansai Updated

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Reference Check

Talk to the people who have worked with a founder and get past the rehearsed praise to the real signal.

When to use

  • A deal is deep in diligence and the team is the bet.
  • A founder's story needs corroboration from others.

Steps

  1. Choose references beyond the founder's hand-picked list.
  2. Ask behavioral questions about real situations, not traits.
  3. Probe gently on weaknesses — how they show up, not whether.
  4. Corroborate the founder's own account of key events.
  5. Weigh the pattern across references, not any single voice.

Output

A reference summary: the consistent signals, the concerns, and how they bear on the [[Investment thesis]]. Feeds the memo the operator decides on.

tinyhumansai/opencompany/tree/main/companies/venture_capital/skills/reference-check commit efcf46ed24

Frequently asked questions

npx skillmds@latest add tinyhumansai/reference-check