# Episode 98: 12 Steps to Survive Due Diligence

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-m-a-podcast-688826/episode-98-12-steps-to-survive-due-diligence
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-m-a-podcast-688826/episode-98-12-steps-to-survive-due-diligence.md
Podcast: [The Tech M&A Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-m-a-podcast-688826)
Published: 2026-04-24T23:40:00+00:00
Episode link: https://corumgroup.libsyn.com/12-steps-to-survive-due-diligence
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/corumgroup/TMAM_Podcast_12_Steps_to_Survive_Due_Diligence.mp3?dest-id=102536
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-tech-m-a-podcast-688826/episodes/episode-98-12-steps-to-survive-due-diligence
Duration seconds: 512

## Resource

Due diligence has become tougher, deeper, and more demanding than ever before—especially in today's fast ‑ paced tech M&A and private equity environment. Buyers now apply higher standards, deploy specialized diligence teams, and scrutinize every aspect of your business. In this special report, we walk through 12 critical steps every CEO must take to survive due diligence—and protect deal value. From preparing your data room and managing disclosures to controlling working capital and hiring the right advisors, this video outlines the real ‑ world land mines that derail deals and how experienced sellers avoid them. Whether you're actively pursuing an exit or planning ahead, these best practices will help you meet buyer expectations, maintain leverage, and get through diligence with confidence. Key Takeaways -Due diligence today is not just document review—it's a full ‑ company stress test -Private equity firms now set the gold standard for diligence expectations -Preparation before LOI dramatically improves outcomes and leverage -Poor timing of disclosures can erode trust and kill deals -Working capital surprises are one of the most common last ‑ minute deal breakers -Strong advisors and intermediaries can be the difference between closing—or collapsing—a deal Chapters 00:00 Why Due Diligence Is Harder Than Ever 01:30 Step 1: Understand the Buyer's Due Diligence Checklist 01:58 Step 2: Prepare Your Data Room in Advance 02:43 Step 3: Fix Accounting Issues Before Due Diligence 03:03 Step 4: Control the Timing of Disclosures 03:37 Step 5: Run Parallel Due Diligence and Contract Processes 04:08 Step 6: Get a Draft Agreement Early 04:43 Step 7: Appoint a Due Diligence Coordinator 05:03 Step 8: Inform Only Key Employees 05:28 Step 9: Watch Working Capital Closely 06:02 Ste…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-tech-m-a-podcast-688826/episodes/episode-98-12-steps-to-survive-due-diligence/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-tech-m-a-podcast-688826/episode-98-12-steps-to-survive-due-diligence.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.