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Pre-deal leadership due diligence and portfolio intelligence for venture capital and private equity investors, reducing human capital risk from diligence to exit.

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Deal teams run rigorous financial, legal and commercial diligence, but rely on subjective gut feel for the single factor most likely to derail the investment.

of VCs name the team as the most important factor in an investment's success or failure
55%+
of VCs name the team as the most important factor in an investment's success or failure
Source: Gompers et al., How do venture capitalists make decisions?, NBER, 2016
of PE firms say unplanned CEO turnover lengthens holds
83%
of PE firms say unplanned CEO turnover lengthens holds
Source: AlixPartners and Vardis, private equity survey, 2018
of Series B companies founded in 2018 had no Series C six years on
70%
of Series B companies founded in 2018 had no Series C six years on
Source: Carta, startups founded in 2018: where are they now, 2025

Clarus benchmarks all three performance drivers before you sign, and tracks them through the hold, so the executive leaders you back execute the value creation plan.

  • Performance culture

    Is the operating culture built to scale?

    Stress-test whether ways of working and execution habits accelerate the value creation plan or create drag on performance.

  • Actionable insight

    Where are the leadership risks?

    An evidence-based assessment of executive dynamics, strengths and blind spots, confidence-qualified across every finding.

  • Leader capability

    Can this team execute the next stage?

    Benchmark executive capability against what scaling requires, identifying key skill gaps and critical early hires.

Behind every read sit 300,000+ hours of leadership expertise, leading research, psychometric and behavioural diagnostics and our consulting methodology.

  1. 01

    Leadership diagnostic

    Founders and executive leaders complete targeted behavioural, operational and culture diagnostics in under 60 minutes.

  2. 02

    Stage benchmarking

    Clarus benchmarks the team's capabilities, working styles and blind spots against proven requirements for their specific growth phase.

  3. 03

    Committee intelligence

    Your deal team receives an evidence-backed scorecard with clear diligence questions, hiring priorities and value creation recommendations.

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Objective data for your investment committee, with targeted diligence questions and clear post-deal priorities.

Committee summary

A leadership verdict your committee can act on

One clear view on whether the team can deliver the plan, with the reasoning and confidence behind it.

  • A conviction score with clear reasons
  • Executive strengths, weak spots and execution risks
  • Diligence questions to ask, and the hires worth funding

Fit to scale

Is the team built for the next stage?

Benchmark current leadership capability against the specific operational demands of your 1 to 5 year scaling trajectory.

  • Velocity, decision authority, operating rhythm and decision priority
  • Where the team sits against the scaling target relative to their stage
  • Which gaps are fixable, and what actions close them

Founder dynamics

How the leadership responds to high-pressure scenarios

The relationship the data reads most directly, and the one investors most often cannot.

  • How the founders complement each other
  • Where they're likely to diverge under pressure
  • The questions that show how they resolve it

The team

Culture growth stage and market fit

Stress-test company operating rhythms against proven market requirements to ensure company culture accelerates growth.

  • Culture scored against the bar for the stage
  • Where the team has cover, and where the gaps are
  • A profile for every leader on the team

Ask

Ask anything about the team

Question the data in plain language, and add your own findings from calls and the data room.

  • Every answer shows its confidence
  • See the evidence behind every answer
  • Suggested questions tailored to the deal

Want this read on a team you are assessing?

Talk to us about a live deal or a portfolio company.

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The same Clarus diagnostics leaders use, applied to the questions investors ask.

Before you invest

Measure leadership capability, founder dynamics and culture risk alongside financial and legal diligence.

Across your portfolio

One consistent view of leadership health across portfolio companies, so support goes where it moves the needle.

Through change

Reduce the risk of CEO successions, founder transitions and acquisitions, when leadership disruption is highest.

Venture partners in conversation with a founder

Early to Growth stage Venture

  • Test whether the founders can scale before the term sheet
  • Offer leadership development as platform value-add
Private equity partners reviewing a portfolio company with its management team

Small to Mid-Cap Private Equity

  • Check the management team can deliver the value creation plan
  • Integrate acquired teams and cultures faster after the deal

Experienced operators and executive coaches work alongside your deal and portfolio teams on critical deals and high-stakes transitions.

Leadership due diligence

An independent pre-deal assessment of the management team and culture to inform your committee.

Value creation plan review

Whether the executive team can deliver the plan, with clear hiring and governance priorities.

Founder and CEO transitions

Hands-on support through founder succession, interim leadership and key senior hires.

Portfolio advisory

Tailored coaching and team development to clear scaling bottlenecks across portfolio companies.

Need expert support on a deal or portfolio company?

Our experienced leaders work alongside your deal and portfolio teams.

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We are scaling Clarus to transform how leaders and investors understand human capital. If you are an investor interested in our vision and commercial traction, request our deck below.

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