Scouts
What should a scout verify before introducing an early marketplace startup?
an early marketplace startup: Verify fit and basic facts before introducing a company, while remaining clear about what has not been investigated.
Verify fit and basic facts before introducing a company, while remaining clear about what has not been investigated. Confirm the founder's permission, the current fundraising situation, and the reason the opportunity might match the fund. Avoid promising investment authority the scout does not have.
Start with the decision
Prepare a short claim-and-source note. Separate direct observations, founder statements, and open questions. Ask the fund which evidence is necessary for an initial screen rather than overcollecting confidential material.
The illustrative scenario
This is an educational workbook. The company or fund and all numerical inputs below are fictional. They are not ADIN results, customer claims, market benchmarks, or a forecast.
The fictional company connects independent repair businesses with commercial property managers. Initial transactions happen in one city. The founder reports total booking value, but revenue depends on completed jobs and the platform's actual take.
Supply listings are not the same as available, reliable capacity. Booking value, collected revenue, cancellations, and repeat demand must be separated.
Turn the scenario into an evidence decision
Consider a review of an early marketplace startup in which a confident explanation arrives before the supporting records. Start with the first question in the table. Write down what an answer would change: the next interview, the experiment's scope, a request for specialist review, or a decision to wait. A question without a consequence can produce a longer document while adding little understanding.
Next, inspect the record named in the table and record its date, owner, permission boundary, and limitations. Inspect completed transaction cohorts, cancellation reasons, provider retention, and contribution costs by market. Obtain permission before contacting participants or sharing their transaction details. If the record contradicts the explanation, preserve both accounts and ask which definition, period, or workflow differs. Do not silently select the version that makes the opportunity look strongest.
Finish with a conditional statement: if the specified evidence supports the claim under these conditions, take the named next step; otherwise investigate the unresolved question. A screen is a filter for a useful conversation, not a completed diligence process. A transparent open question is preferable to a confident claim that the scout cannot support. This worked exercise is about the decision process. It does not assert that a fictional company has met a real diligence standard or that a template can authorize an investment.
| Item | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Decision question | Is the company within mandate? |
| Case-specific constraint | Supply listings are not the same as available, reliable capacity. Booking value, collected revenue, cancellations, and repeat demand must be separated. |
| Record to inspect | Inspect completed transaction cohorts, cancellation reasons, provider retention, and contribution costs by market. Obtain permission before contacting participants or sharing their transaction details. |
| Comparison to preserve | Compare a completed, repeatable match with the current alternative. Separate demand acquisition from the work needed to fulfill and support each transaction. |
| Unresolved case question | Which bookings completed? |
Use this worksheet
Answer the questions with a source, date, owner, and next action. Mark an unknown as unknown. Use public or permissioned information and involve a qualified specialist when a question requires expertise beyond the team’s competence.
- Is the company within mandate?
- Is the founder seeking this introduction?
- What has been directly observed?
- What remains unverified?
- Who makes the next decision?
Questions specific to this scenario
- Which bookings completed?
- What brings a buyer back?
- How much local support does each market need?
Inspect completed transaction cohorts, cancellation reasons, provider retention, and contribution costs by market. Obtain permission before contacting participants or sharing their transaction details.
A concrete next test
Choose one completed match and one cancelled booking. Trace acquisition, fulfillment, payment, and support costs for each. Ask what would bring both sides back without an incentive so the inquiry separates transaction volume from a repeatable local marketplace.
Interpret the result
A screen is a filter for a useful conversation, not a completed diligence process. A transparent open question is preferable to a confident claim that the scout cannot support.
Compare a completed, repeatable match with the current alternative. Separate demand acquisition from the work needed to fulfill and support each transaction.
Sources and method
These primary resources provide background for the concepts. The fictional scenario, calculations, and worksheet are ADIN educational examples; the sources do not report or validate those invented results. Reviewed October 11, 2026.