People due diligence
The human side of an investment or succession deal, mapped systematically before you sign. Founder-team dynamics, blind spots, culture foundation, integrity risk, succession readiness, key-person dependency.
What financial DD doesn’t catch
What financial DD doesn’t catch often costs more than it returns. McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility (2026, Navigating the great small business ownership transition) highlights the human side of succession: owner dependence plays a role in 80% of failed deals. 1for2 translates these insights into four risk categories tested in PDD: emotional attachment, fear of legacy loss, family and partner dynamics, post-close key-person risk. Investors see the same risks in their portfolio.
An integrity incident or founder conflict in year 2 can drag exit value down by tens of percent. People due diligence prevents this from surfacing only after the deal.
Emotional attachment
Founder who doesn’t truly let go. Identity intertwined with the company. Shadow leadership after the deal.
Fear of legacy loss
Conscious or unconscious sabotage of the transfer. Decision paralysis at critical moments.
Family and partner dynamics
Hidden interests that affect the deal. Conflict that surfaces only after closing.
Post-close key-person risk
Key person who leaves or disengages. Dependency that becomes visible only when that person is gone.
Package price, not day rate
Components are fixed parts of the package.
Quick Scan — ~€7,500
1 founder or co-founder. BrainCompass DNA (Full Compass). Profiling by Kirsten Heukels (PATC + INSA + kinesic-trained layer). Written risk report with traffic-light per dimension. Purpose: go/no-go input for investment committee.
Deep Dive — ~€15,000–20,000
Founder and key team (3–5 people). BrainCompass DNA for founder and team. Extended profiling (behavioral analysis under pressure, stakeholder dynamics). Culture assessment (foundation and post-close risk). Optional: Insights Discovery for team dynamics. Report with scenarios and mitigation recommendations. Presentation to investment committee or supervisory board.
Ongoing Portfolio VP — on request
External counselor function as ongoing monitoring per portfolio company. Aggregated reporting to fund partners (confidentiality at individual level guaranteed). Early signaling of people risk in portfolio. Crisis response on demand at incident. Periodic dashboard and annual benchmark.
Add-ons (per project): founder coaching · co-founder mediation (Pascal) · post-incident restorative care · culture intervention via in-company training.