EngagementsGet in Touch

Prepare for Due Diligence

Technical & Operational Readiness
for Growth-Stage Companies

Engineering organizations fail to mature in step with the capital pursuing them. We close the gap between where your technology stands and where your investors need it to be.

Investors walk the ground. We clear it.

The Cost of Unreadiness

The gap between engineering capability and investor expectation is not knowledge. It’s execution.

Delayed Raises

Technical risk flags extend due diligence timelines and erode founder negotiating position before a term sheet is signed.

Compressed Valuations

Unresolved risks discovered in diligence translate directly into valuation adjustments, often disproportionate to the actual remediation cost.

Deals That Fail

In the worst cases, deals collapse entirely on technical grounds that were preventable with adequate preparation.

  1. 5.7 / 10

    Average self-reported confidence in transaction readiness. Most companies know gaps exist before the diligence process begins.

    Diligent Institute, Wilson Sonsini, NetSuite, CFO Alliance & CFO Leadership Council, Ready for the Deal: Transaction Readiness in Turbulent Times, 2025.
  2. 40%

    Of organizations have intensified due diligence and risk assessment in response to current market conditions.

    Diligent Institute, Wilson Sonsini, NetSuite, CFO Alliance & CFO Leadership Council, Ready for the Deal: Transaction Readiness in Turbulent Times, 2025.
  3. 15.4%

    Of seed-funded startups in the 2022 cohort raised a Series A within two years, half the rate of the 2018 cohort. Only the most prepared advance.

    Carta, VC Fund Performance: Q1 2024.
  4. 25–40%

    More time required between funding rounds for deep tech ventures, from seed through Series D. Longer R&D cycles and product complexity stretch diligence windows, weakening capital position while founders are locked in.

    Boston Consulting Group, An Investor’s Guide to Deep Tech, 2023.
  5. 21%

    Of private-equity investors rate the scalability of a target’s technology platform as the single most challenging area in due diligence, ahead of financial accuracy and cybersecurity.

    KPMG, Technology M&A Survey, 2024.

The Framework

Three layers of technical & operational focus, maintained in alignment. Diligence tests all three.

Governance Intent pillar
Governance Intent

Define policy and risk tolerance. Establish what the organization will and will not accept. Without this layer, everything below it is aspiration.

Policy without architecture is aspiration.
Architectural Embodiment pillar
Architectural Embodiment

System design that makes policy durable. Technical architecture that enforces governance structurally rather than procedurally, eliminating drift by design.

Architecture without controls is exposure.

Operational Enforcement pillar
Operational Enforcement

Deploy controls and monitoring that prevent drift, abuse, and entropy as the organization scales. The enforcement layer that protects everything above it.

Controls misaligned from policy are noise.

How We Operate

Outcomes, Not Reports

We close the gap between what the report says and what the technology actually looks like when an investor opens the hood. The deliverable is operational strength, not just documentation.

Operator Credibility

Built on decades of engineering leadership and talent across multiple deep tech industries. We deploy into client environments as operators, not analysts producing recommendations.

Deep Tech Native

Our framework was designed for investor technical scrutiny in deep tech and high stakes environments. Generic consulting collateral does not survive contact with a sophisticated investor.

The Readiness Ladder

Four progressive tiers, from diagnostic read to sustained oversight.

Explore engagements

Where We Sit

Three capabilities rarely present in one firm.

Depth to read the system. Objectivity to assess it honestly. Readiness to carry it through scrutiny.

Most firms adjacent to this space work for the incoming investor, hired to find reasons to discount. Clearing Ground works for the incumbents on the cap table, founders and existing investors alike, hired to remove those reasons before the next round tests them.

Clearing Ground Advisory positioning at the intersection of technical depth, operator objectivity, and readiness focusClearing Ground Advisory positioning at the intersection of technical depth, operator objectivity, and readiness focus

Clearing Ground Advisory is led by founding principal Tami Miguens, who brings three decades of operational and technical experience across integrated circuit design and manufacture, venture-backed SaaS, and deep-tech energy.

Engagements are staffed with senior practitioners selected for domain fit. Our bench is curated and assembled with purpose.

Start a Conversation

The highest-returning investment on the cap table is the one that protects everything above it

We work with founders approaching a raise, investors pressure-testing portfolio companies, and advisors who need an operator on the other end of the line.

Serving Canadian and US growth-stage companies.

Meetcalendly.com/tamimiguens/30-minute-meeting-virtual
Emailinfo@clearingground.com
Followlinkedin.com/in/clearing-ground-advisory