TEAMS PERFORM FOR INVESTORS.
I GET THE TRUTH.
I embed with game studios for 2-4 weeks to identify the failure patterns that kill teams -before you deploy millions finding out the hard way.
70% OF FUNDED STUDIOS NEVER SHIP. WHY?
Leadership Conflicts
Hidden in pitch meetings, fatal in production
Creative Paralysis
Disguised as iteration, death by a thousand cuts
Structural Dysfunction
Leadership can't see it, teams won't say it
Traditional due diligence gets rehearsed answers. Teams perform for investors. Status reports look fine until suddenly they don't. By the time you see the problems, you've already deployed millions.
HOW I GET GROUND TRUTH, NOT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Embed as a Peer
I join as a fellow developer, not an auditor. Teams trust me with information they'd never share in a board presentation; the real velocity gaps, the leadership conflicts, the team members quietly looking for exits. Typically this takes 1-2 days per week.
Detect Failure Patterns
I identify the 5 structural issues that predict team collapse: leadership conflicts, creative rigidity, hiring for loyalty over capability, communication breakdowns, and technical dysfunction.
Deliver Decision-Ready Assessment
You get a written report with Go/No-Go/Conditional recommendation and prioritized fixes if issues are addressable. 5 weeks from kickoff to final report.
This isn't a vibe check. It's pattern recognition from 29 years shipping games and leading teams from 8 to 150 people. I know what teams that ship look like and I can see the difference in week one.
RECENT ASSESSMENTS
Read three anonymized assessments showing how embedding with teams reveals structural failures, validates strategy, and prevents bad investments before capital deployment.
WHAT YOU GET
Written Assessment Report
- 1Executive Summary – Ship/Don't Ship/Conditional recommendation
- 2Failure Pattern Analysis – Which failure patterns are present
- 3Key Findings – Specific observations from embedded time
- 4Leadership Assessment – Individual capability evaluation
- 5Investment Recommendation – Deploy / Restructure / Pass with rationale
Timeline: 2–4 weeks embedded + 1 week synthesis = 5 weeks maximum
THIS IS FOR YOU IF:
You're considering funding a studio and want to de-risk execution before deploying capital
A milestone is approaching and the plan feels “too optimistic” but you can't pinpoint why
You suspect misalignment between leadership, but status reports look fine
You need a clear go/no-go view before committing to a larger investment tranche
You want ground truth on team capability, not internal politics or rehearsed presentations
You've been burned before by teams that couldn't ship and want to avoid repeating the mistake
ONE PREVENTED BAD INVESTMENT PAYS FOR 20 ASSESSMENTS
Whether you're evaluating a studio for investment or preparing to fund a team, the first step is the same: a conversation.
Confidential consultations with no obligation. Used by gaming VCs and publishers.