Working With Us
Our primary goals in the diligence process are to identify opportunities that
fit our strategy. From there we spend time getting to know the candidate
company and management team. We provide direct and timely feedback to the
entrepreneur at all stages of the process.
In any private equity firm, there are a number of basic steps comprising the
investment process:
Deal Identification
Access to high quality investment opportunities is the lifeblood of any
successful venture capital firm. Through our established network of technology
executives, entrepreneurs and venture investors, the partners of CRT Private
Equity have access to a large number of quality investment opportunities.
However, we are always looking for new and interesting companies.
The initial step in the CRT Private Equity investment process will be a
screening of each opportunity against our investment criteria. For those
opportunities that meet our investment criteria, we will also consider the
specific business context; products or services contemplated, market dynamics,
management, required capital, and anticipated financial performance. In
situations where these criteria are satisfied, we will meet with the company
and introduce CRT Private Equity, our team and our approach.
Initial Due Diligence
The next step in the CRT Private Equity investment process is to conduct
initial due diligence on the potential investment opportunity. Typically this
involves follow-up meetings with the company, additional CRT Private Equity
team members, and the introduction of outside experts. In certain situations,
we may make reference calls on the founders or principals and speak with
customers where possible.
Significant Due Diligence
This is the most time consuming phase of the investment process. It includes
in-depth meetings with the candidate company to gain a more complete
understanding of the management team, market, product offering, and business
model. We will engage with more references at this stage, and conduct more
detailed interviews with the team and customers, in order to more fully assess
management, market potential of the company's products or services, and risk
and potential investment returns. Because we believe the investment process is
bi-directional in nature, we openly encourage the candidate company to make
reference checks on us at this stage.
Terms & Closing
The final step in the process is for the candidate company and CRT Private
Equity to agree on the terms of an investment. We firmly believe that
successful companies have as their foundation a clear partnership between
management and their venture investment partner. Accordingly this process
involves collaboration between our firm and each candidate for investment. We
do not require control positions and always desire that management have a
significant ownership interest in order to best align the interests of all
parties involved. Our belief is that a partnership where everyone is striving
toward the same goal will result in success.
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