# Venture firm research checklist and worked brief

MLAI preparation aid — version 10 September 2026.

Use this to organise evidence about one firm's process. It is not legal due
diligence, an investor rating, a suitability test or an investment recommendation.
Independent financial/legal review is pending. A completed worksheet does not
prove that a firm is authorised, suitable, currently investing or interested.

## 1. Identify the research subject

Firm/brand:
Official website and date checked:
Relevant fund or investing vehicle (unknown is allowed):
Contact and independently checked official contact route:
Purpose of the conversation:

Do not infer the investing entity from the firm's brand, a person's title,
an old funding announcement or an unverified inbound email.

## 2. Evidence checklist

For EACH row record an exact source/location and date, a short faithful
paraphrase, the conclusion it supports, its limits and the next question.
Use one of: PUBLIC STATEMENT / DIRECTLY CONFIRMED / INFERRED / UNKNOWN.
An inference or unknown must not be relabelled as confirmed to finish the sheet.

| Topic | Status | Source/date and what it says | Still unknown / next question |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stage, sector and geographic connection | | | |
| Relevant investing entity and mandate | | | |
| Current first-investment activity | | | |
| Initial investment size/currency, if actually stated | | | |
| Decision-maker and process questions | | | |
| What the next meeting/request is intended to decide | | | |
| Information requested and permission to share it | | | |
| Confidentiality, recipients and sharing scope | | | |
| Potential portfolio conflicts and how to discuss them | | | |
| Follow-on decision criteria, not an assumed commitment | | | |
| Reporting/support expectations and who supplies them | | | |
| Agreed next step/date versus an unconfirmed estimate | | | |

A fund-size announcement is not a statement of money available for your deal.
A public portfolio is historical evidence, not automatic current eligibility.
Management fees, carried interest and startup ownership are different concepts.
Do not insert a generic fee percentage, ownership band or closing deadline.

## 3. Filled fictional brief

Leila's invented firm "Harbour Seed" is unrelated to the real Blackbird source
reading example in the article. No actual investor relationship is represented.

Fictional message received: "We like the demo. Could you send pilot results
before our partner discussion?"

| Field | Worked entry |
| --- | --- |
| Subject | Harbour Seed; invented exercise only |
| Source | The fictional email above, not a public website or actual confirmation |
| Supported fact within the scenario | Someone requested pilot results for a discussion |
| Investing entity / cheque / closing date | UNKNOWN: not stated |
| Investment decision | UNKNOWN: no approval, lead commitment or terms stated |
| Customer-data sharing | NOT AUTHORISED by the request alone |
| Next question | Which measures would help, who reviews them, and what decision follows? |
| Evidence preparation | Dated, redacted pilot summary separating completed use, unpaid trials and collected revenue |
| Next state | Information requested; do not record an approved round |

If the contact replies "send two customer examples", that still does not prove
investment approval or permission from those customers. Check identity and
sharing authority before sending anything confidential. A declined conversation
is not evidence that the business has no value.

## 4. Claim-by-claim sharing log

| Proposed claim/document | Source and date | Fact/estimate/unknown | Permission and permitted recipients | Redaction/review needed | Shared version/date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | | |

Check that the proposed recipient is who they claim to be. Leave unresolved
sharing items unshared until the appropriate person has approved the scope.
This checklist records decisions; it does not perform identity verification,
grant permission, execute an NDA or validate compliance.

## 5. Prepare one community question

Firm and official source/date:
Stated stage, geography and sector:
What is confirmed versus inferred about its mandate:
Decision-maker and process questions:
Information requested and permission to share it:
Unresolved fit question and next agreed step:

For an open MLAI session, use an anonymised or fictional process question.
Event attendance does not include investor access, deal review or funding.
Real transaction, tax and legal questions belong with qualified advisers.

## Sources and review

- [MLAI firm research article](https://mlai.au/articles/featured/how-does-a-venture-capital-firm-work) contains the separately attributed Blackbird source-reading example.
- [Australian Government venture-pitch preparation](https://business.gov.au/finance/funding/pitch-for-venture-capital): investor research and preparation, checked 10 September 2026; not validation of this fictional firm.
- [Blackbird's own process](https://www.blackbird.vc/get-investment): read the current page directly if using that example; this worksheet does not reproduce or independently validate its service claims.

Reviewer name, qualification and actual reviewed scope: pending.
Open questions requiring specialist review: