People data to inform investment decisions

“70% of start-ups fail. 16/20 top factors are related to people: employees and customers.” CB Insights (2019)

Your questions answered…

  • What is the HFHC?

    The HFHC is a quick and simple commercial diagnostic for investors, to assess whether a portfolio company is likely to deliver on its vision and strategy in reality. It’s the human factor part of the due diligence process. No point having a winning idea, if you can’t deliver in practice.

  • Why the HFHC?

    Culture can remain stubbornly consistent, irrespective of a change in your strategy.

    Speed of execution is critical. Speed is hard to get. Speed is about people. Leaders drive speed.

    The HFHC uncovers the human factor of whether employees are aligned with company goals and are in tune with leadership, where gaps lie and what to do about them to accelerate results.

  • How does it work?

    Three parts:

    (1) leadership team assessment

    (2) employee alignment survey

    (3) interviews with founders and key team members

    You receive written recommendations and a verbal debrief, for both investor and portfolio company

  • Who is the HFHC suitable for?

    The HFHC is suitable for :

    1. VC and private equity companies wanting a human factor due diligence

    2. start-ups and SMEs looking to scale

    3. departments of large corporations looking to assess awareness of and alignment with overall company direction

    Tried and tested Europe wide, across tech and non-tech sectors, for both social impact and pure profit SMEs, from fledgling start-ups (Seed Capital) through to Series C scale ups, for venture capital and private equity investors…..

  • How long does it take?

    Experience has taught us that the due diligence process requires us to be available at short notice and the process needs to be quick but thorough. Three associates specialise in the HFHC, so between us we can cover multiple assessments over intense periods where you need results fast. The typical process takes 3-4 weeks.

“The methodology brings objectivity and new insights when we assess the human factor of our investment decisions. It's a real value-add to our process, demystifying some of the more intangible factors, giving practical actions that we can oversee for optimal company performance"

Johannes Weber, Managing Partner and Founder,

Ananda Impact Ventures, Germany

— Former Customer

"Sonia's interim People Strategy for the incoming Chief People Officer was spot on. She introduced forward-thinking, standardised processes, to encourage more consistent people practices across our leadership team and to prepare us well for accelerated growth."

Chris Williams, CEO,

Vypr, UK

“Sonia has been tremendously helpful in improving how we organise ourselves within the growing team. Defining clear roles and responsibilities, establishing a corporate culture that we are all proud of .”

Wolfgang Wein, CEO,

ImFusion, Germany

— Former Customer