Technical Due Diligence · Fractional CTO · AI Enablement
Spellbound Partners delivers business-focused technology diligence for the people acquiring software and tech-enabled businesses: search funds, committed-capital and self-funded searchers, family offices, holdcos and acquisition programs, and PE/VC. When the deal closes, we stay on as fractional CTOs, builders, and AI guides.
Most diligence engagements wrap in about two weeks. We can usually start within days of your call.
We're best known for diligence, and diligence is often the front door. The same team that tells you what you're buying can help you run it, build for it, and bring AI to it.
What we're best known for. Business-focused tech DD for acquirers across the ETA, search fund, family office, holdco, and PE/VC landscape.
Leadership guidance, interim engineering leadership, or custom software built and handed off to your team. Diligence is often the front door.
Hands-on bootcamps for technical and non-technical teams, plus leadership advisory that gets people building with AI, not just talking about it.
We evaluate the product, people, process, and security posture of the business being acquired: whether it builds its own software, runs on internally built tools, or is a tech-enabled services company operating on the systems it buys. Every finding gets translated into language the whole deal team can act on: no jargon walls, no checkbox compliance, and anchored to your investment thesis, whether you're a searcher, committed-capital acquirer, family office, holdco, or fund.
Good diligence gets you to a confident yes or an early, low-cost no. It should make the right deal easier to close, not just surface reasons to walk away.
Architecture, tech stack, integrations, technical debt, code quality, licensing, and the systems, built or bought, the business runs on.
Team structure, knowledge concentration, hiring practices, compensation, and continuity risks.
SDLC, QA/testing, release management, customer support, onboarding, and product planning.
CIS- and NIST-inspired: incident response, disaster recovery, endpoint protection, and security essentials.
A preliminary read on a prospect's product and team before you make an offer—plus our red-flags guide—so you can spot early warning signs and ask the tough questions pre-LOI.
A thorough inspection of product, people, process, and security so you know exactly what you're buying and what it takes to scale.
From CTO-as-a-service to key hires and critical decisions, hands-on support that reduces risk through the first 12 to 18 months.
Typical timeline: about two weeks from kickoff to delivery. After an intro call (and, for deals under LOI, an optional material review to scope and flag early issues), the engagement runs a Key Bets session, Target surveys, 2 to 3 deep-dive interviews (incl. live code review), and a comprehensive report with a live walkthrough.
AI is reshaping software economics fast. In every diligence engagement we weigh two things: how exposed the Target is to AI, and how ready it is to benefit from AI.
Where AI could erode what makes the Target valuable.
Where AI could expand margins, velocity, and product.
Every finding flows straight into your 180-day plan—and where the upside is real, our AI bootcamp and advisory offerings help the team capture it.
You don't need to be under LOI, or even a client, to talk to us. During your search we'll help you vet prospects, get a high-level read of the Target's technology, and surface early warning signs at no charge. We'd rather earn the relationship long before you sign.
Diligence is often the launch pad. Many clients keep us on to run the technology, as a fractional CTO, an embedded engineering team, or a custom-development partner. We treat your company as if it were our own and invest in knowing your business as well as you do.
A trusted technical voice for founders and deal teams: strategy, architecture direction, and a sounding board through critical decisions.
We step in to run the engineering org, process, hiring, roadmap, and actively help you hire our own replacement when the time is right.
Need software built? We design, build, and ship the product, then hand off a clean, well-documented codebase your team can own and maintain.
Stabilize the stack, close security gaps, and execute the 180-day plan once an acquisition closes.
AI is changing how software and tech-enabled companies operate. Our hands-on programs get teams building with AI inside their real workflows, from engineering and QA to the non-technical people who run the business day to day.
A practical, intense program that gets your development and QA teams actively using AI tools in their daily work. We work one-on-one with practitioners in the weeds: setting up, configuring, and building with AI-powered and agentic tools until they're second nature.
We embed with your team and work alongside them: not from a slide deck, but inside their actual codebase and toolchain. Sessions are structured but flexible, adapting to the team's stack and highest-value opportunities. The goal is transformation rather than just awareness. Your team leaves materially faster and more capable.
Not everyone writes code, but everyone has work AI can streamline. We embed with operations, sales, support, and other non-technical teams to build custom agents and skills that automate the repetitive parts of their day and tighten messy processes.
For founders, CEOs, and leadership teams who need a trusted voice connecting business goals to what AI actually makes possible. We help you cut through the noise, understand what's real, and decide where AI fits in your organization.
Predominantly U.S. work with a substantial international footprint. The acquirer and the Target often sit in different countries. We assess software and tech-enabled businesses in any industry. Explore below what we see by region.
We assess software and tech-enabled businesses in any sector.
We've built, scaled, and sold software and tech-enabled companies. We've sat in the CTO chair and navigated acquisitions from the inside. That shapes every assessment we deliver.
25+ years building, scaling, and acquiring technology companies. Ran a 150+ person product and engineering incubator and led the technical arm of M&A at Red Ventures, evaluating and integrating acquisitions from the inside. Earlier led product and engineering in broadcast technology at Fox Sports and pioneered interactive TV. Now advises lower-middle-market acquirers as a fractional CTO and diligence lead.
A true generalist with 25+ years of getting results wherever the business needs it: operations, sales, engineering, or the executive seat. Former EdTech CTO and VP of Engineering at Aperture Education, he's been effective at every altitude of a company, from startup scrappiness to enterprise scale, including two successful acquisitions.
Has contributed to diligence engagements since 2019, developing an eye for the technical and organizational signals that matter to acquirers. Leads sales and client communication, drawing on a background in technology content marketing to translate complex findings into clear, decision-ready language for buyers and their advisors.
We work hard to make diligence thorough and collaborative for every party at the table.
“Spellbound was game-changing in its ability to help me assess the state of my technology organization. The team perfectly translated the language of technology into the language of business.”
“The ideal partner for a technology due diligence. The team did a fantastic job communicating the business implications of the findings and providing a thoughtful 180-day plan. Its work gave investors deep peace of mind.”
“Easy to work with, very thorough report, and strong technical know-how. I now have total confidence I understand what we're buying, which is big for a non-technical CEO.”
Practical guides, teardowns, and lessons pulled straight from our engagements. Sent when we publish something worth your time, and never more than that.
Whether you're under LOI and need tech diligence, want a fractional CTO, or are exploring AI for your team or portfolio, let's talk.
What to expect: a 30-minute intro call to understand your deal, your timeline, and what you need. No pressure, no commitment.