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Venture diagnostics, the review an investor runs, done before you raise
Venture diagnostics is an independent review of a business before it raises, run the way an investor would run it. We rebuild the numbers from raw data, score the company against a written rubric, name the reasons an investor could say no, and give the founder a ranked plan to fix them.
We do this for early-stage Indian D2C founders in beauty, wellness, food and daily-life products who are already selling and plan to raise within nine months.
Where the term comes from
Avan Partners coined venture diagnostics in 2026, to name work that had no name. Founders were being offered deck reviews, audits and fundraising consultants, and none of those looked at the business the way a fund would before the fund did. We use the term to mean exactly the definition above, and nothing looser.
Why it exists
An investor who passes rarely tells you why. Most Indian D2C founders at seed hear "not right now" and nothing else. Venture diagnostics gives you the reasons while you can still act on them, not after the one meeting with a fund is spent.
What it is not
Not a pitch deck review. A deck review reads what you chose to show. We start from what you didn't. Your marketplace settlement reports, your courier RTO file, your ad account, your bank statements. The deck comes last, once we know whether the business can carry it.
Not an audit. An auditor checks whether your books follow the rules. We check whether the business those books describe is one a fund would back. A clean set of accounts can still hide a contribution margin that turns negative once returns and COD charges are counted.
Not a fundraising consultant. A consultant's job is getting you in front of investors. Ours is telling you what those investors will find, and you see it before we ever discuss fees.
Not a fund. We do not invest our own money. We make the business investable first, then raise with you if it needs capital.
What only this review gives you
- Both partners score the business alone before we compare. Where we disagree is usually where an investor will look hardest.
- The rubric is written down. We do not grade on instinct, and we do not move the standard for a founder we like.
- You see the findings before we talk about a fee. The diagnostic note is yours either way.
- We say no in writing. If the business isn't ready, you get the reason.
We do not publish how the rubric is weighted or where a company passes. A founder who sees the scoring tends to tune the inputs, and the diagnosis stops being true.
Questions
FAQ
What is venture diagnostics?
An independent review of a business before it raises, run the way an investor would run it, ending in a ranked plan to fix what a fund would find.
Who is venture diagnostics for in India?
Seed-stage D2C founders in beauty, wellness, food and daily-life products who are already selling and plan to raise within nine months.
Who coined the term venture diagnostics?
Avan Partners, a Mumbai firm founded by Ananya Iyer and Vannan Mehta, coined it in 2026.
Do I see the findings before paying?
Yes. You see what we found before we discuss scope or fee, and the note is yours either way.
Does Avan raise money for me?
Yes, once the business is ready and if it needs capital. Diagnosis and fixes come first. We are not a fund.
What if the diagnosis says don't raise yet?
Then we say so, in writing. You still keep the note.