# tpl-due-diligence

7-phase company evaluation workflow. Produces a risk-scored report.

---

## Template Metadata

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| ID | `due-diligence` |
| Category | business |
| Skill tier | Practitioner |
| Duration | 15–25 min (standard) · 30–45 min (deep) |
| Required inputs | Company name, domain |
| Optional inputs | Country/region, industry sector |
| Output | Risk score 0–10, prioritized findings |

---

## Activation

```
/case-template run due-diligence

Inputs:
  Company name: _
  Domain:       _
  Region:       _ (optional)
  Industry:     _ (optional)
```

Flags:
- `--depth deep` — extended leadership and financial research
- `--depth quick` — surface only (5–10 min, core checks)
- `--focus legal` — expanded litigation and regulatory coverage

---

## Phases

### Phase 1 — Entity Registration

**Goal:** Confirm legal existence and registration status.

| Signal | Healthy | Risk Flag |
|--------|---------|-----------|
| Registry record | Found in official registry | No record |
| Registration age | 2+ years | Under 6 months |
| Registered address | Physical address | PO box only |
| Standing | Active / Good standing | Dissolved / Suspended |
| Name changes | Stable | Multiple recent changes |

```
/sweep {{company_name}} --type registration
/dork "{{company_name}}" ("registered" OR "incorporated" OR "Ltd")
/dork "{{company_name}}" "business registration" {{region}}
```

### Phase 2 — Online Footprint

**Goal:** Map web presence and verify cross-platform consistency.

| Platform | Check | Risk Signal |
|----------|-------|-------------|
| Website | Domain age, completeness | New domain, placeholder content |
| LinkedIn | Employee count, post activity | 0–2 employees, stale |
| Twitter/X | Follower growth pattern | Fake follower cluster |
| Facebook | Reviews, engagement | No reviews, inactive |

```
/sweep {{domain}}
/dork site:{{domain}} "about us" OR "team" OR "contact"
/dork "{{company_name}}" (LinkedIn OR Twitter)
/chrono "{{domain}}" --years 5
```

### Phase 3 — Key Personnel

**Goal:** Verify executives exist and have credible backgrounds.

| Check | Healthy | Risk Flag |
|-------|---------|-----------|
| LinkedIn presence | Complete history | No profile found |
| Prior employment | Verifiable | Gaps or unverifiable |
| Education claims | Confirmed institution | Unknown school |
| Affiliations | Related experience | Unrelated, missing |
| Press mentions | Neutral or positive | Negative investigations |

```
/sweep "{{exec_name}}"
/dork "{{exec_name}}" {{company_name}} LinkedIn
/dork "{{exec_name}}" (lawsuit OR fraud OR scandal)
```

### Phase 4 — Legal Record

**Goal:** Surface active litigation, regulatory action, or financial distress.

```
/dork "{{company_name}}" (lawsuit OR litigation OR "legal action")
/dork "{{company_name}}" (SEC OR regulatory OR penalty)
/dork "{{company_name}}" bankruptcy OR insolvency
```

| Record | Normal | Concern |
|--------|--------|---------|
| Minor litigation | 1–2 small claims | Multiple large suits |
| Regulatory filings | Standard disclosures | Enforcement actions |
| Bankruptcy | None | Recent or repeated |
| IP disputes | Occasional | Frequent infringement |

### Phase 5 — Reputation Signals

**Goal:** Assess customer sentiment, media tone, and industry standing.

```
/dork "{{company_name}}" review OR rating
/dork "{{company_name}}" scam OR fraud OR complaint
/dork "{{company_name}}" site:bbb.org OR site:trustpilot.com
/news "{{company_name}}" --sentiment
```

| Source | Target Range | Risk Threshold |
|--------|-------------|----------------|
| BBB | A or B | F + unresolved complaints |
| Trustpilot | 3.5+ | Below 2.0 |
| Reddit | Balanced discussion | Complaint pattern threads |
| Glassdoor | 3.0+ | Below 2.5 + CEO comments |

### Phase 6 — Financial Indicators

**Goal:** Validate funding claims and assess stability signals.

```
/dork "{{company_name}}" (funding OR "Series" OR "raised")
/dork "{{company_name}}" "annual report" OR revenue
/dork "{{company_name}}" Crunchbase OR Pitchbook
```

| Indicator | Positive | Red Flag |
|-----------|----------|----------|
| Funding | Named investors, verifiable rounds | Unverifiable claims |
| Revenue | Consistent across sources | Wildly varying |
| Growth | Steady trajectory | Declining or erratic |
| Disclosure | Transparent | Evasive |

### Phase 7 — Risk Score

**Scoring matrix:**

| Category | Weight | Score (1–10) |
|----------|--------|--------------|
| Registration | 20% | _ |
| Online footprint | 15% | _ |
| Personnel | 20% | _ |
| Legal | 20% | _ |
| Reputation | 15% | _ |
| Financial | 10% | _ |

**Score interpretation:**

| Score | Level | Action |
|-------|-------|--------|
| 0–2 | Very Low | Proceed standard |
| 3–4 | Low | Document gaps |
| 5–6 | Medium | Extended research recommended |
| 7–8 | High | Legal review before proceeding |
| 9–10 | Very High | Avoid or extreme caution |

---

## Auto-Flags

```
Critical (auto-highlighted):
  !! No legal registration found
  !! Active fraud claims
  !! Fabricated executive profiles
  !! Recent bankruptcy

Warning (review recommended):
  ⚠ Company under 6 months old
  ⚠ Unverifiable funding
  ⚠ Pattern of customer complaints
```

---

## Report Export

```
/case-report export pdf      — full structured PDF
/case-report export csv      — findings table
/case-report export json     — machine-readable, API-ready
/case-report export actions  — priority action list only
```

---

## Related Files

- `experience/guided-flows/flow-person-lookup.md` — individual version
- `experience/case-templates/tpl-security-review.md` — domain security focus
- `techniques/corporate-intelligence.md` — manual research methods
