Inside Private Equity Due Diligence: What Founders Must Fix Before an Exit

What separates a successful exit from a discounted deal?

In this episode of From Angel to Exit, Bruce Eckfeldt sits down with Chris Maresca, serial entrepreneur, seven-time exit founder (including one IPO), and current private equity due diligence leader, to unpack what really happens behind the scenes during acquisitions.

Chris has built 14 startups, led turnaround consulting engagements, and now works inside private equity performing pre-deal technical due diligence. His perspective is uniquely valuable: he’s been on both sides of the table.

The conversation reveals a hard truth, buyers don’t see your company the way you do. While founders focus on vision and growth, private equity firms deploy teams of 40+ specialists who dissect financials, legal agreements, commercial positioning, technical infrastructure, HR systems, and culture. Every weakness becomes a “remediation cost,” directly impacting `valuation.

Chris explains how red flags cascade. One discovered issue, a chaotic culture, overconfident leadership, poor documentation, can trigger deeper scrutiny across the organization. Buyers assume risk until proven otherwise.

He also highlights a common mistake: companies that are profitable and growing but operationally unprepared. From accounting run on spreadsheets to undocumented licensing exposure, these issues don’t necessarily kill deals, but they reduce price.

The episode also explores broader market forces driving today’s exit environment, including rapid deal cycles, AI-driven diligence acceleration, currency arbitrage, and the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history.

For founders preparing to scale and eventually exit, Chris offers a clear message:

You don’t just need to be valuable, you need to be buyable.