Early stage companies rarely fail on the idea. They fail on execution.
Most founders are subject matter experts who have never built and scaled a business before. They don't know what they don't know, and those gaps stay invisible until they're expensive.
We work with companies from Seed onwards, once there's a business to professionalise: revenue coming in, people to organise, and a founder who has started to feel the ceiling. Some seed companies are ready for this and some are not. We'll tell you which.
From the first company to the whole book.
Every company is assessed against the same 17 elements, calibrated to its size and shape. Depth flexes; comparability doesn't. A 10 person company gets a proportionate assessment, and you still get one consistent risk map across the book.
Partner conversation
We map your portfolio together and agree how the partnership works: which companies first, how we report to you, and how it's positioned to your founders as a benefit, not an audit.
Health Assessment
A structured health assessment across every element, with risks scored and prioritised. Repeatable and comparable across your portfolio.
Embedded Execution
We work inside the company to close the gaps: rhythm, controls, data, people. You see the progress in the numbers and the board pack.
Assessments and execution are led by a bench of founders and entrepreneurs who have built, scaled and exited businesses of their own. Meet the firm →
The SME Vector Framework: 17 elements, 3 vectors, one comparable risk map.
The Operating Framework
Can this business execute without heroics?
The Growth Engine
Is growth repeatable, or lucky?
The Foundations
Would the business stand up to scrutiny tomorrow?
What the report looks like.
The full report runs to more than 30 pages. These are 3 of them, sanitised, from a sample assessment: the scorecard across all 17 elements, and 2 of the 3 elements this assessment scored lowest. Click any page to enlarge.
Pages are sanitised and blurred. The complete sample is available on request. Request the sample →
A portfolio partner rather than a one-off engagement.
Start with one company. We assess it, embed where the work is needed and show you the difference in the numbers. Then extend across the book at the pace the results earn, until Waypoint Black is the business copilot for every company you invest in.
A consistent assessment across the portfolio
Every company assessed against the same framework. Comparable, board-ready risk maps in 4 weeks per company.
A value-add you can actually prove
Most VCs claim to add value in the pitch. Not many can show it when a founder presses. A named portfolio partner working inside your companies is proof you can put in front of founders when you're competing for deals.
Founders who learn what they don't know
Subject matter experts make brilliant founders and first time operators. We fill that gap: telling each company what it doesn't know, before it costs growth or valuation.
Companies that build value between marks
Governance, controls, documented processes, reduced founder dependency. Professionalised, de-risked businesses that command better multiples when the liquidity event comes.
Designed with each fund. Two decisions, made together.
Who pays: you decide
The fund pays, the portfolio companies pay, or a blend of the two. Some funds fold it into their investment proposition, offering the assessment as a named value-add when competing for deals. We design the model with you.
Rules your founders can trust
The company sees everything we produce. What's shared with the fund is agreed by all three parties before the assessment starts. Non-negotiable, because trust is the product.
What your founders will experience
Most VCs say they add value. Be one who can prove it.
One conversation about your portfolio. Your 45 minutes is with a founder who has built, scaled and exited, not a triage desk. We'll tell you candidly where we can help, and where we can't.