I get one question on a first sponsor call before they take over. Which one earns its slot
I have calls booked with two sponsors next week and I've been told by everyone that the first call is mostly them talking. So I want one question I ask early that actually changes what I learn. Four candidates. Walk me through your worst deal is the one people recommend most, and it works when the answer is specific about dollars and dates, and tells me nothing when the answer is a story about how they learned so much. How much of your own money is in this one seems harder to dodge, though I've read that co-invest can be a fee waiver dressed up as skin in the game. Who wrote the PPM and who else reviewed it feels like it tells me how seriously they treat the paperwork side, and it might just make me sound like I'm auditing them on minute two. And what happens if the deal needs more capital gets at the thing I'm actually afraid of, which is a call I can't fund. I only get one before the momentum goes their way. What have people found actually pulls a real answer out.
One question on a first sponsor call. Which one?
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