The amount of Due Diligence (or DD, in VC parlance) done on founders and entrepreneurs varies widely among investment firms. Some do deep Kroll background searches, others a quick Google name check or use a cheapo service like Been Verified, or...do nothing.
The risk of following the 'do nothing' strategy was highlighted in an article the morning in the local paper, where the City of Biddeford loaned $125,000 to two guys who were under indictment for defaulting on a similar loan in Gardner Maine in 2014. A simple Google search of their names would have yielded their indictments on those charges. They spend the Biddeford money in the usual way--drinking, gambling and eating out, not in financing the new restaurant they had promised the city. They are now in jail, but the money is gone.
Do such risks exist in the venture capital world? Admittedly, the risks are very small that you are dealing with crooks, but one never knows. Scams are more likely to happen in the crowdfunding world, where entrepreneurs make promises to build products that are physically impossible or cannot live up to stated expectations.
Regardless, I always Goggle a new founder before I speak with them. You would be surprised what shows up some times. And Been Verified is a easy and inexpensive way to make sure they have no criminal past.
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