Due Diligence Checklists › HR Tech › Pre-Seed
HR Tech Startup Investment Checklist: Pre-Seed Stage (2026)
This checklist covers 20 due diligence items for HR Tech startups at the Pre-Seed stage. Each item has been validated against institutional investor practice. DDR automates the majority of these checks from a single pitch deck PDF upload.
20 checklist items · 2 red flags automatically detected · See a sample DDR report
Pre-Seed Requirements
✓
Founding team quality and relevant domain expertise
✓
Problem evidence: clear pain, ideally lived experience
✓
Market size: TAM must justify a venture-scale outcome
✓
Early signal of demand: waitlist, LOIs, or first customers
✓
Founder-market fit: why this team for this problem
✓
Proprietary insight competitors don't have
HR Tech Sector
✓
Adverse impact analysis completed and documented
✓
Payroll tax compliance framework reviewed
✓
Employee data security and privacy policy reviewed
✓
HRIS integration list confirmed
Deep Dive
✓
EEOC adverse impact analysis for any AI hiring tools
✓
Payroll tax compliance review for payroll products
✓
Data security for sensitive employee information
✓
Integration depth with major HRIS platforms
Regulatory
✓
Verify: EEOC: adverse impact of algorithmic hiring tools
✓
Verify: Payroll tax compliance across all operating states
✓
Verify: GDPR/CCPA: sensitive employee personal data handling
OSINT Signals
✓
Check: EEOC complaint database for adverse impact history
✓
Check: IRS Form 941 employer tax compliance (via customer references)
✓
Check: G2 HR software reviews
DDR AUTOMATES THIS CHECKLIST
Upload a HR Tech startup pitch deck and DDR automatically completes 14+ of these 20 checklist items — sourcing data from 13 OSINT signals, benchmarking against 2 comparable companies, and detecting all 2 critical red flags.
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