Due diligence is for the founders and startups that the VCs aren't that excited about. When the VCs really want something, due diligence, especially the sort you mention, and any sort of business plan / model / etc goes out the window. They'll fall over themselves to get a piece of the action in some hot company in some hot market, even if the founders are total jerks, the company has no real business plan or model, and the long term plans are vague. The startup funding game is all about investing in startups as a financial asset, not in startups as a sustainable business. VCs will put you through the "you need traction" "you need a business plan" "we need lots of due diligence" if they aren't that into you or you're an option vs. an opportunity. Venture capital is a hustle, and you have to know how to play the game. Most startup founders play VC as if they're going to a bank and getting a loan and have to justify everything, when VC investing is really about pattern matching and lots of gut reactions, and VCs are investing in what they believe is a chunk of something that will be worth more in the future. The actual business and startup founders are only the side part of that hustle.