A full DeckCount review
Everything a review gives you, shown in full below and as a PDF to keep. Based on a real review of a founder's own deck. The company's name and identifying details have been changed.
Valuation vs sector not assessable, excluded rather than scored low.
Regulatory ceiling applies to exit value, not to current cash generation. Lawful today, but it limits what this business can be sold for. A licensed buyer would discount or exclude this revenue; the score above is the natural score and this is the caveat against it.
Why this could work
Genuinely proprietary prediction engine with back-tested depth, a fast self-serve deployment platform, and a credentialed board with real UK licensing and exit experience. Early tier-one operator logos and a signed £9k per month contract show this is not just a concept.
Why this could fail
This is a B2B supplier business selling into operators whose licensing status and market mix are never disclosed. Affiliate revenue is exposed to platform and regulatory rule changes, and the forecast assumes a rapid new-client ramp with only one contract actually signed. The new holding company, IP transfer and escrow mechanic add legal and execution risk right at the point of closing.
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Who would take this meeting
Twelve seats at the table, each a documented way of reading a deck. This is how each would answer "would you take the meeting?" on this deck alone. The first line of each reading is shown; the full critiques come with the subscriber plans.
Dimension breakdown
Red flags
Possible deal stopper: Typically this stops a deal until it is resolved. The score above is the natural score; this is the caveat against it. Exit potential capped: Lawful today, but it limits what this business can be sold for. A licensed buyer would discount or exclude this revenue; the score above is the natural score and this is the caveat against it. Information gap: Not a fault in the business, but information a reviewer would ask for before going further.
- INFORMATION GAPNo disclosure of the licensing status or jurisdictional mix of the operator and affiliate clients whose traffic and revenue the model depends on.
- INFORMATION GAPNo stated AML, responsible gambling or KYC compliance function, relevant for a business handling bettor engagement data at the point of a bet decision.
- INFORMATION GAPThe rationale and the tax and legal purpose of the new overseas holding company taking all group IP is not explained, nor is why investor funds must be held in escrow pending its formation.
- INFORMATION GAPThe prior round valued the company at £3m with only £300k of external investment; the jump to £5m pre-money on thin contracted revenue is unexplained.
- EXIT POTENTIAL CAPPEDNorth Gaming is a B2B supplier (widgets and data) that earns affiliate and per-acquisition revenue through partnerships with operators in several jurisdictions, including a Latin American sports site (p.9), with planned expansion across the UK and North America (p.13-14). Revenue relies on third-party operators whose own licensing status is not described, and a new overseas holding company is to hold "all of the group's IP, brands and commercial contracts", with investor funds held in escrow until it is formed (p.14).
Comparable pattern
Classic "sports-data tools as a wedge to acquisition" story: credible founding team, real but early logos, an optimistic hockey-stick forecast built on one contracted anchor client, and an exit thesis that assumes the eventual acquirer is also today's customer. That pattern works roughly as often as it stalls at the move from pilot to scale.
What to fix before you send this
Ready to send, with two things to settle first: the licensing and jurisdiction gap, and the unexplained holding-company and escrow mechanic, will otherwise stall an investor before they reach the forecast.
Disclosure ceiling
A ceiling, not a forecast. Disclosure that reveals bad news moves the score the other way.
Readiness
Quick wins · disclosure
- 1.Publish the licensing status and jurisdiction of every named client and partner, and the share of revenue each contributes.
- 2.Add a one-page compliance note confirming no player funds are held, the data-protection basis for data handling, and whatever AML and responsible gambling posture applies to a point-of-bet data supplier.
- 3.Disclose the cost and licensing terms of the underlying sports-data feeds the engine depends on. Margin and defensibility both hinge on this and it is currently invisible.
Structural · takes time
- 1.Get the new holding company and IP-transfer structure signed off and documented by named tax and legal advisers before the next raise, with the escrow long-stop date and investor protections spelled out. This is the single structural item most likely to be read as a deal stopper rather than a detail.
- 2.Convert pipeline into a second and third signed contract before the next investor conversation. A forecast built on one anchor client reads as a hockey stick, not a trend.
How investors will read this
- 1."You're asking us to underwrite revenue from operators whose licences we can't see." Be ready with a full counterparty licensing table before this is asked, not after.
- 2."One signed contract doesn't support 8 to 15 new clients a year." Have a pipeline with named prospects, stage and expected close date, not just the blended forecast.
- 3."Why does closing this round require funds to sit in escrow pending a holding company we don't understand?" Have the legal rationale, tax treatment and adviser names ready in writing, or investors will read this as a structure built for someone else's benefit.
- 4."If you don't hold funds, why is there no compliance function at all?" Show the policy and explain why the risk is lower than for a licensed operator, rather than leaving it unaddressed.
- 5."£5m pre-money on £300k of external investment and thin contracted revenue looks like a markup, not a valuation." Anchor the number to a metric the sector actually prices on, such as contracted recurring revenue or signed pipeline value.
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