Software is changing the way venture capitalists manage the business ranging from solutions that address recruiting, platform, ops, fund accounting, pipeline management, follow-ons, and cap table management. TABS Score is the solution that addresses the process of due diligence. The “Diligence-as-a-Service” platform provides comprehensive, qualitative evaluation, across eight categories, of an early-stage venture. The platform features nested decision-trees, sentiment analysis tools, and HEXACO-based personality sections within its assessment. The solution is versatile and can be white-labeled to meet the needs of venture investors, angel groups, incubators, accelerators, and startup consultants; anyone that needs baseline diligence assessment.
AlleyWatch caught up with Lexie Anderson to learn more about what inspired the creation of TABS, the company’s growth plans, and how TABS is offering diligence at the fraction of the time.
Tell us about the product or service that TABS Score offers.
Engineered by successful serial entrepreneurs and veteran seed investors, the TABS Suite is the first DaaS (Diligence-as-a-Service) platform that provides a comprehensive, holistic, and in-depth qualitative evaluation of an early-stage venture. The TABS Score & Valuation assessment significantly strengthens the due diligence process in a fraction of the time, while providing the investor(s) with a complete picture showing them the strengths and weaknesses of a company from a risk management perspective.
How is TABS Score different?
Unlike other due diligence platforms that claim to be integrated with next-gen tech, our software actually goes into the weeds by looking both inside and outside the firm. An extremely thorough nested decision-tree platform helps companies navigate through the required components, coupled with powerful sentiment analysis tools and HEXACO-based personality sections, TABS generates a thorough and well-rounded analysis.
What market does TABS Score target and how big is it?
The applications of the TABS Score are vast. As mentioned earlier, our primary focus is on the founder(s) and investor(s), but we have five main user cohorts: the startup, the angel investor, the venture investor, incubators/accelerators, and startup consultants (legal, accounting, fundraising, etc.) Our assessment is tailored to fit the needs of a diverse variety of companies and can also be white-labeled, which is very popular amongst startup consultants and larger funds that want to integrate TABS into their existing in-house diligence processes.
What is the business model?
The TABS Score™ comes in two different “versions” – the TABS Lite™ assessment and the TABS Suite™ assessment. TABS Lite starts at $129 for the high-level score, breakdown, and valuation report. The TABS Suite product starts at $449 depending on the size of the company and provides a much more detailed diagnostic report, complete with the identification of potentially problematic areas. The TABS Suite product has a number of “continuous” deliverables as well, including access to the exclusive TABS Select platform for companies scoring above a 9.25+. Companies that sign up for TABS Lite have the option to pay the difference to convert their plan into the Suite version.
What inspired the start of TABS Score?
The founding team at TABS has all made venture investments, as well as launched and scaled their own ventures, yet diligence was something that we’ve all had to do- no matter what side of the table we were sitting on.
Our goal is to help both startups and investors navigate the often-overwhelming startup world with an extra sense of security. As a highly motivated and driven team, we were and still are inspired to streamline the due-diligence process for all parties involved.
Who do you consider to be your primary competitors?
While we don’t have any direct competitors, our primary indirect competitors are traditional due-diligence firms, manual consulting shops, and “scraping” tools that aggregate digital data on a company. While some of them have well-established client bases, we know that the TABS Score platform is the first of its kind to standardize the due-diligence and evaluation process through a powerful machine-learning tool that utilizes AI components (sentiment analysis, speech recognition, etc.) to provide a more holistic and in-depth overview in a fraction of the time.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
Within six months, we aim to be at double the profitability we’re experiencing right now, double the size of our team to manage the inbound demand, and establish a larger base of relationships with founders, investors, and accelerator programs. Within twelve months, we plan to be fully operational in three additional continents.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
A great piece of advice is Show, don’t tell. As mentioned earlier, we value hard evidence over opinion. It can be easy to be fooled by a vibrant pitch led by founders with witty responses. The data will speak for itself. Do the research and have the metrics to prove that your startup will succeed in an extremely competitive environment. It is important to rely on more than a good sales pitch and a gut feeling.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
If we could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community, it would be a well-connected individual or group that could help augment the growth of our platform’s user base. We would want to be introduced to angel investor groups that could utilize the TABS Score as their baseline diligence tool.
Why did you launch in New York?
New York is a vibrant and eclectic community for businesses of all backgrounds. With a diverse set of values and ideas, it serves the breeding ground for innovative thinking and problem-solving. New York is a hotbed for entrepreneurial activity, and we like to be where the action is happening. Many of our team members and founders are from or have ties to New York, and it served as the perfect place to call TABS Score home.
New York is a hotbed for entrepreneurial activity, and we like to be where the action is happening.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
That’s a tough one since it really varies by cuisine. For Mediterranean food, Ililli is amazing with great cocktails, but I also recently went to Cocoron, a Japanese place in the Lower East Side which I loved. The ambiance is fun and inviting! They have incredible dipping soba that everyone should try at least once.