Catching Misrepresented Financials in a UK Startup Deal
Flagged fabricated financial assumptions in a live deal, uncovering deeper product defensibility issues that led to rejection
Tanvi Prakash
Deal Associate at Global Bharat Fund
From their time as
Deal Associate
Global Bharat Fund • 2026
Overview
Tanvi was reviewing a pitch from a UK-based startup seeking $10 million in first-round funding. The company was early-stage, and the product was in a competitive, undifferentiated space.
The Story
Tanvi was reviewing a pitch from a UK-based startup seeking $10 million in first-round funding. The company was early-stage, and the product was in a competitive, undifferentiated space.
During the financial screening, she noticed that the assumption sets in the financial model did not match the company's own operating context. The projections were optimistic in a way that felt disconnected from the business. She flagged this internally and set up a call with the founders to understand the discrepancy.
On the call, it became clear that the founders had modeled their financials by mimicking peer companies rather than building from their own unit economics. The assumptions were borrowed, not earned.
With that finding in hand, Tanvi went back to the product itself. She assessed whether the underlying business could justify any version of the projections. What she found was that the product had no IP protection and could be replicated quickly, removing any structural advantage that might have offset the financial concerns.
She compiled both findings and presented them to her manager. The deal was rejected. The combination of misrepresented financials and a defenseless product meant there was no path forward for the investment.