He is looking at obituaries of startups for advice. If you look at successful startups, did they face early technical risk? Google won early by having the best

He is looking at obituaries of startups for advice. If you look at successful startups, did they face early technical risk? Google won early by having the best algorithm. Facebook's early competitor Friendster died due to technical issues. It seems less clear at what stage companies like Uber and AirBNB faced substantial technical risk? I'd guess Slack and DropBOx had significant technical risk in early stages. I suppose WeWork probably had less technical risk. I suppose the early prototype's code may not be totally indicative of whether the company can overcome the technical risk. Still, I think you need to evaluate whether the founding team can deal with the technical risk. Technical due diligence isn't about looking for beautiful. It is about looking for an ability to manage technical risk. This includes an ability to hire and manage good engineers.