As for how you can be certain that something is true: bankstatements are usually a pretty good start.
It's quite ok to ask for substantiation of claims at that stage, if they have the revenue they won't hesitate to prove it (and they'll feel good about it), if they don't have the revenues then they may back-paddle.
A very important number is how many months worth of expenses are in the bank, in case something happens to the revenue stream (which is not unheard of in start-up land).
I think my google-fu was a bit off today clearly but I appreciate the links. Thanks!
"Months of expenses in the bank" is a great questions. As I understand they are claiming to have a large yearly revenue stream. This makes me want to conclude they will be stable for some period of time, but quantifying how many months of operating expenses are currently available gives a much more true current position.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7290749
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8759250
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5362776
That should get you started.
As for how you can be certain that something is true: bankstatements are usually a pretty good start.
It's quite ok to ask for substantiation of claims at that stage, if they have the revenue they won't hesitate to prove it (and they'll feel good about it), if they don't have the revenues then they may back-paddle.
A very important number is how many months worth of expenses are in the bank, in case something happens to the revenue stream (which is not unheard of in start-up land).