Clear, structured writing (turn technical findings into decision-ready risks and recommendations)
Stakeholder communication (interview founders, engineers, and investors with confidence)
Analytical judgment under time pressure (make sound calls with imperfect information)
System architecture evaluation (scalability, reliability, maintainability)
Software engineering fundamentals (code quality, testing, CI/CD concepts)
Cloud and infrastructure knowledge (AWS/GCP/Azure basics, observability, backups, cost awareness)
Security and privacy assessment (common vulnerabilities, controls, data protection)
Product and roadmap evaluation (feasibility, dependencies, execution risk)
Understanding startup stages and VC expectations (what “good” looks like at Seed vs Series B)
Commercial awareness (how technology supports margins, delivery speed, and differentiation)