Once a sponsoring VC has gained his company's approval for investment, the period of intense scrutiny comes to an end and the VC moves to a pattern of periodic review - once a month or sometimes only once a quarter. The process is one of measuring performance against a plan agreed with the company's management. Only the largest investors have the funds and time set aside to establish a disciplined and dynamic interaction to understand and evaluate its execution. The problem is that files and reports are static information while the market the startup is attacking changes continuously.
Where the start-up is behind on its original projections there are limits to what a financial turnaround consultant can do. Cost-cutting can damage the operational effectiveness as well as the morale of the staff. Where employees have key marketable skills, cuts are seen to foreshadow more cuts and often lead to unwelcome departures.
Cost cutting can buy time but it does not address the management issues. For this a hands-on executive with substantial marketing and general management experience must get up close to the company.