Forensic Strategic Review for Founders & Investors

Before you scale, raise capital, hire a senior leader, or lock in a structural move – I help you verify that the decision actually holds up.

Independent logic review for hard-to-reverse commitments.

Most expensive strategic mistakes don’t look like mistakes.

  • They look reasonable
  • The plan makes sense
  • The numbers add up
  • The team agrees


Momentum builds.


And that is usually when risk begins to accumulate quietly.

People typically reach out before a commitment that is hard to reverse:

  • Scaling the business
  • Making a senior hire
  • Raising capital
  • Restructuring ownership
  • Acquiring or being acquired


On paper, everything appears aligned.


And yet something feels off.


Assumptions remain unchallenged.

Important questions are softened.

Conversations start looping.

Decisions are framed as reversible when they are not.


By the time the risk becomes visible in metrics, it is already expensive.

I work independently with founders and investors to examine decisions at the moment they still can be contained.

The work focuses on:


  • Surfacing hidden assumptions
  • Stress-testing the logic behind the decision
  • Mapping second-order effects
  • Checking alignment between narrative, numbers, incentives, and operational reality


The goal is not to improve the story.


The goal is to understand whether the decision itself can withstand pressure.

Engagements are short, focused, and centered around one specific upcoming commitment.

  • There is no long-term retainer
  • No implementation phase
  • No ongoing process ownership


My role ends before execution begins — at the point where being wrong is still correctable.

I don’t manage teams.

I don’t run operations.

I don’t replace internal leadership.


I provide independent judgment when internal alignment is fragile, and the cost of error is structural.

My background is in building and operating infrastructure and technology businesses in environments with limited capital, unclear rules, and high operational risk.


Over time, I learned to focus less on frameworks and more on signal quality – identifying which assumptions actually matter, which ones are noise, and whether a commitment can survive contact with reality.


That perspective shapes how I work today.

A defined review format

For founders or investors who need a concrete structure,

I offer a focused Forensic Strategic Review.


A short-term engagement built around one specific decision.

Clear scope. Fixed structure. Defined output.

If this resonates, reach out directly:


vs@vitalysolten.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vitalysolten

© 2026 Vitaly Solten. Strictly Confidential.