The Glenmore Readiness Standard

What must be true before capital can be deployed responsibly

 

This is not a methodology.

It is a threshold.

 

Capital does not create readiness.

It exposes whether it already exists.

 

Companies that meet this standard may benefit from capital.

Companies that do not are almost always harmed by it.

 

 

 

1. Governance Precedes Scale

 

 

Capital increases decision velocity and consequence.

If authority, accountability, and escalation are informal, capital amplifies confusion.

 

Readiness exists when:

 

• Decision rights are explicit and enforced

• A functioning board or advisory structure exists with real influence

• Founders demonstrate willingness to be governed, not merely advised

 

 

 

 

2. Sequencing Is Deliberate

 

 

Most failures are not strategic errors.

They are sequencing failures.

 

Doing the right things in the wrong order converts correctable issues into permanent constraints.

 

Readiness exists when:

 

• Growth, hiring, product expansion, and capital use follow a clear sequence

• Constraints are addressed before acceleration

• Capital is not used to defer unresolved structural issues

 

 

 

 

3. Complexity Is Contained

 

 

Capital increases surface area: people, systems, customers, commitments.

If complexity grows faster than coordination capacity, execution fragments.

 

Readiness exists when:

 

• Operating cadence and reporting discipline are already in place

• Unit economics and cost structure remain coherent under scale

• The organization absorbs complexity without degrading execution quality

 

 

 

 

4. Judgment Capacity Is Proven

 

 

Capital, talent, and opportunity are abundant.

Judgment under pressure is not.

 

Readiness exists when:

 

• Leadership has made difficult tradeoffs without external rescue

• Prior capital resulted in learning, not dependency

• Long-term integrity consistently outweighs short-term optics

 

 

 

 

5. Capital Has a Defined Function

 

 

Capital should accelerate a system that already works.

It should not be used to validate strategy, leadership, or cohesion.

 

Readiness exists when:

 

• Capital use is mapped to specific constraints it will relieve

• The business does not rely on future raises to justify current decisions

• Clear boundaries exist around what capital will not be used to fund

 

 

 

 

Closing Standard

 

 

If these conditions are present, capital can compound progress.

If they are not, capital compounds fragility.

 

This standard is applied before engagement, before advocacy, and before capital is introduced.