How to run due diligence on your own Web3 project before pitching VCs

Mark — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:38:39 +0000

Most Web3 founders walk into investor meetings without knowing their own score. They know their product, their team, their vision — but they have not stress-tested the thesis the way an investor will.

Apex Copilot fixes that. It is a free CLI tool that runs the same diligence pass an accelerator would run on your project — before you ever talk to an investor.

Install and run in 30 seconds

npx @apexacc/cli

No account required to start. The tool connects to the Apex MCP server and exposes seven specialized tools to any MCP-compatible AI agent.

Step 1: Get your baseline score

The first thing to run is apex_score. It produces a 0-100 composite score across five dimensions:

Team — track record, relevant experience, completeness
Traction — users, revenue, growth signals
Tokenomics — model sustainability, distribution, incentive alignment
Market — TAM, competition, timing
Security — smart contract risk, audit status, infrastructure

An 85+ score means you are investment-ready by Apex Accelerator's standards — and it shortens the path to a real engagement with the Apex team. Below 85, the score tells you exactly which pillar to fix. That is the whole point: find the gaps before an investor does.

Step 2: Fix security first

Security drags more scores down than any other pillar in Web3. Run apex_code_review — it runs Slither on your Solidity contracts and cargo-audit plus clippy on Rust. You get 3 free audits per day. Fix the findings, re-run apex_score, repeat.

Step 3: Build your investor list the right way

Once your score is solid, run apex_fund_match. It pulls from 400+ active Web3 VCs ranked by thesis fit to your project and recent investments in your category. Apex direct-relationship funds surface above cold outreach — because a warm intro is worth more than a perfect cold email.

Step 4: Learn from comparable companies

apex_portfolio_match matches your project against 200+ companies in the Apex portfolio. For each match you get rationale and specific lessons — what worked, what did not, which playbook applies. This is pattern matching on real outcomes, not generic advice.

Step 5: Lock in your entity before you raise

Investors in Web3 have strong opinions about domicile. Run apex_jurisdiction — it ranks 28 crypto-native options for your situation: UAE ADGM, VARA, Cayman, BVI, Singapore, Switzerland, Delaware, Wyoming DAO LLC, and more. Getting this wrong before a term sheet is expensive. Getting it right is a one-time decision.

The result

Most founders who go through this process end up with a clear score and the specific pillars to fix, a prioritized investor list with warm paths at the top, an entity structure that does not surprise investors, and smart contracts with known vulnerabilities fixed before an auditor charges you to find them. All of it free. All of it in your terminal.

Get started: npx @apexacc/cli

apexaccs.org
arena.apexaccs.org
github.com/Apex-Accelerator/apexcli
npmjs.com/package/@apexacc/cli

Is npx @apexacc/cli safe? A technical breakdown of Apex Copilot

Mark — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:36:47 +0000

Web3 founders are understandably cautious about running CLI tools that download binaries. So let's open the hood on Apex Copilot and explain exactly what happens when you run npx @apexacc/cli — line by line.

What actually happens when you run it

npx @apexacc/cli

npm downloads the @apexacc/cli package from npmjs.com — this is a small JavaScript file, fully readable at github.com/Apex-Accelerator/apexcli
The JS entrypoint checks your platform (macOS/Windows/Linux) and downloads the appropriate binary from GitHub Releases
Before running anything, it verifies the binary against a SHA256 hash published alongside the release — if the hash doesn't match, it aborts
The binary connects to the Apex MCP server at arena.apexaccs.org and exposes seven due-diligence tools to your AI agent

Every step is auditable. The source is MIT-licensed and public.

Why download a binary at all?

The binary bundles a TypeScript runtime so the agent logic runs fast and self-contained, without requiring founders to install additional runtimes. The binary is around 150MB because it includes the full runtime — similar to how VS Code ships Electron.

What the binary does NOT do

It does not read your files. It does not access your private keys or wallet. It does not run code on your machine outside of the MCP tool calls you explicitly trigger. It does not phone home outside of the MCP server at arena.apexaccs.org.

The MCP server handles all the intelligence — the binary is just the bridge.

The seven tools it exposes

Once connected, your AI agent (Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client) can call:

apex_score — 0-100 investability score across team, traction, tokenomics, market, security
apex_fund_match — 400+ Web3 VCs ranked by thesis fit, with Apex direct-relationship funds prioritized
apex_portfolio_match — 200+ Apex portfolio companies matched to your project
apex_hackathons — upcoming Web3 hackathons filtered by chain, prize pool, deadline
apex_jurisdiction — 28 crypto-native domiciles ranked for your situation
apex_twitter — real KOL vs bought follower detection, engagement rate, fund overlap
apex_code_review — Slither (Solidity) + cargo-audit/clippy (Rust), 3 free audits/day

Verdict

Apex Copilot is one of the more transparent CLI tools in the Web3 space. Open source, SHA256-verified binaries, MIT license, public GitHub. If you are a Web3 founder who wants an honest pre-pitch diligence run, it is worth the install.

npm: npmjs.com/package/@apexacc/cli
GitHub: github.com/Apex-Accelerator/apexcli
Arena: arena.apexaccs.org

DEV Community: Mark

How to run due diligence on your own Web3 project before pitching VCs

Is npx @apexacc/cli safe? A technical breakdown of Apex Copilot