What the next investor will test at pre-seed, pillar by pillar. Each indicator is read by its parts, and each part gets its own status. A part has a floor and, where sources publish a range, a typical and a strong level. Each level says where it comes from.
Type a word or two. Only what holds them stays.
Nothing on this page holds those words.
Team
Can these founders build the product and reach customers, and are they committed on paper?
Coverage
The people who build the product are in the company: a technical founder at the start, named owners of product and engineering by Series A.
Y Combinator: "It's important for the founding team to have the skills to build their product themselves, rather than outsourcing it to someone else." Point Nine asks at pre-seed for "Product/tech expertise to build the product". SVV also asks that the founder has shipped production software. The report checks it this way: the deck has to name what was shipped.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide. Look for the name of the person who builds, and what that person has shipped before: a product, a system or a company, with a place and a year.
Shown
At pre-seed and seed: the deck names the person who builds the product and gives three facts about software that person has released before: what it was, the company it was built at, and the year. At Series A: the deck names the person who owns product and the person who owns engineering. One person may hold both.
Claimed
At pre-seed and seed: the deck names a technical founder, gives someone a title such as CTO, or says the team is technical, and any of the three facts is missing. At Series A: the deck says product and engineering are covered, or shows a technical team, and names no owner for one or both.
Not met
The deck says the product is built by an agency, by contractors or by anyone outside the company, or says the company has no technical founder or is looking for one. At Series A: the deck says the post of product owner or of engineering owner is vacant. Where this applies it is Not met, whatever else the deck says.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The code repository and its history; a reference call with someone who has worked with the technical founder; at Series A the organisation chart.
Applies to
Every company.
For AI companies
a16z asks whether AI has ended the old rule against non-technical founders, and gives the case against: "there’s still a big gap between a demo and a reliable product that can scale". A founder who built the first version with AI tools still has to show who will make it reliable.
Sam Altman: a startup needs "at least one founder who can build the company’s product or service, and at least one founder who is (or can become) good at sales and talking to users. This can be the same person." Bessemer: "You are your company’s first salesperson."
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide and the slide on how you sell. Look for who holds the customer conversations and who closed the deals so far. For a self-serve product, look for who owns how users arrive and start paying.
Shown
The deck names the person who owns customers and gives at least one thing that person has done, with a number or a named customer: interviews held, pilots signed or deals closed. For a self-serve product: it names the person who owns growth, and gives a dated figure that person answers for, such as sign-ups, conversion to paid or paying accounts.
Claimed
The deck names a person as owning sales, growth or customers, gives someone a commercial title, or says sales are founder-led, and gives nothing that person ran with a number or a named customer.
Not met
The deck says selling is left to an adviser, an agency or a hire not yet made, or says nobody owns it.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The CRM export showing who ran each conversation and closed each deal; a customer reference call. For a self-serve product: sign-ups and conversion to paid by channel, from product analytics.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: A named person owns commercial: selling, pricing and customers. The bar at seed
The deck says what the founders know about this problem from their own work, and where they learned it.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Stated, with where it comes from
SourcePoint Nine, 30 September 2023What does it take to raise capital, in SaaS, in 2023? (the 2023 SaaS Funding Napkin, Christoph Janz)
Point Nine asks at pre-seed for "Special insights into a problem based on industry/domain expertise". Whether the insight is a good one is not judged here. That is read in the case, which is never scored.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide or the problem slide. Look for years in the customer’s industry, a job that had the problem, research on it, or a set of customer interviews.
Shown
The deck ties the founders to this problem by naming where their knowledge of it comes from: a job or employer in the customer’s field, research on the problem, or a stated number of customer interviews.
Claimed
The deck says the founders have domain expertise, industry experience or insight into the problem, and names no job, employer, research or number of interviews behind it.
Not met
The deck says the founders are new to the customer’s field and names no research or interviews behind its view of the problem.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Founder CVs and two references each; the interview log.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
Read for seed only These parts have no bar at pre-seed. They are read against the bar for seed.
Y Combinator: "we expect the founders to commit to working full-time on their company". Unusual Ventures: "Many founders raise a Pre-Seed as they transition from their current employment situation to full-time startup mode." A founder still in a job today meets the bar if the leaving date is stated.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide. Look for "full-time" beside each founder, with a date. At pre-seed, a date by which each founder leaves their other job counts.
Shown
The deck says each founder is full-time and gives a date for each: the date they started, or at pre-seed the date they will start, no later than the close.
Claimed
The deck says the founders are full-time, "committed" or "all in", and for at least one founder gives no date. A team slide with names and titles and nothing about time is Unknown, not Claimed.
Not met
The deck shows a founder who holds another job or a role at another company and gives no date for leaving it, or at pre-seed gives a leaving date after the close. Where this applies it is Not met, whatever the deck says of the other founders. In a university spinout, an academic founder who keeps a university post is read under the university relationship and does not count against this part.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Employment contracts or resignation letters with dates; the university’s written approval where a founder keeps an academic post.
The founders’ shares vest: a founder who leaves early does not keep them all.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A founder agreement and vesting signed before the money lands
SVV’s judgement on the timing. Investors ask for it by Series A: Y Combinator’s checklist asks for "A summary of the vesting schedules of any stock or options subject to vesting". At pre-seed SVV treats it as a condition for closing the round, not a reason to stop.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
Rarely on a slide. It may be on the team slide, the ask, or a cap table in the appendix. Look for the word "vesting" with its length.
Shown
The deck says founder vesting is signed and gives the vesting period. At pre-seed, a statement that it will be signed at the close, with the period, also counts.
Claimed
The deck mentions founder vesting and leaves out one of the two things Shown asks for: that it is signed (or at pre-seed will be signed at the close), or the period.
Not met
The deck says founder shares are held outright with no vesting and gives no plan to add it.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The founder agreement or shareholders’ agreement, and the cap table.
The company owns the intellectual property its product depends on, or holds a signed licence to it.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
IP assignment signed before the money lands
SVV’s judgement on the timing. Y Combinator’s Series A checklist asks for documentation of every assignment of IP to the company. At pre-seed SVV treats it as a condition for closing the round.
For a university spinout a signed licence counts, and at pre-seed so does an option or a stand-still letter from the university. A licence is the rule in Ireland and the default in the UK. Its terms are read under the university relationship.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide, the product slide or the appendix. Look for who owns the code, the models and the rights to data, and whether founders, staff and contractors have assigned their work to the company.
Shown
The deck says the IP is assigned to the company and names who assigned it: founders, staff, contractors or a previous employer. For a university spinout: it names the signed licence and its date. At pre-seed, a statement that the assignment or licence will be signed before the close also counts.
Claimed
The deck says the company owns its IP, its code or its technology, and does not say who assigned it or name a licence.
Not met
The deck says work the product depends on belongs to someone else (a founder personally, a previous employer, a contractor or a university) and names no assignment or licence, signed or to be signed before the close.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
IP assignment agreements for founders, staff and contractors; for a spinout, the signed licence.
The first hires are planned and costed at pre-seed, and made or open by seed.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
The first two hires, each with a start month and a cost, in a plan for the next twelve months
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes a hiring bar at pre-seed. The direction is supported: Y Combinator says the amount raised "must be tied to a believable plan".
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide, the plan or the ask. At pre-seed, look for the first roles by name, the month each starts and what each costs. At seed, look for people hired since the last round with their roles, or open roles with a date.
Shown
At pre-seed: the deck names the first two roles and gives the start month and the cost of each. At seed: the deck names one or two people hired, with their roles, or names the roles that are open and the date each is to be filled.
Claimed
The deck says something about hiring (that the round will pay for it, that the team is growing, a headcount, or a list of roles) and leaves out any of what Shown asks for at its round.
Not met
At pre-seed: the deck says no hires are planned in the next twelve months. At seed: the deck says no hire has been made and no role is open, or that the first hires wait for this round.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The hiring plan for the first roles, the monthly cash plan, and the organisation chart against the plan.
Applies to
Every company.
Where the figures are from
Seedcamp, a European seed investor, mapped the hires of 60 of its companies before Series A: "Across most sectors, engineers comprise over 50% of the first 20 hires".
At seed
Floor: One or two hires made as planned, or the roles funded and open with a date. The bar at seed
The gaps in the team are named, with how each will be filled.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Each gap named, with who covers it until it is filled
SVV's judgementA named candidate or adviser for each gap is not required: First Round warns that listing people who have yet to join "gives the investor pause", and says of advisers, "Leave them out of the pitch."
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide. Look for what the team lacks, for example sales or machine learning, and what covers it: a planned hire, a founder until then, or an adviser.
Shown
The deck names at least one gap in the team and, for every gap it names, says how it is covered: who does the job now, or the hire planned and its month.
Claimed
The deck says the team is "complete" or "well rounded", or that gaps will be filled after the round, and names no gap.
Not met
The deck names a gap (for example "no commercial lead yet") and, for at least one gap it names, says nothing about how it is covered.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The hiring plan; a signed offer or adviser agreement where a person is named.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
Governance
A written update goes to investors or advisers every month.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A written monthly update already going to advisers or angels
SVV's judgementNo investor sets it as a bar at pre-seed. The direction is supported: Carta advises "Sending monthly updates, sharing milestones, and staying in regular contact with potential investors" before a raise.
No run of updates is asked for. No leading investor names a count, and a pre-seed company is not asked for more process than investors look for. One update sent, with a named reader, meets the bar.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide or the appendix. Look for who already receives a monthly update and since when, or for a sample of one. At pre-seed the readers are advisers, angels or investors you have met.
Shown
The deck names at least one person or group that receives a written monthly update and says since when, or includes an update.
Claimed
The deck mentions updates to investors, angels or advisers and leaves out who receives them, that they are monthly, or since when.
Not met
The deck says no update is sent, or that updates are not written or not monthly.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The last six investor updates.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: A written update to investors every month. The bar at seed
Who advises the company, and what each has done in this market.
The bar at pre-seed
No pass mark The report names the advisers the deck lists and what each has done in this market. It gives no pass mark.
The number of advisers is not marked. Leading sources advise against leaning on advisers in a pitch. Y Combinator: "Nobody cares about your advisors." First Round: "The best investors are going to be asking why they’re advisors and not full-time team members." Point Nine says it "can’t hurt to include them".
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide. Look for advisers by name, with the role each held in the customer’s industry.
Shown
The deck names each adviser it mentions and gives the role each has held in this market.
Claimed
The deck shows advisers by name or logo and, for at least one, gives no role held in this market.
Not met
Not given for this part. It has no pass mark, so a deck cannot fall short of it.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Adviser agreements, and a note of what each adviser did for the company in the last quarter.
Intellectual property the product depends on has not been assigned to the company: work a founder did before it was formed, work done at a previous employer, or work done by a contractor. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.
A solo founder who cannot both build and sell, with no plan and no budget for a co-founder or senior hire to cover the gap. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.
Before the round, the founders together hold less than 60% of the company, or one holder who does not work in it holds more than 20%.
First Round’s level 1, pre-seed or seed, counts customers. At pre-seed this standard counts a design partner in the same way, paying or not.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The product and traction slides. A design partner is an early customer who uses the product while it is being built, paying or not. Look for how many use the prototype, who they are, and a screen or a number from real use.
Shown
The deck gives the number of design partners using the prototype, the number is 2 or more, and it backs the number with at least one of: their names, a dated usage figure, or a screen of the prototype in use. A list of named design partners counts as the number.
Claimed
The deck says there is a prototype or an MVP, or gives a number of users or design partners of 2 or more, and gives none of the three: names, a dated usage figure, or a screen of it in use.
Not met
The deck gives a number of design partners using it that is below 2, or says that what exists is a mock-up, a scripted demo or still being built.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The prototype, shown live on real data; usage logs by design partner.
Applies to
Every company.
Where the figures are from
First Round’s counts are for US sales-led B2B companies.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
The plan gives a date for the first production release.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A dated first production release in the plan
SVV's judgementNo published threshold. Unusual Ventures describes the seed phase as "Moving through the prototype to MVP to 1.0 phases of the product", so a pre-seed plan should say when that starts.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The plan or roadmap slide. Look for the month the prototype becomes a product customers run for real work.
Shown
The deck gives the month or the quarter of the first production release.
Claimed
The deck says the product will go into production and gives no month or quarter for it.
Not met
The deck shows a roadmap or plan with no production release on it, or says the date is not set.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The twelve-month roadmap.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
Read for seed only These parts have no bar at pre-seed. They are read against the bar for seed.
Accounts use the product in every period it is meant to be used.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Each design partner used the prototype in 4 of the last 6 weeks
SVV's judgementNo published figure. The direction is supported: Sequoia tells pre-seed and seed founders to look for signs "that users are consistently engaging with at least one feature".
Where the prototype does a job that comes round less often than weekly, read 4 of the last 6 times the job fell due.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The traction slide. Look for active accounts as a share of all accounts, what counts as active, and the period: a week for most products, a month or a quarter where the job the product does comes round that often.
Shown
The deck gives the share of accounts active in each period, says what counts as active, names the period and dates the figures, and the share is at or above the floor for the round. At pre-seed: it shows each design partner’s use for the last six weeks, and each used the prototype in at least four.
Claimed
The deck says something about how much the product is used (for example "daily" or "heavily", or a share of active accounts at or above the floor) and leaves out any of what Shown asks for: the share, what counts as active, the period or the dates. Revenue billed on what accounts used in a period says something about use: with no share of active accounts it is Claimed, not Unknown.
Not met
The deck gives a share of active accounts that is below the floor for the round, with or without the rest. At pre-seed: it shows a design partner who used the prototype in fewer than four of the last six weeks.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Product analytics: active accounts in each period for the last six months, with the meaning of active.
Applies to
Every company.
For AI companies
a16z finds that early use of AI products overstates what lasts: people sign up to try them and leave within a couple of months, so it measures from month three. Read usage from the first weeks after sign-up with that in mind.
At seed
Floor: 60% of onboarded accounts active in each period. The bar at seed
Usage comes from a log, not from memory.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Usage logged by the product
SVV's judgementIt is SVV’s evidence rule applied to usage: a number from the company’s own systems counts and a recollection does not.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The traction or product slide. Look for a chart, table or screen of usage by design partner and week.
Shown
The deck shows usage taken from the product: a chart, a table or a screenshot with dates on it.
Claimed
The deck describes how often design partners use the prototype, in words or as a figure, with no chart, table or screenshot from the product.
Not met
The deck says usage is not tracked or not logged.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Usage logs by design partner.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
Technical position
The company holds something a competitor cannot copy quickly: data, a workflow customers depend on, or integrations.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A written case for what will be proprietary: data, workflow or integration
Point Nine’s 2023 napkin asked classic SaaS companies for no more than "Great ideas" on defensibility at pre-seed and seed. For AI companies the question now comes early. CRV: "would your company still have a reason to exist if a foundation model provider released something ten times better tomorrow?"
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The slide on the product, the AI or the moat. Look for what is named as the company’s own and for anything that shows it at work.
Shown
At pre-seed: the deck says which of three things will be the company’s own (data only it holds, a workflow customers run their work through, or integrations into customers’ systems) and how it will be built up. At seed: the deck names one such asset that exists and gives a fact about it: its size, how it grows with use, or the customers whose systems it is built into. At Series A: as at seed, and the deck gives a result or a deal won that it puts down to the asset.
Claimed
The deck says its technology is proprietary, unique or defensible and falls short of Shown for its round: it names no asset of the three kinds, or names one and gives nothing more.
Not met
The deck says the product has no data, workflow or integrations of its own and gives no plan for any, or the only thing it names as its own is a set of prompts on a third-party model. An integration counts as the company’s own. Prompts alone do not.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The IP summary; the list of data sets with the rights to each; the list of customer integrations.
Applies to
Every company.
For AI companies
a16z: "AI is an extraordinary engine for product differentiation. But it’s not a moat." Point Nine: a moat from AI needs "proprietary data that is impossible to obtain for others", and that data must lead "to superior model performance".
At seed
Floor: One proprietary asset identified: data, a workflow or an integration. The bar at seed
The AI is measured against a baseline on the company’s own test set.AI only
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
An evaluation against a baseline on the founders’ own test set
Bessemer: "Private, continuous evaluation is mission-critical: Public benchmarks aren’t enough. Enterprises demand trusted, explainable performance. Build in eval infrastructure from day one."
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The slide on the AI. A baseline is the result without your product: the current manual process, a general model used as it comes, or the leading alternative. Look for a quality or accuracy number, the test set it was measured on, what it was compared with, and the date.
Shown
The deck gives four things: the result, the test set it was measured on, the baseline it was compared with, and the date.
Claimed
The deck gives an accuracy or quality figure, or says the model outperforms something, and any of the four is missing. A score on a public benchmark with no test set of the company’s own is Claimed.
Not met
The deck says no evaluation has been run, or gives a result that is no better than the baseline it names.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The evaluation report: the test set, who labelled it, the baseline and the results.
Applies to
Only AI companies.
At seed
Floor: The evaluation against a baseline, written up. The bar at seed
The product is measured against the way the job is done today.Not AI
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A before and after measured on a real task with one design partner
SVV's judgementIt is the counterpart, for software that is not AI, of the evaluation against a baseline asked of AI companies. No published threshold.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The product or problem slide. Look for a before and after in the customer’s numbers: time, cost or errors, on a real task.
Shown
The deck gives a before and an after, both as numbers, for a named task, with a named customer or design partner and the date.
Claimed
The deck says the product is faster, cheaper or more accurate than the current way (for example "10x faster" or "saves hours") and any of these is missing: the two numbers, the task, the named customer or design partner, or the date.
Not met
The deck says no comparison has been made, or gives numbers in which the product does no better than the current way.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The measurement: the task, the customer, the figures before and after, and who recorded them.
Applies to
Only software companies that are not AI companies.
At seed
Floor: The before and after written up, from customers’ own use. The bar at seed
Engineering maturity
The code is under version control: every change is recorded, with who made it.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
In use
SVV's judgementNone of the sixteen investors whose published guidance SVV read names internal systems as a reason to invest. It is checked in diligence, so have it ready. A deck is not expected to show it.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
A deck does not usually say. It may be on a product or technology slide.
Shown
The deck names the version control system in use, or shows the repository.
Claimed
The deck says the code is properly managed, or that the team follows "engineering best practice", and names no system.
Not met
The deck says the code is held outside the company, for example by an agency, or that changes to it are not recorded.
The product can be built and released the same way every time.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A build anyone on the team can repeat
SVV's judgementNone of the sixteen investors whose published guidance SVV read names internal systems as a reason to invest. It is checked in diligence, so have it ready. A deck is not expected to show it.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
A deck does not usually say. It may be on a product or technology slide.
Shown
The deck says how the product is built and released, and what it describes meets the level for the round: at pre-seed a build anyone on the team can repeat, at seed automated deployment, at Series A automated testing and deployment on every change.
Claimed
The deck says something about how often or how well it releases and does not say how releases are made, or what it describes is short of the level for the round.
Not met
The deck says releases are made by hand, or that only one person can build or release the product.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The repository and the deployment pipeline, shown live.
SVV's judgementNone of the sixteen investors whose published guidance SVV read names internal systems as a reason to invest. It is checked in diligence, so have it ready. A deck is not expected to show it.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
A deck does not usually say. It may be on a product or technology slide.
Shown
The deck names the issue tracker in use, or shows it.
Claimed
The deck says work is tracked or "well organised" and names no tool.
Not met
The deck says work is not tracked.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Access to the issue tracker.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
There is a roadmap for the next twelve months, and each item is tied to a customer need.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Twelve months, each item tied to customer value
SVV's judgementY Combinator treats a roadmap as optional in a seed deck: "You can optionally include a summary product roadmap (6 quarters max) indicating what an investment buys."
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The plan or roadmap slide. Look for what ships in each quarter and which customer need or revenue each item serves.
Shown
The deck shows a roadmap that runs at least twelve months ahead, and every item on it names the customer need, the customer or the revenue it serves.
Claimed
The deck shows a roadmap or a list of planned features that falls short of Shown: it runs less than twelve months ahead, it has no dates, or at least one item names no customer need, customer or revenue.
Not met
The deck says there is no roadmap.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The twelve-month roadmap.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: Twelve months, each item tied to customer value. The bar at seed
Red flags
Any one of these caps the pillar at level 2.
No prototype: slides only. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.
A thin wrapper on one third-party model, with no plan for anything of the company’s own on top: data, a workflow or distribution. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.AI only
The founders cannot demonstrate the system live on real data. A deck cannot show this either way, so from a deck it is not checked.
The company neither owns the code and models its product is built on nor holds a signed licence to them. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.
Bessemer: "Define and focus on an “uncomfortably narrow” ideal customer profile (ICP) before expanding." Sequoia: "The conversations that resonate most strongly will help you define your ICP".
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The slide on who buys or how you sell. ICP stands for ideal customer profile: the customer who needs the product most and buys fastest. Look for four things: the kind of organisation (segment), how big it is, the role that buys, and the event that makes it buy now (trigger). For a self-serve product the buyer is the user who pays, the size may be the size of team, and the trigger is what makes a user sign up or start paying.
Shown
The deck states all four: the segment, the size of organisation, the role that buys and the trigger.
Claimed
The deck describes a target customer and one or more of the four is missing.
Not met
The deck says the customer is anyone, for example "any company" or "all businesses".
The founders have interviewed people who match the ideal customer about the problem, and kept notes.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
15 documented problem interviews with people who match the ICP
SVV's judgementNo published figure for a floor. The direction is well supported: Point Nine asks at pre-seed for "Strong indications of a large opportunity, e.g. based on user interviews", and Sequoia says "You need a critical mass of conversations to produce enough evidence".
Sequoia: "We’ve seen companies conduct 50+ conversations in a week."
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The problem slide or the traction slide. Look for the number of interviews, who they were with, and what was learned.
Shown
The deck gives the number of problem interviews, the number is 15 or more, and it says who they were with: their roles and kinds of organisation, or their names.
Claimed
The deck says the founders spoke to customers and gives no number, or gives a number of 15 or more and nothing on who was interviewed.
Not met
The deck gives a number of interviews below 15, or says the interviews were with friends, investors or other founders and not with possible customers.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The interview log: date, person, role, organisation and notes.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
Read for seed only These parts have no bar at pre-seed. They are read against the bar for seed.
The market you can reach with this product and these channels is large enough.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
£100m a year
SVV’s judgement, in sterling. No investor publishes a threshold for SAM. Published thresholds are for the total market.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The market slide. SAM is the part of the total market you can reach with this product and the ways you sell, in every country you mean to sell in. Look for it as a yearly figure. A figure the deck calls its serviceable or reachable market counts, whatever the label. Markets the deck sizes one by one, each with a count and a price, are read together, and the report shows the addition as the reader’s working. A market that depends on something the deck says is not yet shown does not count. A deck in dollars or euros is read against the same number in its own currency.
Shown
The deck gives a SAM as a yearly figure at or above the floor for the round, and shows the sum behind it: a count of customers and a price.
Claimed
The deck gives a SAM at or above the floor and no sum behind it. A figure for the reachable market taken from a report is Claimed.
Not met
The deck gives a SAM below the floor for the round, with or without working. A figure for the first market alone, where the deck names further markets and leaves them out of the count, is not the SAM: the part is Unknown, and the report states the figure and what was left out.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The bottom-up market model.
Applies to
Every company.
Where the figures are from
These bars are SVV’s own, in sterling, written for UK and Irish enterprise AI software companies. They are for everything the product can reach, not for the UK and Ireland alone.
Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel: "I prefer the bottom up method because it helps you avoid a common top down pitfall, which is not narrowing down the customer enough." CRV: "A bottom-up build works best: average revenue per customer multiplied by the number of real customers in your segment." Nine of the published guides to pitch decks that SVV read say the same.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The market slide. Bottom-up means the number of target customers multiplied by what each would pay in a year. Look for the count, where the count comes from, and the price.
Shown
The deck shows the count of target customers, the yearly price used and the multiplication. At pre-seed the count also carries a named source.
Claimed
The deck gives a market size and any of what Shown asks for is missing: the count, the price, the multiplication, or at pre-seed the source of the count. A figure quoted from a report with no sum of the deck’s own is Claimed. So is a market worked out top-down only: a total from a report with a percentage applied, such as "1% of a £30bn market".
Not met
The deck says its target customers have not been counted, or that it has no price to multiply by.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The market model, with the source and date of each count.
Sequoia: "The best companies almost always have a clear why now?" Y Combinator’s seed guide asks a deck to say "why now is the right time".
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The why-now slide. Look for one outside change with a date: a regulation, a shift in a platform or a technology, or a new budget line.
Shown
The deck names one change outside the company (a regulation, a shift in a platform or a technology, or a new budget line), gives its date, and gives one fact about it that can be looked up: the name of the regulation, a published price or a published target.
Claimed
The deck names a change or a trend outside the company (for example "AI is here") and leaves out its date, the fact that can be looked up, or both.
Not met
The only reasons the deck gives for the timing are inside the company: the product is ready, the team is in place, the round is open.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The regulation, price curve or published target itself, with its date.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: One documented trigger: a regulation, a platform shift or a budget line. The bar at seed
Customers name the trigger themselves.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
2 interviewees named it
SVV's judgementNo published count. The direction is supported: Point Nine asks at pre-seed for indications "based on user interviews".
SVV looks for interviewees who named it unprompted. A deck cannot show whether anyone was prompted, so the report does not test it. It is checked from the interview notes.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The why-now, problem or traction slide. Look for quotes from interviewees or customers, each with a name or with a role and organisation, giving the trigger as their reason.
Shown
The deck quotes or cites people who give the trigger as their reason, each identified by name or by role and organisation, and there are enough of them: 2 interviewees at pre-seed, 2 customers at seed, 5 customers at Series A. Whether anyone was prompted is not read from a deck.
Claimed
The deck says customers give this reason and identifies fewer of them than the round asks for, or none, without saying those are all there are.
Not met
The deck quotes customers on why they buy and none of them gives the trigger, or says how many customers cite the trigger and the number is below what the round asks for.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Interview notes at pre-seed; reference calls at seed and Series A.
The alternatives a customer could choose are named.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
3 named alternatives, one of them building it in-house
SVV’s judgement on the count. Naming the alternatives is published advice. Sequoia: "Who are your direct and indirect competitors. Show that you have a plan to win." CRV: "Every company has competitors, so pretending otherwise reads as naive."
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The competition slide, and any slide that says how the job is done today. Count the alternatives named anywhere in the deck. Doing nothing, the current manual way and building it in-house each count. Several ways of doing the job by hand count as one.
Shown
The deck names at least three alternatives. Doing nothing and building it in-house each count as one. At pre-seed one of the three is the customer building it themselves. A deck that says it has no competitors and still names three alternatives is counted by what it names.
Claimed
The deck refers to "competitors" or "incumbents" as a group, or says it has mapped the competition, and names none.
Not met
The deck names one or two alternatives only, or says there are no competitors and names fewer than three. At pre-seed: it names three or more and building it in-house is not among them.
The reason you win has been tested with customers.
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
2 design partners agree with the reason to win
SVV's judgementNo published count. The point is whether "where we win" has been tested in deals, or only asserted.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The competition slide. Look for the stated reason to win and who agreed with it: design partners at pre-seed, customer conversations at seed. For a self-serve product, look for what paying customers used before and why they changed.
Shown
The deck states the reason it wins and says who confirmed it. At pre-seed: at least 2 design partners, named. At seed: a number of customer conversations in which it was tested, and the number is 5 or more. For a self-serve product, customers asked in a survey or at sign-up count as conversations.
Claimed
The deck states the reason it wins and gives nothing on who confirmed it, or at pre-seed names one design partner only, or at seed mentions customer conversations with no number.
Not met
At seed: the deck gives a number of customer conversations below 5. At either round: the deck reports that customers did not accept the reason, for example deals lost on that point.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Notes of the conversations, and the deals won and lost against each alternative. For a self-serve product: what customers said they used before, from a survey or sign-up question.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: Positioning tested in 5 customer conversations. The bar at seed
Red flags
Any one of these caps the pillar at level 2.
No customer interviews: the problem is asserted, not evidenced. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.
The ideal customer is "any company".
The only sign of demand is the founders’ former employer.
The buyer is a role that has no budget. For a self-serve product the buyer is the user who pays.
Revenue
Is there evidence that a customer will pay?
Level
Paying customers and signed contracts, or at pre-seed signed evidence that a customer will pay
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
One paying customer, or one signed paid pilot, or three signed letters of intent that each name the person who holds the budget
SVV's judgementNo published framework sets a revenue level at pre-seed: Point Nine's napkin leaves ARR blank at this stage (Point Nine 2023). The direction is supported: in what leading investors publish, early evidence of demand comes next after the founders and the market.
Revenue is not required to raise a pre-seed round. Y Combinator says that on average 40% of the companies it funds are just an idea, and most have no revenue (Y Combinator). SVV's line for this stage is "Pre-revenue is not pre-evidence": one signed commitment is evidence. Three to five customers is First Round's benchmark for its first level, which covers pre-seed and seed. It is the typical level there, not a strong one, and First Round does not say that all of them pay: one of the four customers in its example is a design partner that does not.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The traction slide. At pre-seed the bar accepts three kinds of signed evidence: a paying customer, a signed paid pilot, or three signed letters of intent that each name the person who holds the budget. A letter of intent counts here as evidence of demand. It is never revenue. SVV's definitions: "A verbal yes, a letter of intent or a proposal under review is pipeline, not revenue." A pilot fee is pilot revenue and is not ARR. At seed the bar is three paying customers, or contracted ARR. SVV's definitions do not use the term "contracted ARR". It is read here as three of the categories they do define, added together: billed and collected recurring revenue; billed, not yet collected; and contracted, not yet billed. Only the first is headline ARR, so the deck should show the three apart. A pilot with no fee is not a paying customer. For a self-serve product, paying accounts are the customers, and recurring revenue paid by card stands in for contracted ARR: see MRR and ARR in the definitions.
Shown
The deck names each customer, pilot or signatory it counts. Names are enough without a date. Or, where it gives a count or contracted ARR without names, it gives the date and says what is counted: for contracted ARR, how much is billed and collected, how much is billed and not yet collected, and how much is contracted and not yet billed. For a self-serve product: a dated count of paying accounts, or dated recurring revenue with what it counts. Either way, the count or figure is at or above the floor for the round.
Claimed
The deck gives a count or a figure at or above the floor with no names, and with either no date or nothing to say what is counted.
Not met
The deck's own count or figure is below the floor for the round. Or everything it counts is unsigned or unpaid: verbal commitments, proposals under review, pilots with no fee, or letters of intent that are not signed or name no budget owner. At seed a letter of intent is never a paying customer. Where one slide gives a count of customers and another lists who they are, the list decides.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The signed contracts, pilot agreements or letters, and a list of each with its start date, its annual value and whether it has been invoiced and paid. SVV's ARR bridge template is that list.
Applies to
Every company.
For AI companies
AI companies get to revenue faster, so more is expected of them. In a16z's data on enterprise AI companies (June 2025), revenue six months after the first revenue was $0.5M for the bottom quarter, $0.7M at the median and $2.0M for the top quarter (Andreessen Horowitz 2025).
Where the figures are from
Every published figure here is American and in dollars. SVV found no European investor that publishes a revenue threshold for seed or Series A. SVV's floors were set for UK and Irish companies.
At seed
Floor: Three paying customers, or £100k of contracted ARR. Typical: Up to $500k of ARR from three to five customers (First Round, level 1). About $0 to $1.5M of ARR (Point Nine). Strong: More than $500k of ARR. The bar at seed
Growth
Conversations with people who could buy, written down
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
20 qualified conversations, logged
SVV's own figure. Nothing is published on how many conversations a pre-seed company should have had. The direction is supported. Unusual Ventures says of pre-seed: "At this stage, investors don’t expect revenue; they expect a high rate of learning." (Unusual Ventures 2026). Point Nine looks for "Strong indications of a large opportunity, e.g. based on user interviews" (Point Nine 2023).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The traction or pipeline slide. A qualified conversation is one with a person who fits the customer the company is aiming at and who has the problem. Look for the count, the period it covers and where the record is kept.
Shown
The deck gives the count, 20 or more, with the period it covers, and shows where it comes from: a pipeline table, a list of the organisations, or a picture of the log.
Claimed
The deck says how many conversations there have been, 20 or more, and shows nothing behind the number.
Not met
The deck's own count is under 20.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The conversation log: the person, the organisation, the date and what was learned. A spreadsheet is enough.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
More of those conversations each month, for three months
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
The count higher each month, for three months running
SVV's judgementNothing is published. It is the pre-revenue stand-in for growth: the rising rate of learning that Unusual Ventures says investors expect at this stage (Unusual Ventures 2026).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The same slide. Look for the count month by month, not one total.
Shown
The deck shows the count for each of the last three months or more, and each month is higher than the one before.
Claimed
The deck says the pipeline or the number of conversations is growing, and gives no monthly counts.
Not met
The deck's own monthly counts are flat or falling in any of the last three months.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The same log, counted by month.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
Read for seed only These parts have no bar at pre-seed. They are read against the bar for seed.
A written first guess at how the product is sold: who buys, how they are reached, how long a sale takes and at what price
SVV's judgementNothing is published. First Round says repeatability is not to be expected at its first level, so this asks only for a first guess, written down (First Round 2024).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The slide on how the company sells. For a company with a sales team this is the sales process: the named stages from first conversation to signed contract. For a self-serve product it is the funnel from sign-up to paying customer.
Shown
The deck sets out everything the bar for the round lists. At pre-seed: who buys, how they are reached, how long a sale takes and the price. At seed: the named steps, and the conversion rate from each step to the next.
Claimed
The deck says there is a sales process, a funnel or a go-to-market plan, and leaves out one or more of the things the bar lists.
Not met
The deck describes selling as different for every customer, with no fixed steps, or says the process is not yet written down.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The written process, one page, and the pipeline report that shows deals moving through its steps. For a self-serve product: the funnel report, step by step.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: A written process with named steps and the conversion rate between them. The bar at seed
Customers won by following those steps
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
One deal that followed the written guess from first contact to signature
SVV's judgementNothing is published.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The same slide, or the traction slide. Look for how many customers came through the process the deck describes, and not by a one-off route. For a self-serve product, a dated count of paying accounts that came through the funnel is the count.
Shown
The deck names the deals, or gives the count with dates, and says they followed the process it describes. The count is at or above the floor.
Claimed
The deck says deals have followed the process and gives no count, or a count with no names and no dates. Or it names or counts deals at or above the floor and does not say they followed the process.
Not met
The deck's own count of deals through the process is below the floor.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The pipeline report or CRM export: each deal, the date it entered each step, and who closed it. For a self-serve product: paying accounts by the month they signed up.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: Three deals through the same process. Strong: Five or more. The bar at seed
Retention and quality
Every design partner is still using the product three months after starting
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
All of them, at three months
SVV's judgementNothing is published on design partners. The direction is supported: a16z counts retention from the third month, because the customers who stay past it are the real base (Andreessen Horowitz 2025).
If no design partner has reached three months, the deck should say when the first one will. The part is then Unknown. First Round does not count against a company the customers who were never the right fit: see the measure "Regretted churn".
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The traction slide. A design partner is an early customer who uses the product while it is being built. Look for each one named or counted, with the date it started and something dated at least three months later that shows it still using the product: a usage figure, a date of last use, or a move to paying.
Shown
The deck lists the design partners with their start dates. For every one that started three or more months ago, it gives something dated at least three months after the start that shows use: a usage figure, a date of last use, or a move to paying.
Claimed
The deck says its design partners are engaged or active, with no start dates, or with nothing dated after the third month.
Not met
The deck shows or says that a design partner stopped using the product within three months of starting.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Usage logs for each design partner, by week.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
Pilots are set up to become paid contracts, and doSold by a sales team
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Every pilot agreement states the price of the contract that follows
SVV's judgementNothing is published on pilot terms. SVV's own definitions keep pilot fees out of ARR and report them "with the conversion pipeline" (Sure Valley Ventures 2026).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The traction slide, or the slide on how the company sells. A pilot is a trial with one customer for a fixed time. At pre-seed, look for whether each pilot is paid, when it ends, and the price the customer has agreed to pay if it goes well. At seed, look for the number of pilots that have finished and how many became paid contracts.
Shown
At pre-seed: the deck gives, for each pilot, the end date and the price agreed for the contract that follows. At seed: the deck gives the number of pilots finished and the number that became paid contracts, and half or more did.
Claimed
The deck says pilots convert, or will, and gives no agreed price at pre-seed, or no counts at seed. A ratio such as "3 of 5" that does not say the five are pilots that have finished is Claimed.
Not met
At either round: the deck shows a pilot that is free and gives it no end date, or says the price will be agreed after the pilot. At seed: by the deck's own counts, fewer than half of the finished pilots became paid contracts.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The signed pilot agreements, and the list of pilots with the start date, the end date and the outcome of each.
Pilots are free and have no agreed terms for becoming a paid contractSold by a sales team
Consulting or custom work is presented as product revenue
The only customer is a friend, a relative or an investor in the company
No customer or interviewee has agreed that they would pay the price in the deck. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.
Systems
Is the company set up to take the money and account for it?
Cash and finance
A cash plan that reaches the next round
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A cash plan, month by month, for 18 months from the close, that reaches the number the seed round needs
SVV's judgementNothing is published on how long a pre-seed cash plan should be. The direction is supported. Y Combinator says a company that will need another round should raise enough to reach its next fundable milestone, "which will usually be 12 to 18 months later", and that the amount asked for "must be tied to a believable plan" (Y Combinator).
An investor treats this as a condition for closing the round, not a reason to invest. If it is missing, it is a job to finish before the money lands. SVV says the same of anything that can be fixed before completion: it "is a closing condition, not a reason to stop" (Sure Valley Ventures 2026). Y Combinator's seed guide lists "Create detailed financials" among the things not to do when pitching. A pre-seed deck needs the runway and the milestone, not the model.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The plan slide and the ask slide. Look for cash by month or quarter and the month it runs out. At pre-seed, look also for the target the deck itself names for its seed round: a number, such as customers or revenue, and the date it expects to reach it. That target is what the floor means by the number the seed round needs. The report does not judge here whether the target is the right one: the Revenue pillar's seed bar does that. A runway figure on its own is a claim. At Series A the plan is a full model: profit and loss, cash and headcount joined together.
Shown
The deck shows the plan itself, as a table or chart by month or quarter, covering the months the bar for the round names, with the cash left at the end. At pre-seed the deck also names its target for the seed round and the date it expects to reach it, and the plan shows cash left at that date.
Claimed
The deck gives a runway figure, or says a plan or a model exists, and shows none of it. At pre-seed, a plan that is shown but names no target for the seed round, or no date for it, is also Claimed.
Not met
The plan the deck shows stops short of the months the bar names, or its own figures show the cash running out before them. At pre-seed: its own figures show the cash running out before the date the deck gives for reaching its seed target.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The plan or model itself, as a spreadsheet, with its assumptions.
A company bank account, and books that agree with it
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A bank account in the company's name, and bookkeeping in place
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes this as a test. Unusual Ventures tells founders to set up basic financial operations early (Unusual Ventures 2023).
An investor treats this as a condition for closing the round, not a reason to invest. If it is missing, it is a job to finish before the money lands. SVV says the same of anything that can be fixed before completion: it "is a closing condition, not a reason to stop" (Sure Valley Ventures 2026).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
A deck rarely says this. If the deck is silent the part is Unknown, and it becomes one of the questions to the founder.
Shown
The deck or its appendix shows figures it labels as actuals from the books or the accounts, with the date or the month they cover, and names who keeps the books: a person, a firm or the accounting software.
Claimed
The deck says the books are kept, or names who keeps them, and shows no figures labelled as actuals from the books.
Not met
The deck says there is no company bank account, or that the books are not up to date.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
Bank statements and the bookkeeping ledger for the last three months.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: The books reconciled to the bank every month. The bar at seed
Read for seed only These parts have no bar at pre-seed. They are read against the bar for seed.
Five numbers defined, each with today's figure: design partners or customers, usage, pipeline, burn and runway
SVV's judgementIt is in line with Y Combinator's advice to pick four or five key metrics and track them accurately, and to put revenue, burn rate and runway at the top of every investor update (Y Combinator).
No investor names this as a reason to invest. It is here because the same five numbers are what the first investor update will carry.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
Anywhere in the deck. A KPI, or key performance indicator, is a number the company steers by. The five are: customers or revenue (design partners at pre-seed), usage, pipeline, burn and runway. At seed the five go to investors in a written update every month. A deck shows this by giving the five numbers with their dates, and at seed by showing an update or saying how many have been sent. For a self-serve product, read pipeline as new sign-ups.
Shown
The deck gives all five numbers, each with its date. At seed it also shows a monthly update, or says how many have been sent and since when.
Claimed
The deck gives some of the five numbers, or says the company tracks its KPIs or sends investor updates, and falls short of Shown.
Not met
The deck says one of the five is not measured yet, or at seed that no regular update is sent.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The monthly updates already sent.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Floor: A written update to investors every month with five core numbers: revenue or customers, usage, pipeline, burn and runway. The bar at seed
Sales system
Every sales conversation and deal is recorded in one placeSold by a sales team
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Every conversation and deal in one record, with a stage against each. A spreadsheet counts
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes it. Unusual Ventures says a simple spreadsheet is enough while customers are few (Unusual Ventures 2023).
An investor treats this as a condition for closing the round, not a reason to invest. If it is missing, it is a job to finish before the money lands. SVV says the same of anything that can be fixed before completion: it "is a closing condition, not a reason to stop" (Sure Valley Ventures 2026). It is also the record behind the conversations counted under Revenue.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The pipeline slide. CRM stands for customer relationship management: the record of every prospect and deal. At pre-seed a spreadsheet counts. Look for a pipeline table or a picture of the record, with a stage against each row.
Shown
The deck shows the pipeline as a table or a picture of the record, with a stage against each deal.
Claimed
The deck says deals are tracked in a CRM, or gives a pipeline total, and shows no rows.
Not met
The deck says conversations and deals are not recorded in one place.
The company exists, and who owns it is written down in full
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Incorporated, with a complete cap table: every holder, SAFE, note and option
SVV's judgementA "clean" cap table is written here as a complete one, so that two readers agree. No investor publishes it as a test. Y Combinator's diligence checklist asks for the list of stockholders and option holders at closing (Y Combinator).
An investor treats this as a condition for closing the round, not a reason to invest. If it is missing, it is a job to finish before the money lands. SVV says the same of anything that can be fixed before completion: it "is a closing condition, not a reason to stop" (Sure Valley Ventures 2026).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The ask slide or the appendix. A cap table is the list of who owns what share of the company. A SAFE or a convertible note is money already taken that turns into shares later. Look for the company's registered name, and for the cap table with any SAFEs, notes and options on it. If the company has none, the deck should say so.
Shown
The deck gives the company's registered name and shows the cap table. The cap table lists the SAFEs, notes and options, or the deck says there are none.
Claimed
The deck gives a company name and says the cap table is clean, or gives the founders' share only, or shows a cap table that says nothing about SAFEs, notes and options.
Not met
The deck says the company is not yet incorporated, or that shares have been promised and not yet written down.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The certificate of incorporation and the cap table, including SAFEs and notes.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
The founder agreement, IP assignment and an option pool are agreed as conditions of the round
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
All three agreed as closing conditions
SVV's judgementIt is asked for as a closing condition, not before.
An investor treats this as a condition for closing the round, not a reason to invest. If it is missing, it is a job to finish before the money lands. SVV says the same of anything that can be fixed before completion: it "is a closing condition, not a reason to stop" (Sure Valley Ventures 2026). For a company built on university research, the university's licence stands in for assignment of that IP. The university reading covers it.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The team slide or the ask slide. IP assignment is the signed paper that makes the company, not the people, the owner of what they built. An option pool, or ESOP, is the share of the company set aside for staff. Look for a line saying each is signed, or will be signed before the money lands.
Shown
The deck says each of the three is signed, or names each as a condition of closing.
Claimed
The deck says the paperwork is in order, and does not name the three.
Not met
The deck says one of the three will not be in place at closing.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The founder agreement, the IP assignment and the line in the term sheet on the option pool.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
Read for seed only These parts have no bar at pre-seed. They are read against the bar for seed.
The deck says there is no cash plan, or its own figures show the money running out before the number it names for the seed round. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.
More than 20% of the company is held, before the round, by people who do not work in it
The company has SAFEs or convertible notes whose terms the founders cannot state: the cap, the discount and how they convert. A deck cannot show this, so from a deck it is not checked.
The company has not been incorporated. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.
Trust
Is there anything that would stop a first business customer saying yes?
Security posture
A second step at sign-in on every core system
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
MFA on every core system
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes a security or data test for any stage, and none names one as a reason to invest. The direction is supported by what buyers ask. Unusual Ventures says customers will require compliance certification of a supplier that processes or stores their data, even at the design partner stage (Unusual Ventures 2023).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The trust or security slide, if there is one. MFA, multi-factor authentication, is a second step at sign-in, such as a code from a phone. SSO, single sign-on, is one controlled sign-in for every system. The core systems are the code repository, the cloud account, email and anywhere customer data is held.
Shown
The deck names the core systems and says MFA, or at seed MFA or SSO, is enforced on every one.
Claimed
The deck says "MFA enabled" or "secure by design", and names no systems.
Not met
The deck says a core system has no MFA.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
A picture of the enforcement setting in each system, or the user list from the sign-in provider.
No passwords or keys stored in the code repository
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
No secrets in the repository
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes a security or data test for any stage, and none names one as a reason to invest. The direction is supported by what buyers ask. Unusual Ventures says customers will require compliance certification of a supplier that processes or stores their data, even at the design partner stage (Unusual Ventures 2023).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
A secret is a password, an API key or a token. A deck rarely says this. If the deck is silent the part is Unknown, and it becomes one of the questions to the founder.
Shown
The deck or its appendix shows the result of a scan of the repository for secrets, with its date.
Claimed
The deck says there are no secrets in the repository.
Not met
The deck says keys or passwords are kept in the code.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The output of a secrets scanner run on the repository.
Applies to
Every company.
At seed
Not asked at seed.
A written security policy
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A one-page security policy
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes a security or data test for any stage, and none names one as a reason to invest. The direction is supported by what buyers ask. Unusual Ventures says customers will require compliance certification of a supplier that processes or stores their data, even at the design partner stage (Unusual Ventures 2023).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The trust or security slide. Look for a policy that is named and dated. At pre-seed one page is enough.
Shown
The deck shows the policy or an extract, or names it with its date and the person who owns it.
Claimed
The deck says the company takes security seriously or has policies, and names none.
A data map of what customer data the prototype touches
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes a security or data test for any stage, and none names one as a reason to invest. The direction is supported by what buyers ask. Unusual Ventures says customers will require compliance certification of a supplier that processes or stores their data, even at the design partner stage (Unusual Ventures 2023).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The trust or architecture slide. A data map lists what data the product takes in, where it is stored, who can see it and where it is sent, including to any model provider.
Shown
The deck shows the data map, or a diagram of where customer data goes.
Claimed
The deck says customer data is handled safely or is "GDPR compliant", with no map.
Not met
The deck says it has not been written down.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The data map.
Applies to
Every company.
For AI companies
For an AI product the map should show what is sent to a model provider, and whether that provider may train on it. a16z found large enterprises uneasy about sharing their own data with closed model providers (Andreessen Horowitz 2024).
The right to use any data the models are trained on, in writingAI only
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
Rights to any training data written down
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes it as a test for a stage. The direction is supported: a16z found large enterprises not comfortable sharing their own data with closed model providers (Andreessen Horowitz 2024), and training without rights is a red flag in this standard.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The slide on the AI or on the data. Look for where the training data comes from, and the agreement or licence that allows it to be used for training. If the company trains nothing and uses a provider's model as it comes, the deck should say so.
Shown
The deck names the sources of its training data and the agreement, licence or contract clause that gives the right to train on each. Or it says plainly that no model is trained or tuned on customer data.
Claimed
The deck says the company owns its data or has "proprietary data", and names no agreement.
Not met
The deck says models are trained on customer data or scraped data with no written right to do so. Or it says the training data is held by someone else, such as a university or a previous employer, and names no agreement that lets the company use it.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
The data agreements and licences, and the clause on use of data in each customer contract.
SVV's judgementNo investor publishes a security or data test for any stage, and none names one as a reason to invest. The direction is supported by what buyers ask. Unusual Ventures says customers will require compliance certification of a supplier that processes or stores their data, even at the design partner stage (Unusual Ventures 2023).
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The trust slide may give the link. A deck rarely says this. If the deck is silent the part is Unknown, and it becomes one of the questions to the founder.
Shown
The deck gives the link to the policy, or shows it.
The product's risk class under the EU AI Act, written downAI only
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
The risk class identified and written down
SVV's judgementNothing is published on AI governance by stage. The direction is supported by what buyers ask. Bessemer expects AI vendors to "surface evidence of effectiveness before purchase", and says evaluations become "a core requirement for procurement and governance" (Bessemer Venture Partners 2025).
The EU AI Act as it stands in November 2026, after the amendments that came into force on 27 July 2026 (European Commission 2026). Most prohibited uses have been banned since 2 February 2025, with one more added on 2 December 2026. The transparency rules have applied since 2 August 2026. The obligations for high-risk systems apply from 2 December 2027, and from 2 August 2028 for AI built into products that are already regulated. Of the minimal-risk class, which carries no rules under the Act, the European Commission says: "The vast majority of AI systems currently used in the EU fall into this category." (European Commission 2026; Future of Life Institute 2026)
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The trust slide or the slide on the AI. The Act sorts uses of AI into four classes: prohibited, high-risk, limited risk with transparency duties, and minimal risk. Look for one line that names the class and gives the reason. "Minimal risk" is a complete answer where it is true.
Shown
The deck names the class and gives the reason, such as what the product is used for. Or it says the product is not sold or used in the EU.
Claimed
The deck says the product is "EU AI Act compliant" or "AI Act ready", and names no class.
Not met
The deck says the class has not been worked out.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
One page: what the product does, whose lives its outputs affect, the class and the reasoning.
Applies to
Only AI companies.
Where the figures are from
The Act reaches beyond the EU. Its duties for high-risk systems fall on any provider that places one on the EU market or puts it into service there, wherever the provider is based, and on providers outside the EU whose system's output is used in the EU (Future of Life Institute 2026). Ireland is in the EU. The UK is not. A UK company with customers in the EU is inside the Act. A company with no customers or users in the EU should say so in the deck.
At seed
Floor: The risk class documented, with the reasoning. The bar at seed
A person can check and overrule outputs that affect peopleAI only
The bar at pre-seed
Floor
A human-in-the-loop step for outputs that affect people
SVV's judgementNothing is published on AI governance by stage. The direction is supported by what buyers ask. Bessemer expects AI vendors to "surface evidence of effectiveness before purchase", and says evaluations become "a core requirement for procurement and governance" (Bessemer Venture Partners 2025).
For high-risk systems the Act will require "appropriate human oversight measures" from 2 December 2027 (European Commission 2026). For other products this is a buyer's question, not a legal duty.
How it is read, and what counts
How it is read from a deck
The product slide or the slide on the AI. An output affects a person when it is about a named or identifiable individual and is used to decide something about them. The Commission's own examples are marking an exam, sorting job applicants and scoring someone for credit (European Commission 2026). Look for where a person reviews, approves or can reverse such an output before it is acted on. If the product produces no output of that kind, the deck should say so.
Shown
The deck shows the step: who reviews the output, at what point, and what they can change. Or the deck says the product produces no output about an identifiable person.
Claimed
The deck says there is a "human in the loop" or human oversight, without saying who reviews or at what point.
Not met
The deck describes outputs about identifiable people being acted on with no person reviewing them and no way to reverse them.
Unknown
The deck is silent.
What would evidence it
A screen or a flow that shows the review step, and the log of reviews.
Models are trained on scraped data or customer data with no right to use it. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.AI only
The product's use is one the EU AI Act prohibits. Or its use is high-risk under the Act, it is sold or used in the EU, and there is no plan for the obligations that apply from 2 December 2027 (2 August 2028 for AI built into regulated products)AI only
Secrets or customer data in a public repository
The company sells to enterprises and has no list of what a first buyer's security questionnaire will ask. Raised only where the deck says or shows this. A silent deck is not checked.Sold by a sales team