The Fundability Meter rubric
Version 2.0. Each criterion is scored 0, 25, 50, 75 or 100. A category score is the average of its criteria. Two separate scores, never combined: each is the stage-weighted sum of its categories, minus its red flag deductions, floored at 0. Your readiness band compares both.
Company score (what the deck proves)
| Category | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 40 | 30 | 20 |
| Market | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Traction | 25 | 35 | 45 |
| Ask | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Red flag deductions capped at 20 points.
Team
- Founder-problem fit: specific relevant experience
- Technical or build owner named
- Team complete for stage or hiring plan
- Specific credibility signals
- 0: No team slide
- 25: Names only, generic titles
- 50: Relevant backgrounds, weak link to problem or no builder
- 75: Clear founder-problem fit and technical owner
- 100: Specific verifiable unfair advantage and complete stage-appropriate team
Market
- Bottom-up sizing: countable buyers times price
- Specific first segment or wedge
- Numbers are sourced
- Why now: a dated shift
- Competition and substitutes incl. do-nothing and incumbents' free features
- 0: No market content
- 25: Top-down TAM only, unsourced
- 50: TAM plus named segment, weak math
- 75: Bottom-up count times price with first segment and honest competition
- 100: Sourced bottom-up math, clear wedge, expansion path, why-now, buyer-criteria competition
Traction
- Strongest evidence grade shown (A behavioral, B pilots/LOIs/paid waitlist, C corroborating, D proxy, E assertion; D and E never count)
- Numbers with time frames, not adjectives
- Fit to stage: pre-seed demo plus early signal; seed repeatable pull; Series A growth engine with retention or unit economics
- Customer proof: logos, quotes, named pilots
- 0: No proof
- 25: Assertions only (grade E)
- 50: Waitlist, beta or pilots without numbers or dates (C/D)
- 75: Dated numbers at grade A or B appropriate to stage
- 100: Grade A evidence beyond stage need, with trend and customer proof
Ask
- Amount stated
- Use of funds
- Dated milestones toward next round
- Raise matches stage and plan
- 0: No ask
- 25: Amount only
- 50: Amount plus use of funds
- 75: Amount, use of funds, dated milestones
- 100: All of that plus clear path to next-round readiness
Slides score (how clearly it says it)
| Category | Pre-seed | Seed | Series A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrative | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Deck quality | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Clarity | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Red flag deductions capped at 10 points.
Narrative
- Hook in first three slides
- Problem in customer language
- Solution in three pillars or fewer
- Order follows the stage outline (see PATTERNS)
- 0: No discernible story
- 25: Product tour without a problem
- 50: Problem and solution present, order loose
- 75: Clear hook, problem, solution in stage order
- 100: Every slide advances one argument
Deck quality
- Length fits stage (pre-seed 10-14, seed 12-15, Series A 12-18)
- Product shown via screens or demo
- Labeled charts, sources on numbers
- Identity and contact clear
- 0: Unreadable or not a deck
- 25: No product visuals, length far off
- 50: Readable, length off or product thin
- 75: Product shown, right length, labeled charts
- 100: Investor-ready visuals and completeness
Clarity
- Cover says what the company does in one line
- One idea per slide, takeaway headlines
- Plain language, minimal jargon
- Numbers consistent across slides
- Scannable in about three minutes
- 0: Cannot tell what the company does
- 25: Dense text, topic-label headlines
- 50: Understandable with effort
- 75: Clear one-liner, takeaway headlines, consistent
- 100: A stranger can retell it after one pass
Red flags
- Numbers disagree across slides (-5, up to -10, company score)
- Unsourced TAM over 1B presented as fact (-3, company score)
- Ask inconsistent with stage, milestones or runway (-5, company score)
- Performance claims with no stated method (-3, company score)
- Claims no competitors (-3, company score)
- Template or placeholder text left in (-2, slides score)