Deal Preliminary Screening v2.0.0

Screen batches of startups (10-50+) from pitch events, demo days, or accelerator showcases. Identify the 5-10 candidates worth presenting to the investment group. This is triage — speed and accuracy in filtering, not comprehensive analysis.

v2.0 changes (Ed feedback 2026-04-30):

• Hardware and consumer no longer auto-eliminated — evaluate case-by-case
• Concise output: shortlist entries are 3-5 sentences, not paragraphs
• Incorporates Guillermo Toro's YC batch evaluation methodology

Tier Classification

Screening Criteria

Score each company across five weighted dimensions. Apply hard filters first, then score.

Hard filters (auto-PASS):

• Stage: Series B+ (too late for fund thesis)

No sector is an automatic disqualifier. IASV has invested across biotech, climate, space, defense, hardware, consumer, and more. Every sector is evaluated case-by-case. The only hard filter is stage.

Soft flags (note but evaluate):

• Social media, gaming, entertainment, food — lower historical fit but not excluded
• Non-NA/WE geography — note but evaluate if strong US market entry plan

Tier thresholds: Score >=5 strong signals = Tier 1. Score 3-4 = Tier 2. Below 3 = Tier 3/4 (deeper review needed).

Full signal definitions and filter code: See SCREENING-CRITERIA.md

Workflow

Phase 1: Data Collection (5-10 min)

Extract for each company: name, one-line description, sector, stage, amount raised/seeking, key metrics (revenue, customers, growth), contact info, and any call notes. Sources: pitch decks, brochures, meeting notes, company websites.

Phase 2: Initial Classification (2-3 min per company)

Apply hard filters (stage, sector, geography), then score remaining companies using weighted criteria table above.

Example — scoring "Acme AI":

Revenue $200K ARR (+1 traction), 30 customers (+1 traction), founder has prior exit (+2 team), TAM $2B (+1 market), proprietary model (+1 differentiation) = 6 points -> Tier 1. Missing: growth rate data -> flag for Phase 3 validation.

Phase 3: Web Research Validation (3-5 min per Tier 1/2)

For Tier 1/2 companies, validate claims via web search:

SEARCH QUERIES:
- "{company_name} funding 2025 2026"
- "{founder_name} {company_name} LinkedIn"
- "{company_name} customers case study"
- "{company_name} vs {competitor}"

Validate: funding history, team backgrounds, customer references, competitive landscape, recent news.

Phase 4: Shortlist Generation

Output per shortlisted company (CONCISE — 3-5 sentences in comments, no more):

## {Company Name}

**Website:** {url} | **Sector:** {sector} | **Stage:** {stage}
**Raised:** {amount} | **Asking:** {amount and instrument}

**What they do:** {1 sentence}
**Why interesting:** {2-3 sentences — key signals, why this fits IASV thesis}
**Key risk:** {1 sentence — the single biggest concern}
**Next step:** {Schedule call / Request deck / Monitor}

Full templates: screening-worksheet.md | shortlist-template.md

YC Batch Evaluation (Guillermo Toro Methodology)

For YC batch screening specifically, apply these additional lenses:

1. Sector velocity — Is this sector accelerating or decelerating right now?
2. Founder-YC fit — Did YC pick them for domain expertise or hustle? Both valid but different risk profiles.
3. Demo Day premium — YC companies get a valuation premium. Is the underlying business worth it at 0.7x the likely Demo Day valuation?
4. Batch signal — Are multiple companies in this batch attacking the same space? If yes, which has the strongest wedge?
5. Post-batch momentum — For past batches, which companies shipped fastest post-Demo Day? Pattern-match current batch.

Guidelines & Guardrails

Completion Checklist

• All companies classified into Tier 1-4
• Tier 1/2 validated with web search
• Shortlist with concise entries (website, sector, what/why/risk/next)
• Quick reference table for group meeting
• Clear rationale for all passes
• Output saved to pipeline/Deals/{Event}/

Downstream

Feed Tier 1 companies to deal-evaluate for full investment memo (5-7 pages, concise format per v3.0).