Methodology

Four scores.
Four investor lenses.

Each score is independent — one strength cannot mask a critical gap.

Stage-calibrated. Evidence-weighted. Built from how institutional investors actually evaluate deals.

Watch the methodology

How the four-score system works.

A short explainer on VaultScore™, VaultMoat™, VaultRisk™, VaultOps™, stage calibration, and why the lenses stay independent.

What each score measures

Four independent dimensions. No averaging.

A strong deck score cannot hide a critical risk profile. Each score is evaluated on its own rubric, calibrated to your funding stage.

VaultScore™↑ Higher is better

"Is the investment thesis credibly constructed?"

Pitch quality across 8 criteria, weighted to your funding stage.

Full methodology →
VaultMoat™↑ Higher is better

"Can this company defend its position long enough to compound?"

Moat type, compounding trajectory, and investor stress-test across 6 dimensions.

Full methodology →
VaultRisk™↓ Lower is better

"What could destroy this company before it reaches exit?"

Downside exposure across 12 stage-calibrated dimensions. Lower is safer.

Full methodology →
VaultOps™↑ Higher is better

"Can this team actually execute the plan they're pitching?"

Operational readiness across 7 dimensions — binding constraint, scaling fragility, key-person risk.

Full methodology →
Four investor lenses + milestone

The report progression.

1
Pitch QualityVaultScore™ — 8 stage-calibrated criteria
PREVIEW
2
Investor DefensibilityVaultMoat™ — moat type, stress-test, trajectory
FULL ANALYSIS
3
Risk ExposureVaultRisk™ — 12-dimension downside profile
FULL ANALYSIS
4
Execution ReadinessVaultOps™ — 7 operational dimensions
FULL ANALYSIS
Investor Visibility tiersSeparate discovery status based on lens status and blockers
EARNED

The four investor lenses are available immediately on the full analysis. Investor Visibility is a separate discovery status that reflects current visibility requirements and any deal-breaker blockers.

Instant pass signals

Flags that override the score.

Applied across all four scores regardless of overall performance. These are the patterns institutional investors pattern-match immediately.

Serious — may kill the deal
No identifiable revenue model
TAM constructed top-down only with no bottoms-up support
Year-one revenue projections above $10M with no customers
Stale traction data (6+ months, unexplained)
Addressable — can be fixed before next meeting
Growth presented from near-zero base without baseline context
Churn not mentioned for a product live 6+ months
No competitive landscape slide
Ask amount not tied to a milestone
Investor positioning

Four positions. One goal: top-right.

Every analysis places your deck in one of four positions. Investor Network eligibility requires clearing quality thresholds on both axes.

Pipeline Quadrant
VaultScore™ × Signal Quality (Risk + Moat + Ops) · 23 plotted
Top-right = deal flow ★
RAISE READY (2)
PITCH GAP (3)
PROVE IT (4)
TOO EARLY (14)
↑ Strong signals · Weak signals ↓
PITCH GAP
RAISE READY
TOO EARLY
PROVE IT
SQ 75
VaultScore 75
← Low VaultScore™High VaultScore™ →

See what the analysis actually produces.

The Lcew transformation case study shows a complete before-and-after — four scores, Investor Visibility status, every gap named and fixed.

Read the full transformation →