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deckanalyst-scoring-methodology

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Table of Contents	- [Why AI-Powered Deck Evaluation Matters](#why-ai-powered-deck-evaluation-matters) - [Core Design Principles](#core-design-principles) - [The 8 Scoring Dimensions](#the-8-scoring-dimensions) - [1. Market Attractiveness (15%)](#1-market-attractiveness--15) - [2. Traction & Growth (15%)](#2-traction--growth--15) -...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Why AI-Powered Deck Evaluation Matters	Venture capital has a consistency problem. When the same pitch deck is shown to five experienced investors, the resulting assessments routinely diverge by 20–30 points on a 100-point scale. This isn't because any individual analyst is wrong — it's because human evaluation is sensitive to presentation order, fatigue, an...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Core Design Principles	Score the deck, not the company. DeckAnalyst evaluates what founders actually present. If critical information is missing from the deck, that's reflected in the score — the system doesn't fill gaps with assumptions or external research. This mirrors how a real analyst operates: the deck is the primary artifact, and...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
The 8 Scoring Dimensions	DeckAnalyst evaluates pitch decks across 8 dimensions. Seven dimensions are fully scored based on deck evidence. The eighth — Team — carries a conservative placeholder score until dedicated founder assessment tools provide independent evidence. Each dimension is scored 0–5 and multiplied by its weight. The total score...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Stage-Aware Weighting	The default weights above are calibrated for Seed stage. The system detects stage from the deck and adjusts expectations: Pre-Seed adjustments: - Traction and unit economics weights decrease; technology, product, and problem weights increase. - Missing revenue metrics are treated as neutral (3/5), not penalize...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Gating Rules: Hard Caps That Override Weights	Regardless of how well a deck performs across other dimensions, certain conditions trigger hard score caps: \| Condition \| Maximum Total Score \| \|-----------\|-------------------\| \| LTV/CAC < 1.0 \| 30 \| \| Payback > 24 months (SaaS) \| 40 \| \| Burn multiple > 3× with < 9 months runway \| 40 \| \| No ICP + no paying customer a...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Missing Data Handling & the Evidence Coverage Score	### The Problem with Missing Data Founders sometimes omit metrics from their deck — sometimes because the metrics don't exist yet (legitimate at Pre-Seed), sometimes because the numbers aren't flattering. The scoring system must handle both cases without rewarding omission. ### Design Principles - **No re-weighting:...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Peer Benchmarking Against 6,586 Companies	DeckAnalyst doesn't score decks in isolation. Every evaluation includes a peer benchmarking step that compares the startup against a curated database of 6,586 companies, including Y Combinator alumni and graduates of major accelerator programs. ### How Peer Matching Works The system uses sector and sub-sector classif...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
The Full Evaluation Stack: Beyond the Deck	DeckAnalyst is one layer in a multi-layer investment evaluation methodology. The pitch deck score answers the question: "How strong is the investment case as presented in this document?" But a complete investment decision requires evaluating the founders and team independently, with tools purpose-built for that task....	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Validation: How We Know It Works	### The Calibration Process DeckAnalyst's scoring methodology was developed over 12+ months of iterative research and calibration. The process involved parallel development tracks, each lasting a minimum of six months, focused on refining dimension definitions, weight allocations, gating thresholds, and missing-data h...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Before & After: What Better Decks Look Like	### Example 1: Market Attractiveness Before (Score: 2/5): > "We're building the future of work. The market is massive — remote work is everywhere. Everyone needs our product." No TAM figure, no SAM, no CAGR, no ICP, no articulation of specific pain point. The claim is vague and unsupported. **After (Score: 4/5):...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Output Scale & Interpretation	\| Score Range \| Interpretation \| \|-------------\|---------------\| \| 80–100 \| Top-Tier — Investable. The deck presents a compelling case across all major dimensions. Proceed to founder assessment and deeper due diligence. \| \| 65–79 \| Track / Build a Case. Strong in several dimensions but gaps remain. Consider sma...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Robustness & Guardrails	### Hallucination Control DeckAnalyst scores are derived exclusively from evidence present in the submitted deck. The system uses a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) architecture where every claim must be traceable to specific text or data in the source document. An independent evidence auditor layer validates each...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Limitations	DeckAnalyst scores the deck, not the company. The system can only evaluate what's presented. A mediocre deck from a strong company will score lower than the company deserves. A polished deck from a weak company may score higher. The score is a measure of how well the investment case is presented, not an oracle abou...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Frequently Asked Questions	### How does DeckAnalyst differ from a human analyst reviewing a pitch deck? A senior analyst typically spends 7–8 hours on a comprehensive deck evaluation, reviewing market data, checking competitive benchmarks, assessing financials, and synthesizing across dimensions. DeckAnalyst performs a structurally equivalent a...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Formulas & Definitions	\| Metric \| Formula \| \|--------\|---------\| \| LTV (Simplified) \| Average monthly revenue × Gross margin × (1 / Monthly churn rate) \| \| LTV/CAC \| LTV ÷ Customer acquisition cost \| \| Payback Period (months) \| CAC ÷ Monthly contribution margin per customer \| \| Burn Multiple \| Net burn ÷ Net new ARR (quarterl...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0
Citation & License	This methodology guide is published by Unbiased Ventures and is made available under the [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). You are free to share and adapt this material for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate ...	Unbiased Ventures	https://unbiasedventures.ch/methodology/	CC-BY-4.0	startup-investment-evaluation	DeckAnalyst Scoring Methodology v1.0

DeckAnalyst Pitch Deck Scoring Methodology

Dataset Description

The complete, transparent methodology behind DeckAnalyst, an AI-powered pitch deck evaluation engine developed by Unbiased Ventures (Foxsmart Systems GmbH, Zurich). This dataset documents the scoring framework used to evaluate startup pitch decks across 8 dimensions with stage-aware weighting, hard gating rules, missing-data handling, and peer benchmarking against 6,586 companies.

Purpose

This methodology was developed over 12+ months of iterative research and calibrated against the independent scores of a senior investment analyst (Techstars senior analyst and Founder Institute / Decile Group evaluator) who rescored 7 sample decks from 7 different industries on a weekly basis. The dataset is published to provide a transparent, citable reference for how AI-powered investment evaluation works at a production level.

What is Included

methodology.md - Full methodology guide in Markdown (human-readable, LLM-parseable)
methodology.jsonl - Section-level structured data in JSON Lines format (machine-readable, 17 sections)

The 8 Scoring Dimensions

Dimension	Weight
Market Attractiveness	15%
Traction and Growth	15%
Unit Economics	15%
Go-to-Market Efficiency	10%
Product/Tech, USP and Defensibility	15%
Capital Efficiency and Runway	10%
Regulatory/Operational Risk	10%
Team (placeholder, scored by dedicated psychological assessment tools)	5%

Key Features

Stage-aware weighting: Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A decks are evaluated against different thresholds and weight distributions.
Gating rules: Hard score caps for fatal flaws (e.g., LTV/CAC below 1.0 caps total at 30).
Evidence Coverage Score (ECS): Quantifies what share of required evidence the deck provides, preventing high scores through omission.
Peer benchmarking: Every deck is scored relative to a curated database of 6,586 companies including Y Combinator alumni.
Dedicated team assessment: Founder and team quality is evaluated by purpose-built tools (structured interviews per Jaffar et al., Hogan Personality Inventory, Dark Tetrad, Big Five) rather than inferred from deck content.
Multilingual: Reliably scores decks in English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Validation

Validated weekly by a senior investment analyst who works for Techstars (senior analyst and lead evangelist of the Techstars methodology) and the Founder Institute by The Decile Group. Seven sample decks from seven industries were independently scored by the human analyst (7-8 hour deep dive each) and compared against DeckAnalyst scores, with iterative refinement until alignment fell within professional analyst variance.

Use Cases

Training and fine-tuning models for startup evaluation and due diligence
Research on AI-assisted investment decision-making
Benchmarking scoring methodologies for pitch deck analysis
Building RAG systems for venture capital workflows
Educational reference for structured startup assessment frameworks

Citation

Unbiased Ventures. "How DeckAnalyst Scores a Pitch Deck: The Complete Methodology." Published at unbiasedventures.ch.

License

This dataset is released under CC BY 4.0. You are free to share and adapt for any purpose with attribution.

Contact

Website: unbiasedventures.ch
Email: deckanalyst@unbiasedventures.ch

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