MethodologyThe Red Pen rubric: How Pitchkit scores each pitch section
By Pitchkit · Last updated November 1, 2026
What the scores mean
Every section uses the same scale. A section tagged Strong scores 80 or more, Weak 50 to 79, and Missing below 50.
- 95: Investor-grade: founder-supplied evidence exceeding the stage bar, numbers consistent across sections.
- 80: Meets the stage bar with specific, founder-supplied evidence; one minor gap.
- 60: Right shape and customer, but the key proof for this stage is missing or unquantified.
- 40: Generic, unfilled [brackets], or evidence below stage; an investor would ask for the basics.
The rubric, section by section
Executive summary
What a VC checks
- What and who: one line on what the company does and for whom
- Proof: the strongest evidence the founders have so far
- Ask: the amount and what it buys
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
The same bar as traction and ask at pre-seed: interviews, letters of intent or pilots, plus a clear ask of EUR 150k-1M with runway and a milestone
Seed
The same bar as traction and ask at seed: paying customers with month-over-month growth, plus a clear ask of EUR 1-4M with runway and a milestone
Series A
The same bar as traction and ask at Series A: ARR with growth and retention data, plus a clear ask of EUR 5-15M or more with a scaling plan
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Problem
What a VC checks
- Who: names a specific buyer or user and their context
- Pain: describes a concrete workflow with its cost and frequency
- Evidence: backs the pain with interviews, quotes, spend or lost revenue
- Why now: says what changed, such as regulation, technology or cost
Low and high scores
- Score 95: everything at 80, plus a why-now with a dated trigger
- Score 80: a named customer, a euro cost and a source for the evidence
- Score 60: a named customer but an unquantified pain
- Score 40: a generic statement such as 'Businesses struggle with X'
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
A specific customer and pain, backed by 10 or more interviews or the founders' own experience, with the cost estimated
Seed
The pain is confirmed by paying customers, with the euro impact per customer quantified
Series A
The pain is proven across customer segments, with ROI data from the customer base
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Solution
What a VC checks
- Mechanism: explains how it actually works, not just what it does
- Fit: matches the workflow of the buyer named in the problem section
- Advantage: shows a 10x improvement on a named metric versus the current alternative
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
A clear mechanism, shown with a prototype or a demo
Seed
A live product, with a measured outcome for customers
Series A
The outcome is proven at scale, and further use cases for expansion are shown
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Product
What a VC checks
- Capabilities: states what is built and what it does for the user
- Status: separates what is built from the roadmap, with dates
- Defensibility: explains why the product is hard to copy
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
The scope of the prototype or MVP, plus the next build milestone
Seed
A shipped first version, with usage data
Series A
Platform depth, integrations and reliability
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Market
What a VC checks
- Bottom-up size: number of target customers multiplied by annual price in euros
- Beachhead: names the first segment and geography
- Expansion: shows a credible path to EUR 100M or more in revenue potential
Low and high scores
- Score 95: everything at 80, plus an obtainable share tied to go-to-market capacity
- Score 80: a bottom-up size with a sourced customer count and the company's own price
- Score 60: a bottom-up size with no source for the number of customers
- Score 40: only a top-down report TAM, or a claim like '1% of a $XB market'
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
A bottom-up beachhead size (number of customers multiplied by the price per year in euros), plus the logic for expanding beyond it
Seed
The beachhead is validated by pipeline or conversion
Series A
Penetration data and evidence for the next market
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Competition
What a VC checks
- Alternatives: lists real alternatives, including spreadsheets and the status quo
- Differentiation: names a specific axis on which it beats a named alternative
- Moat: explains why the advantage compounds over time
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
Named alternatives, and why each of them fails
Seed
Win and loss evidence against named competitors
Series A
A quantified moat, and share or retention figures against competitors
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Traction
What a VC checks
- Evidence: proof that fits the stage and was supplied by the founders
- Momentum: shows how the numbers change over time
- Quality: shows retention, repeat use or conversion
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
Interviews, letters of intent, paid pilots, waitlist conversion; revenue is optional
Seed
Paying customers, revenue with month-over-month growth and early retention (for SaaS, often EUR 10-100k in monthly recurring revenue)
Series A
For SaaS, roughly EUR 1-3M or more in ARR, growing 2-3x a year with net revenue retention of 100% or more, plus cohort data; hardware and medtech are judged on regulatory and clinical milestones instead
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Go-to-market
What a VC checks
- Customer and channel: says exactly who the buyer is and where they are reached
- Sales motion: says who sells, how long the cycle is and the price
- Efficiency: gives CAC, payback or conversion figures
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
A founder-led plan for winning the first 10-50 customers
Seed
One or two channels that work, with conversion data
Series A
A repeatable sales engine, with CAC payback in under 18-24 months
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Financials
What a VC checks
- Revenue model: says who pays, how much and how often, in euros
- Unit economics: gives CAC, margin and payback
- Plan: gives burn, runway and revenue at the next milestone
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
A pricing hypothesis, plus burn and runway
Seed
Directional margin and CAC, and an 18-24 month plan
Series A
Proven margins, an LTV to CAC ratio of around 3x or more, and the burn multiple
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Team
What a VC checks
- Founder-market fit: explains why these founders suit this problem
- Coverage: the team can both build and sell, and works full-time
- Execution: shows what has shipped since the founders started
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
Founder-market fit, with both technical and commercial coverage in the team
Seed
An execution record in this company, and the first key hires
Series A
A leadership layer and a hiring plan
Length limit: 4 sentences.
Ask
What a VC checks
- Amount and instrument: the euro amount and whether it is a SAFE, convertible or priced round. A valuation is expected from seed up and optional at angel or pre-seed
- Runway and milestone: months of runway and the milestone the money buys
- Use of funds: where the money goes, such as team, product or go-to-market
Low and high scores
- Score 95: everything at 80, plus a lead investor or commitments and a fit with the check size
- Score 80: amount, instrument, runway and milestone
- Score 60: an amount only
- Score 40: a vague line such as 'Raising funds to grow'
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
Roughly EUR 150k-1M, with 12-18 months of runway and a milestone that makes the seed round possible; non-dilutive funding such as Business Finland counts
Seed
Roughly EUR 1-4M, with 18-24 months of runway and a milestone that leads to Series A
Series A
Roughly EUR 5-15M or more, with a scaling plan for each function
Length limit: 3 sentences.
Vision
What a VC checks
- Outcome: a specific end state with a date
- Path: the logic from the beachhead to expansion
What 80 looks like, by stage
Pre-seed
A believable multi-year outcome tied to the named beachhead, with a plausible next market
Seed
An outcome with a credible path from current traction to the next market
Series A
An outcome whose expansion markets are partly evidenced by penetration or pipeline data
Length limit: 2 sentences.
Two rules that apply everywhere
- Text in [brackets] is unfilled. It is treated as absent, so the criterion it would prove scores 40 or lower.
- Numbers alone are not strength. A score of 80 or more needs founder-supplied, stage-appropriate evidence. Invented-looking or unsourced market figures cap at 50.
How to use the rubric in an accelerator cohort
- Set the ready bar for the cohort. The default is a Red Pen score of 70, which is the mean of a startup's scored sections. You can change it per cohort.
- Optionally set a minimum score for individual sections. A startup is ready only when it reaches the bar and every section with a minimum meets it. A section without a score does not meet its minimum.
- Share one invite link. Each team keeps its own Pitchkit account and gets the same section scores.
- Use the cohort dashboard to see each startup's latest score per section, its change since joining and whether it has reached the bar before demo day.
- Use the criteria above as a shared checklist when staff open a pitch in the read-only view.
More on running a cohort: Pitchkit for accelerators and programs. Comparing options: pitch deck feedback tools for accelerators.
Score your own pitch against this rubric
Paste your pitch into the free pitch score tool and see which section is weakest.
Score my pitch