# Reference Deck Qualification Policy

Accessed: 2026-06-19

Purpose: define which public reference decks are allowed to influence founder deck feedback.

The product can publish a company profile for research purposes without allowing that company to become a positive benchmark. The comparable-slide retrieval dataset should be stricter than the public profile library.

## Core Principle

A reference deck should only be used as a positive comparable if the company produced evidence of both:

1. A successful financing or venture outcome after the deck.
2. A durable operating company signal after the deck.

If the company did not raise more money, shut down, became inactive, or shows a clear headcount decline without a credible recovery signal, it should not be used as a positive comparable in founder feedback.

## Dataset Statuses

| Status | Meaning | Product behavior |
|---|---|---|
| qualified_core | Strong post-deck funding/outcome and strong current operating signal. | Can be used by default for comparable-slide recommendations. |
| qualified_with_caution | Good outcome evidence, but one signal is mixed, category-specific, or needs explanation. | Can be used only when the feedback explicitly names the caution and the slide pattern is directly relevant. |
| case_study_only | Useful for research or lessons learned, but not a clean positive benchmark. | Do not recommend as a positive comparable. Can be used in internal analysis or "what not to copy" notes. |
| hold_until_verified | The company may qualify, but current funding/headcount/operating evidence is unresolved. | Do not use for feedback retrieval until research is completed. |
| excluded | Failed the funding or sustainability gate. | Do not use for positive comparable slides. |
| research_pending | Profile exists, but the qualification research is incomplete. | Do not use for feedback retrieval. |

## Hard Exclusion Rules

Exclude a reference deck from positive comparable retrieval if any of these are true:

- No verified post-deck financing, acquisition, profitable growth, or durable operating milestone.
- The company is shut down, inactive, or cannot be verified as operating.
- Current evidence shows material headcount decline, layoffs, or no active team without a credible growth/recovery signal.
- The deck's core claims aged poorly or were materially unsupported.
- The company outcome is primarily cautionary, even if the deck contains a visually strong slide.
- Source confidence is too low to connect the deck to the later outcome.

## Successful Round Gate

Score the post-deck funding/outcome from 1 to 5:

| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 5 | Verified major follow-on round, acquisition with clear positive signal, or multiple later rounds after the deck. |
| 4 | Verified follow-on seed/Series A/later round with credible investors or strong public financing evidence. |
| 3 | Some credible financing or outcome evidence, but amount, timing, or investor detail is incomplete. |
| 2 | Only the deck's own ask or pre-existing funding is verified; no clear later capital. |
| 1 | No verified follow-on funding or known failed/shut-down outcome. |

For the founder feedback dataset, require a funding/outcome score of 4 or higher for `qualified_core`. A score of 3 may only become `qualified_with_caution` if the sustainability score is strong and the slide pattern is especially relevant.

## Sustainable Company Gate

Score the company's durability from 1 to 5:

| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 5 | Active company with growing headcount, hiring, expanding product/customer footprint, or strong operating momentum. |
| 4 | Active company with stable-to-positive headcount or credible growth evidence. |
| 3 | Active company, but headcount, hiring, or revenue/customer trend is mixed or unresolved. |
| 2 | Active brand or asset, but independent company/team growth is weak, declining, or not comparable. |
| 1 | Shut down, inactive, or materially declining. |

For the founder feedback dataset, require a sustainability score of 4 or higher for `qualified_core`. If headcount is clearly declining, the company cannot be `qualified_core` even if it raised a large round.

## Retrieval Rule

Comparable-slide retrieval should apply this order:

1. Filter to companies with `dataset_status = qualified_core`.
2. Match by category, stage, business model, slide type, and investor objection.
3. If no strong match exists, consider `qualified_with_caution` only when the caution can be shown to the founder.
4. Never use `excluded`, `case_study_only`, `hold_until_verified`, or `research_pending` companies as positive examples.
5. When a referenced company later struggled, only use it as a cautionary pattern, not a model to emulate.

## Practical Product Copy

When showing a comparable slide, include a small outcome label:

- "Qualified benchmark: raised Series A and still operating/growing."
- "Qualified with caution: raised follow-on capital; current team signal is mixed."
- "Not used as benchmark: later outcome did not clear the dataset bar."