For Founders · Pre-seed & seed
Built for pre-seed and seed founders. Every application is read against the rubric, with a tier and written feedback returned to you. Founders who make The Shortlist are introduced to a partner fund.
Issue 01.
How It Works
01
Fill out the application. Plan on thirty to forty-five minutes. The more concrete you are, the better the feedback.
02
We read every application. You receive a tier and a section-by-section written feedback with one specific test per section to pass next.
03
Iterate on the feedback and resubmit when you have more to show. There is no cap on attempts. Founders who reach the top tier are introduced to a partner fund that fits.
The Tiers
Must Read
You receive your written feedback and a warm introduction to a partner fund whose thesis matches your company.
Might Find Interesting
You receive your feedback with the specific gaps to close. Iterate, resubmit, and we re-read. Most founders move up within one or two cycles.
Weak
You receive your feedback with the structural issues called out. The door stays open. Reapply when the work is materially different.
A note from the editor
The best founders rarely get a fair read.
Three years inside venture firms taught me that the people who deserve a meeting often do not get one, and the people who get the meeting often do not deserve it. The Shortlist evens that out. Every application gets read. Every founder gets a tier and real feedback. The founders we believe in get introduced.
The Shortlist Team
The Newsletter
Each Thursday, one pattern from fifty real venture outcomes. Drawn from a16z, Sequoia, Redpoint, and the named failures other newsletters won't touch.