# Spot the same company applying twice before two analysts review it

> Duplicate startup applications happen when a founder applies twice, a referral arrives after the public form, or an analyst creates a record that already exists. Delsivo is designed to suggest likely duplicates using the company domain and founder identity, and an analyst confirms any merge. Merged records keep every submission and referral. Planned for the pilot release; Delsivo is at design partner stage, with nothing generally available.

Source: https://delsivo.com/features/duplicate-detection · Updated 2026-11-06 · Planned, not available yet

## Key takeaways

- Duplicates are suggested, never merged automatically.
- Matching uses the company's web domain and the founder's email or LinkedIn profile.
- A merge keeps the referral and submission history of both records.
- Retrying the same application submit creates one deal and one receipt, not two.

## Where duplicate startup applications come from

A busy inbound pipeline collects repeats. Most are innocent. The founder applied in spring and again in autumn with a new deck. A partner forwarded an intro after the founder had already used the public form. A co-founder submitted separately from the CEO. Without a check, two analysts can spend time on the same company, and the second review starts without the first one's notes.

Common sources of repeats

| Situation | What Delsivo sees | Likely signal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Founder reapplies months later | New submission, same company | Same domain |
| Referral after a public application | Referral link submission, existing deal | Same domain and founder email |
| Two co-founders apply separately | Two submissions, different founders | Same domain |
| Analyst adds a company from a meeting | Analyst-created record | Founder LinkedIn or email match |

## How a duplicate is suggested and merged

1. A new submission or analyst-created record arrives.
2. Delsivo compares its company domain and founder identity (email address or LinkedIn profile) with existing deals in your fund.
3. If there is a likely match, the new record shows a duplicate suggestion naming the existing deal and the reason, such as same domain.
4. An analyst opens both, compares them and chooses to merge or dismiss the suggestion.
5. On merge, submissions, referrals, deck versions and notes come together under one deal. Nothing is deleted.

Dismissing a suggestion is also recorded, so the next analyst knows someone already looked and decided they are different companies.

## What a merge keeps

- Every submission, with its own date, form answers and receipt.
- Every referral and who it came from, so credit for the introduction isn't lost.
- Each deck as its own version, with its citations intact.
- Notes, tasks and stage history from both records, in date order.
- The merge itself in the deal's audit history: who merged, when and from which records.

## Why retries never create duplicates

A different kind of repeat comes from the network, not the founder. A slow connection or a double click can send the same application twice. Each draft carries its own key, so a retried submit is recognised as the same one. The founder gets one receipt, and your team gets one deal. This is part of the branded application flow on your [portal](https://delsivo.com/features/branded-subdomain).

## Limits to know

Matching only looks within your own fund. Two funds can hold records for the same company without either knowing, and deal data is never compared across funds. A company with no website, or founders who use different emails each time, may not be matched, so analysts can still merge records they spot themselves.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Delsivo merge duplicates on its own?

No. It only suggests a likely duplicate with the reason. An analyst decides whether to merge or dismiss the suggestion.

### Will a founder who reapplies lose their first application?

No. After a merge, both submissions stay on the deal with their own dates and answers, so your team sees how the company changed.

### Can duplicate detection see deals in other funds?

No. Each fund's data is kept apart, and matching only compares records inside your own fund.

### When will duplicate suggestions be available?

They are planned for the pilot release. Delsivo is at design partner stage, so there is no general availability yet.

## Related pages

- [Deal review queue](https://delsivo.com/features/review-queue)
- [Deal audit trail](https://delsivo.com/features/audit-history)
- [Branded application portal](https://delsivo.com/features/branded-subdomain)