# Thesis fit

> Thesis fit is how well a startup matches a fund's written investment thesis, criterion by criterion: stage, sector, geography, cheque size, business model and the fund's stated preferences. It is a screening judgement, not a verdict on the company. A strong company can be a poor thesis fit for one fund and a good fit for another, and a missing fact is not the same as a mismatch.

Source: https://delsivo.com/glossary/thesis-fit · Updated 2026-11-06

## Key takeaways

- Assess fit per criterion, with the evidence for each.
- Unknown means a question to ask, not a reason to reject.
- Fit, evidence quality and diligence readiness are different readings.

## Assessing thesis fit criterion by criterion

A fictional fit check for a seed fund focused on European B2B software

| Criterion | Rule | Observed | Result |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stage | Pre-seed or seed | Raising a seed round (slide 12) | Met |
| Geography | Headquartered in Europe | Lisbon (slide 2) | Met |
| Customer | Sells to businesses | Sells to consumers (slide 4) | Mismatch |
| Revenue | Some paying customers preferred | Not stated in the deck | Unknown |

## Why Unknown is not Mismatch

Early decks leave out many facts. A screen that treats every gap as a failure rejects companies for what founders didn't think to include. Turning Unknown into a question for the founder keeps good companies in play and gets the fund the fact it needs.

## Thesis fit in Delsivo

[Thesis screening](https://delsivo.com/thesis-screening), planned for the Pilot release, records for each criterion the rule, the observed value, a rationale and the source, with the result Met, Mismatch or Unknown. Mismatch is surfaced for review and never rejects a company on its own. Thesis fit, evidence quality and diligence readiness are shown separately, and overriding a result needs a written reason.

## Common confusions

- Thesis fit versus quality: fit says whether the fund should look; it says nothing about whether the company is good.
- A fit score is not a decision. People decide what happens next.
- Fit depends on the thesis version. Re-screening after a thesis change can change the result.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should a fund pass on every thesis mismatch?

Not automatically. A mismatch should prompt a person to look and decide, especially where the thesis allows exceptions.

### How do you score thesis fit?

Write each criterion as a rule, record what the deck or founder says, cite where it came from, and mark it met, mismatched or unknown.

### Can AI assess thesis fit?

AI can extract facts and suggest results with citations. A person should review the results and make the decision.

## Related pages

- [Investment thesis](https://delsivo.com/glossary/investment-thesis)
- [Thesis screening](https://delsivo.com/thesis-screening)
- [Deal screening scorecard](https://delsivo.com/templates/deal-screening-scorecard)
- [Fit report](https://delsivo.com/features/fit-report)