# Build your thesis rubric

> Write your thesis as a rubric in Settings, Thesis and rubrics, preview it against a real deal, publish it, and pick the default rubric new decks use.

Source: https://delsivo.com/help/thesis-and-screening/build-your-thesis-rubric · Updated 2026-11-06

## Key takeaways

- A rubric is your thesis as hard rules, weighted preferences, exceptions and questions. Every deck is screened against the default rubric's live version.
- Your fund starts with the Core seed rubric, already published. Edit it or create your own in Settings, Thesis and rubrics.
- Changes go into a draft. Publishing makes a new numbered version that never changes, and past screenings keep the version they used.
- Preview checks the hard rules, exceptions and questions against a real deal's facts before you publish. Nothing is saved.
- Only Admins change rubrics. Everyone else in the fund can read the live version.

A rubric is your investment thesis written down in a form Delsivo can check: **hard rules** (stage, sector, geography, round size, required facts), **weighted preferences** (what makes a deal more attractive), **exceptions** (when a rule can bend) and **questions** to ask the founder. Each new deck is screened against your fund's **default** rubric, and the result appears on the deal's **Fit** tab. A screening never rejects a deal or contacts a founder. A person at your fund decides.

Open **Settings → Thesis and rubrics**.

## The rubrics list

The first time anyone in your fund opens this page (or the first time a deal is screened), Delsivo adds the **Core seed rubric**, already published as version 1. It is a starting point for a seed, B2B software thesis, not advice and not any real fund's thesis. Edit it to match yours.

Each row shows:

| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| **Rubric** | The name, and the strategy or stage under it |
| **Status** | **Default**, **Version 3 live**, **Not published**, **Draft v4** or **Archived** |
| **Versions** | How many versions it has |
| **Screenings** | How many screenings used it |
| **Last change** | The date of the last version, in your fund's time zone |

Click a row to open the rubric.

## Create a rubric

Use a separate rubric for each strategy or stage, for example a pre-seed climate thesis next to your core seed one.

1. Click **New rubric**.
2. Enter a **Name** and, if you like, a **Strategy or stage** (shown under the name).
3. Under **Start from**, choose **The Core seed rubric**, **Blank**, or **A copy of another rubric** (its live version), then pick the **Rubric to copy**.
4. Click **Create draft**.

The new rubric opens as **Draft v1**. It isn't used for screening until you publish it.

## Edit a rubric

A rubric page shows four sections: **Hard rules**, **Preferences**, **Exceptions** and **Questions**. See [Hard rules, preferences and exceptions](/help/thesis-and-screening/hard-rules-preferences-and-exceptions) for what each one does.

1. Open the rubric and click **Edit rubric**. You see **Draft version 4 started.** (or **Continuing draft version 4.** if a draft already exists).
2. Change what you need. Problems show in red under the item as you type, for example "Pick at least one value."
3. Click **Save draft** to keep your work. **Unsaved changes** shows until you do, and Delsivo asks before you leave the page with unsaved edits.

While you edit, screenings keep using the live version. **Undo changes** puts the draft back to its last save. With nothing unsaved, the same button reads **Discard draft** and deletes the draft after you confirm in **Discard draft version 4?**. The live version stays live.

If a teammate saved the same draft after you opened it, you see "Someone saved this draft after you opened it. Reload to see their changes." Click **Reload**, then make your change again.

## Preview against a deal

Before you publish, check what the rubric would say about a real company.

1. Click **Preview**.
2. In **Preview against a deal**, choose a **Deal**. Deals without facts yet are marked **(no facts yet)**.
3. Click **Run preview**.

You see each hard rule with **Met**, **Mismatch** or **Unknown**, the value found, why, any exception, and the **Questions it would raise**. The preview uses your unsaved edits too, and nothing is saved. Preferences aren't part of the preview: they are scored by the AI model only when a real screening runs. Fix any problems in the rubric first, or **Run preview** stays unavailable.

## Try the draft on past deals

Preview checks one deal's hard rules. To see what the whole draft, preferences included, would say about deals you already decided, click **Try on past deals**: it runs the draft and the published version side by side on up to 25 deals and changes nothing. See [Test a thesis change on past deals](/help/thesis-and-screening/thesis-sandbox).

## Publish

1. Click **Publish**. If it's greyed out, hover over it for the reason, such as "Nothing changed since the live version." or "Add at least one hard rule or a weighted preference before publishing."
2. **Publish version 4?** lists the **Changes since version 3**, for example "Hard rule: Round size (USD 1M to USD 4M → USD 1M to USD 3M)".
3. Add a **Note for your team** if you like, such as why the thesis changed.
4. Click **Publish version 4**.

You see **Version 4 is live. New screenings use it; past runs keep theirs.** Published versions can't be edited. To change the rubric again, click **Edit rubric** to start the next draft. See [Rubric versions and re-runs](/help/thesis-and-screening/rubric-versions-and-re-runs).

## Choose the default rubric

The **Default** rubric is the one every new deck is screened with. To change it, open the rubric and click **Make default**, or use the actions menu (the three dots) on its row in the list. You see **New decks are screened with this rubric from now on.** A rubric has to be published before it can be the default. If your fund has no default, the first rubric you publish becomes it.

On a deal's **Fit** tab, people who can edit the deal can also run a screening with any other published rubric.

## Rename a rubric

Open the actions menu (the three dots) on the rubric's row and click **Rename**, or open the rubric and click **Rename** at the top. Change the **Name** or the **Strategy or stage** line and click **Save name**. The message has **Undo**, which puts the old name back.

The new name shows everywhere at once, and the rubric keeps its versions, its live version and whether it's the default. Renaming doesn't make a new version. Fit reports from earlier screenings keep the name they were screened under, so a past report still says exactly what it was checked against.

## Archive a rubric

Archive a rubric you no longer use from the actions menu on its row, then confirm with **Archive**. It can't be used for new screenings, and past screenings keep pointing at their version. **Restore** brings it back. The default rubric can't be archived: make another rubric the default first.

## Who can do what

| | Admin | Partner, Analyst, Committee member |
|---|---|---|
| Read the live version of every rubric | Yes | Yes |
| Create, rename, edit, publish, archive, make default | Yes | No |
| Preview against a deal | Yes, any deal | Partners: any deal. Analysts: the deals they own |

Everyone else sees "Only a fund admin can change rubrics. You are seeing the live version." Creating, publishing, archiving and changing the default are recorded in the [activity log](/help/team-and-settings/exports-and-activity-log).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does a mismatch reject the deal?
No. A mismatch is shown on the fit report for someone to review. Delsivo never moves a deal or writes to a founder because of a screening.

### Do old deals get screened again when I publish a new version?
No. Past screenings keep the version they used. To screen a deal with the new version, open its **Fit** tab and click **Run again**. New decks use the new version automatically.

### Can I rename a rubric?
Yes. See [Rename a rubric](#rename-a-rubric). Renaming doesn't make a new version.