Your criteria are what we match startups against, so they decide what reaches you and what doesn't.

Everything you're looking for in a startup. Sectors, stage, cheque size, location, and anything else that matters to you.

Some of these are essential and some are preferences, and the two work differently.

Essential criteria are a hard line. A startup that doesn't meet them can't apply to you at all.

Preferred criteria shape how well a startup fits rather than ruling anyone out. They help us rank the startups in your deal flow, so that the best fit startups come to you first.

Through a short interview when you first join the platform. You answer in your own words rather than picking from lists, and it takes around 15 minutes.

It covers everything above, and digs into anything that needs to be more specific.

Because vague criteria makes for vague deal flow.

If you tell us you invest in high-tech businesses, it'll ask what you mean by that. IP rich? Needs a patent? The more specific you are, the more relevant the startups that reach you.

Yes, whenever you like. Nothing is lost, and you can come back to it when it suits you.

Your criteria live in your settings, and you can edit them yourself whenever you like.

You don't need to go back through the interview to change anything. You can reopen it to read over what you said, but the editing happens in your settings.

It's worth a look every so often, since your criteria are doing the work of filtering your deal flow.

Your existing investment criteria will carry over, and the first thing you'll see when you log in to the platform for the first time is your criteria, with a prompt to check them over and approve or make any edits.

Yes. There's more on that in Matching strictness.