The Nest Score
One number, six categories, zero mystique. Computed from the structured facts in your application — the same rubric for everyone.
Illustration of how the rubric renders a score. Not a real applicant result.
Team & Founders
25Domain expertise, full-time commitment, complementary skills, prior founding track record.
Traction
25Revenue level, paying customers, month-on-month growth, retention, pilots and LOIs.
Problem & Market
20Severity of the problem, credible market size, and timing or regulatory tailwinds.
Business Model
15Clear monetisation, pricing, gross margins, and LTV:CAC sanity.
Financials & Ask
10Runway, burn discipline, and the clarity and reasonableness of the ask.
Defensibility
5Differentiation, IP, network effects, and switching costs.
Bands & the Nest-Ready badge
80–100
Nest-Ready ★
65–79
Promising
45–64
Watchlist
0–44
Not ready
The Nest-Ready badge is awarded at a score of 75 or above by default. Applications that are incomplete, missing a deck, or outside the target sectors and stages are flagged by an eligibility gate before scoring runs.