How companies enter the Company Universe
Search populates the universe using your ICP criteria. Each record includes Company Name, Website, Lane, Tier Hypothesis, Industry/Subsector, Size Band, City, Source Query, Source URL, Strategic Notes, and Data Confidence. Review Status defaults to blank. The universe is a dataset — minimal intervention required.
Recommendation scoring (universe to targets)
A company must be marked Reviewed before it can surface as a recommendation. Rejected companies are permanently excluded. Score threshold to surface is 3.0.
| Factor | Contribution |
|---|
| Tier 1 hypothesis | +4.0 |
| Tier 2 hypothesis | +2.5 |
| Tier 3 hypothesis | +1.0 |
| Industry identified | +1.0 |
| Source query present | +0.5 |
| Lower Mid-Market size band | +0.5 |
| Large Enterprise size band | -1.0 (ICP size bias) |
| High data confidence | +0.5 |
| Low data confidence | -0.5 |
| Active signals (within 90 days) | +up to 3.0 |
| Older signals (90–365 days) | +up to 1.5 |
| Advisory openness signals | +up to 1.5 |
Priority scoring (promoted targets)
Once promoted, targets are scored across five dimensions. Score is 0–100.
| Dimension | Max points | Source |
|---|
| Fit (Sector + Work + Credibility) | 30 | Set at promotion. Criteria-based. |
| Size Band | 10 | Carried from universe. Written by search. |
| Need Now (signals <90 days) | 20 | Computed from signals. No manual entry. |
| Need Later (signals 90–365 days) | 10 | Computed from signals. No manual entry. |
| Advisory openness signals | 5 | Computed from signals. No manual entry. |
| Access Category | 20 | Set manually after promotion. |
| Barbados relationship bonus | 5 | Lane = Barbados + access ≥ 8. |
Fit score criteria
| Label | Weight | Definition |
|---|
| Direct Fit | 4 | Logistics, 3PL, warehousing, last-mile, distribution. |
| Strong Adjacent Fit | 3 | Physical or service delivery at scale where experience translates. |
| Conditional Adjacent Fit | 2 | Operational complexity present but problem may not sit in your lane. |
| Weak Fit | 1 | Outside your credible zone. |
Applies to Sector Fit, Work Fit, and Credibility Fit independently. Credibility Fit reflects whether a decision-maker would believe you belong at the table — founder-owned operators score higher than enterprises with formal procurement.
Access category definitions
| Category | Score | Definition |
|---|
| Direct contact | 10 | You know someone at the company personally and have direct standing to reach out. |
| Contact via personal relationship | 8 | Genuine personal relationship with someone at or close to the company. You would reach out directly. |
| Contact via colleague | 6 | Someone you worked with who knows this company. You would ask them for an introduction. |
| Contact via network search | 3 | LinkedIn or similar — no warm relationship with the intermediary. |
| No known path | 1 | No identified route. Default on promotion. Cold only. |
Signal types that qualify as advisory openness
| Signal type | Rationale |
|---|
| Advisory Openness | Direct evidence the company is open to outside perspective. |
| Leadership change | New leadership often signals openness to external input. |
| Founder operational challenge | Public acknowledgment of a problem you can help with. |
| External advisor posting | Active search for an advisor role — direct signal. |
Cooldown rules after dismissal
| Reason | Cooldown |
|---|
| Keep in universe for now | 30 days |
| No access path | 30 days |
| Timing not right | 45 days |
| No visible need | 60 days |
| Poor fit after review | 60 days |
| Company pushback | 60 days |