skills/ecvc-financing-readiness/references/readiness-framework.md

# Readiness framework

Use this framework to keep assessments consistent while preserving uncertainty.

## Evidence status values

For each item, assign one status:

| Status | Credit | Meaning |
|---|---:|---|
| Evidence reviewed | 100% | Supplied material appears to address the item; this is not a legal sufficiency finding. |
| User confirmed | 75% | The user says a current item exists, but it was not reviewed. |
| Partial or stale | 40% | Some information exists, but it appears incomplete, old, unsigned, inconsistent, or still in progress. |
| Absent or contradicted | 0% | The user says it is absent, or supplied materials contain an unresolved contradiction. |
| Unknown | 0% | The user answered that they do not know. Count it when calculating completeness. |
| Not applicable | Excluded | Explain why it is out of scope; do not award or deduct points. |

For a weighted item, multiply its weight by the status credit. Divide earned points by applicable points and multiply by 100. Round to the nearest whole number.

`Assessment completeness` is the percentage of applicable weight with an evidence status other than Unknown. A questionnaire item that is Pending or Explicitly skipped remains open and receives Unknown evidence status until the user answers it. `Evidence coverage` is the percentage of applicable weight supported by reviewed files rather than user confirmation alone.

## Weighted checklist

| Category and item | Weight |
|---|---:|
| **Corporate organization, governance, and registrations** | **20** |
| Formation and current entity records | 4 |
| Governing documents and amendments | 4 |
| Board and owner approval records | 4 |
| Current directors, officers, and organizational records | 3 |
| Operating-footprint and qualification/registration inventory, including leased or owned real estate | 5 |
| **Capitalization and securities records** | **20** |
| Current capitalization table reconciled to records | 7 |
| Inventory of shares, options, warrants, SAFEs, notes, or similar rights | 5 |
| Equity approvals, grant records, and ownership ledger | 5 |
| Valuation and equity-plan records, when applicable | 3 |
| **People, IP, and digital assets** | **25** |
| Current employee, founder, and contractor roster | 3 |
| Agreement record for each relevant person | 4 |
| Confidential-information and IP-assignment coverage, including founder and pre-formation IP | 6 |
| Registered and pending patent, trademark, and copyright portfolio | 5 |
| Company ownership or control record for domains and other key digital assets | 4 |
| Freedom-to-operate or clearance status recorded, when relevant | 3 |
| **Financial and tax organization** | **10** |
| Current financial statements, budget, burn, and runway | 4 |
| Tax return and filing inventory | 3 |
| Debt, bank, and other financial-obligation inventory | 3 |
| **Commercial, privacy, and regulatory organization** | **15** |
| Material customer, vendor, partner, license, and real-estate contract inventory | 4 |
| Website, app, user, or customer terms, when applicable | 3 |
| Privacy notices, cookie practices, data practices, and security-policy inventory | 3 |
| Permit, license, registration, sector-regulatory, and insurance inventory | 5 |
| **Disputes and investigations** | **5** |
| Disputes, claims, demand letters, and threatened proceedings inventory | 3 |
| Government or regulatory investigation and inquiry inventory | 2 |
| **Diligence organization and data room** | **5** |
| Diligence owner and contributors identified | 1 |
| Data-room index, naming, and version-control approach | 2 |
| Known-gaps and exceptions list | 2 |

## Outcome rules

Apply the first rule that fits:

1. `Insufficient information` if assessment completeness is below 60%. Show a provisional score, but do not imply it is representative.
2. `Foundational gaps` if the score is below 60.
3. `Nearly ready` if the score is 60–79.
4. `Ready for initial financing conversations` if the score is 80–100 and there is no critical gate.

A critical gate caps the outcome at `Nearly ready`. Use a critical gate when an item below is Absent or contradicted, or when a material unresolved inconsistency affects it:

- Formation or governing records.
- Current pro forma capitalization table.
- Inventory of outstanding equity and debt-like instruments.
- Board and owner approval records.
- Confidential-information and IP-assignment coverage matrix.
- Company ownership or control record for core IP, domains, and other material digital assets.

Do not call these legal blockers. Label them `priority process gaps requiring review`.

## Interpretation

The score measures organization for an initial financing process. It is not a legal opinion, investment recommendation, valuation, diligence conclusion, compliance finding, or guarantee. Avoid false precision: always show the underlying statuses and explain the top drivers.