#A List of Flags Can't Tell You Where the Problem Is
Reading the flags one by one doesn't give you a revision direction. When several key issues are listed in a row, it isn't obvious which area is holding you back.
OpenSeed's AI mentors (17 evaluation roles) each cover their own domain, and the ones that apply to your business area evaluate independently. To take in their opinions in one view, you need a frame for grouping them by area. The six-area check is a reading method for that purpose.
If the flags cluster in one area, that area is weak. If they are spread evenly across several areas, the evidence across the whole document is thin. Either way, the answer to 'where do I start?' is in how the flags are distributed.
#What Each of the Six Areas Checks
Each area is an independent thing to check. Strengthening one area does not automatically improve the others. The table below outlines what each area covers and the key things that are often checked.
| Area | What It Covers | Things Often Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Problem | Whether the problem being solved is real, significant, and urgent | How specifically the customer pain is described, the limits of existing alternatives, how often the problem occurs |
| Solution | How the product or service solves the problem and what makes it different | How the core functionality works, competitive advantages, evidence of validation |
| Market | The size of the target market and how feasible it is to enter | Evidence for demand size, segmentation logic, sources for growth rate figures |
| Team | The founding team's execution ability and fit with the problem | Domain experience, whether key roles are filled, founder motivation |
| Finance | The realism of the revenue model and financial plan | How revenue projections are calculated, cost structure, break-even scenarios |
| Execution | How concrete the roadmap, milestones, and resource allocation are | Clarity of stage-by-stage goals, prioritization logic, risk mitigation |
These six areas show up repeatedly in virtually every evaluation framework — whether for government grant applications or investor pitch decks. The frame will likely feel familiar the moment you see it.
#How to Read the Report's Flags Across Six Areas in 3 Steps
The first time you read a report, the flags can look scattered. Breaking it into three steps makes it easy to turn what you read into action.
- Find the area where flags cluster — Place the key issues and mentor comments into the six areas one by one, and find the area with the most flags or the heaviest ones. That area takes priority over overall balance.
- Read every comment in the flagged areas — For any area flagged as weak, read every mentor comment without skipping. Thin coverage and flawed logic require different fixes, so identify the root cause first.
- Check how adjacent areas connect — If Solution is flagged as weak, the link to your Problem narrative has often broken down. If Finance is flagged as weak, there is frequently a logical gap between your market size estimate and your revenue projections. When you fix one weak area, review its neighbors at the same time.
Each mentor's feedback in the report comes with excerpts of the evidence. Don't stop at the summary — use the specific issues flagged in the comments to define exactly what needs to be revised.
#Where to Start — A Practical Priority Order for Fixing Your Weakest Areas
Trying to fix all six areas at once usually means none of them improve enough. The priority order below comes from logical dependency: if the problem definition is shaky, the Solution and Market narratives shake along with it.
| Priority | Situation | Fix This Area First | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Problem area is flagged weakest | Problem | Every other area builds on your problem definition. If the problem is unclear, your Solution and Market narratives will unravel along with it. |
| 2nd | Solution area is flagged weakest | Solution → Execution | A vague solution makes your execution roadmap hollow. Strengthening both areas together is the most efficient approach. |
| 3rd | Market area is flagged weakest | Market → Finance | Weak evidence for market size undermines your revenue projections. Fix your market sizing first, then rewrite your financial estimates. |
| 4th | Team area is flagged weakest | Team | Team narratives are grounded in facts, so they can be improved independently of the other areas. Add specifics around domain experience, role assignments, and founder motivation. |
| 5th | Finance area is flagged weakest | Finance | Flesh out your revenue projection formula and cost structure. Remove any unsupported figures — things like 'Year 3 revenue of $10M' with no basis should go immediately. |
| 6th | Execution area is flagged weakest | Execution | Break your milestones down to a quarterly level and define clear completion criteria for each stage. Also revisit the logic behind your resource allocation. |
If more than one area is flagged as weak at the same time, focus on whichever appears higher in the priority list first. Finishing one or two areas before moving on is faster than trying to overhaul everything at once.
#Your Workflow After Reading the Report
The report opens in two tabs: 'Final report' and 'Anticipated judge questions'. After reading the key issues and 'What to do first' in the Final report tab, follow the steps below to move into revision mode without wasting effort.
- Open your report, read the key issues and 'What to do first,' then place the flags into the six areas and note which area is flagged most heavily.
- Read every mentor comment for that area and write out the flagged issues as a numbered list.
- Open the corresponding section of your business plan and work through the issues in order.
- Once revisions are done, read through the adjacent areas to confirm the logic still flows.
- Check that the revised text alone answers the questions on the Anticipated judge questions tab.
- Move on to the next most heavily flagged area and revise the document the same way.
If the same flag still shows up all over the document after you've fixed one area, treat that as a signal to rethink your approach entirely. Instead of polishing sentences, fill in the underlying evidence.
#Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do the six areas come with per-area numbers or a radar chart?
No. The default report screen has no per-area numbers, grades, or radar chart. At the top of the report you see the perspective distribution of the AI mentors who reviewed it (recommend, conditional, flagged), followed by the key issues and each mentor's feedback. The six areas are a frame the reader uses to organize those flags. A plan written for a government grant program and one prepared for investor fundraising may be weighted differently, so don't treat the areas as equal — base your revision decisions on what the comments actually flag.
Q. How do I fix the Team area if it's flagged as weak?
There are two issues mentors flag most often in team narratives. First, founders list roles without explaining why this particular team is the right one to solve this particular problem. Second, key roles are unfilled and the team either hasn't noticed or has no plan to address it. Check your mentor comments to figure out which of these applies to you before making changes.
Q. If I fix all six areas, does that guarantee approval?
No. The OpenSeed report is not a screen that predicts whether you will be selected or accepted. Actual funding decisions involve many factors beyond the plan itself — market conditions, commercial viability, the priorities of a given program, and more. Use the report to systematically close your weakest gaps. Don't treat it as a pass/fail threshold.
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