Must-Have Criteria
Also known as: Gating criteria, Threshold criteria, Go/No-Go criteria
Gating criteria in the GAITS Funding Readiness Framework. A team that cannot demonstrate these is not fundable at that stage regardless of other strengths. Must-Have gaps should be addressed before submitting.
Full Definition
Must-Have Criteria are the gating requirements in the GAITS Funding Readiness Framework. At each funding level — Translational, Pre-Seed, Seed, Seed+, and Series A — there is a defined set of project and team criteria that a funder will treat as non-negotiable. Failing to meet even one Must-Have criterion is typically sufficient to disqualify a team from funding at that stage, regardless of how strong the Should-Have evidence is.
Must-Have Criteria are divided into two columns in the framework: Project criteria (covering the technology, evidence, regulatory status, and commercial model) and Team criteria (covering leadership, execution capability, and organisational structure). Both columns must be addressed. A strong project with a weak team, or a strong team with insufficient project evidence, will not close at the relevant stage.
The practical implication for teams is that Must-Have gaps should be identified and closed before approaching funders — not during the funding process. The framework is designed to be used as a planning tool, not just a submission checklist. Teams should treat unmet Must-Have criteria as work to be scheduled, not as context to explain away in a pitch.
A team at Seed stage has strong bench data, a promising clinical pilot, and an experienced founding team. However, their intellectual property is co-owned with the university and the ownership dispute has not been resolved. In the GAITS Funding Readiness Framework, a clean cap table with no unresolved IP ownership disputes is a Seed-stage Must-Have. Seed investors reviewing the opportunity will identify this issue during due diligence and decline — regardless of how strong the clinical evidence is. The team should resolve the IP question before approaching investors, not plan to disclose it during negotiation.