Applying to a programme, and what happens next
What each application status actually means, the two kinds of request an incubator can send you back, and why the middle of the process goes quiet.
What you will learn
- What every status on your application means
- The difference between a change request and a document request
- Why nothing appears to happen during evaluation
- How to withdraw, and when that is the right call
How an application moves#
You apply, the incubator reviews, and it either comes back to you for something or moves forward without you. The statuses below are the actual ones - you see the same label the incubation team does.
| Status | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| New | Submitted. Nobody has picked it up yet. |
| Changes requested | They want something altered. The application is back in your hands - nothing moves until you respond. |
| Changes received | You have responded. It is back with them. |
| Reviewed | They have read it and it is moving forward. |
| Under evaluation | With the panel. This is the quiet part - see below. |
| Evaluated | Scoring is finished. A decision is close. |
| Documents requested | They need specific files. Also back in your hands. |
| Documents received | You have uploaded them. Back with them. |
| Verified | Checks passed. |
| Onboarded | You are in the programme. |
| Rejected | Not taken forward. |
| Removed | Taken out of the process by the incubator. |
Important
Four of these mean the ball is with YOU: changes requested, documents requested, and the two received states while you are still working on them. If your application has sat at Changes requested for a week, nothing is happening at their end and nothing will.
The two kinds of request, and they are different#
Both come back to you, and people confuse them because both feel like being asked for something.
| Change request | Document request | |
|---|---|---|
| What they want | Something in the application itself altered or clarified | A specific file uploaded |
| What you do | Edit and respond | Upload, and resubmit if the first one was not right |
| Where it lives | On the application | On the application, tracked separately with its own state |
Tip
A document request can be resubmitted. If they come back saying a file was wrong or unreadable, you replace it against the same request rather than starting anything over.
Why the middle goes quiet#
Under evaluation is the stage founders ask about most, because nothing visible happens. The panel is scoring applications against a rubric the incubator wrote, and none of that is visible from your side - you see the status change when it finishes, not the scores.
Good to know
This is deliberate rather than an omission. Panel scores are the incubator's internal record; showing them to applicants mid-process would change how panels score.
Talking to them without email#
Each application carries its own message thread with the incubation team, so a question about your application stays attached to the application. Unread messages are counted, so a reply does not get lost in an inbox.
- Messages on the application, read by whoever is handling it
- A history of everything that has happened to the application, with dates
- A summary view, when you just want the current state
Withdrawing#
You can withdraw an application. Worth doing if you have decided against the programme - an application sitting in someone's queue that you no longer want is time they spend on you and not on somebody who does.
Careful
Withdrawing is not pausing. If you might still want the place, respond to the outstanding request instead and tell them you need time - the message thread is there for exactly that.
