Application Forms
Each cohort has one application form. The platform generates a tailored form from your programme profile and cohort configuration — you can then customise it, preview it, and share it with applicants.
Generating your form
Section titled “Generating your form”Once your cohort is created, go to the cohort’s Form tab and click Generate Form.
The platform reads your programme type, ethos, applicant profile, and eligibility rules and produces a complete application form in seconds. The fields are specifically designed to extract the information the AI review engine needs to score submissions accurately.
Understanding your generated form
Section titled “Understanding your generated form”The generated form will have two fixed fields that always appear at the top:
- Full name — the applicant’s name
- Email address — used for all communications
After those, you’ll see the AI-generated fields. Each one has been assigned a role that tells the review engine what part of the business it’s capturing. Here’s what the common roles mean:
| Role | What it’s capturing |
|---|---|
| Problem | The problem the founder is solving |
| Solution | Their proposed solution |
| Customer | Who their target customer is |
| Market | The size and nature of the market |
| Traction | What progress they’ve already made |
| Team | Who’s on the founding team |
| Business model | How the business makes money |
You’ll also see fields tagged as Eligibility — these capture information used to check against your stated eligibility rules (e.g. location, business registration status).
Customising your form
Section titled “Customising your form”Go to Form → Edit to customise the generated form. You can:
- Edit field labels and help text — change the wording of questions to match your voice
- Mark fields as required or optional
- Add new fields — text, long answer, number, date, dropdown, multi-select, or URL
- Reorder fields by dragging them
- Delete fields you don’t need
Field types
Section titled “Field types”| Type | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Short text | Names, company names, one-line answers |
| Long text (textarea) | Detailed descriptions, pitches, explanations |
| Number | Funding amounts, team size, revenue figures |
| Date | Founded date, product launch date |
| Dropdown (select) | Sector, stage, delivery preference — one choice from a list |
| Multi-select | Skills, target markets — one or more choices |
| URL | Website, pitch deck link, LinkedIn |
| Location | City or country of operation |
Fit criteria
Section titled “Fit criteria”Your form includes fit criteria — the dimensions the AI will use to score how well each applicant matches your programme. These are set during form generation and reflect your programme ethos.
Each dimension has:
- A name (e.g. “Market Potential,” “Founder-Market Fit”)
- A weight (the relative importance of this dimension — all weights must add up to 100)
- A description of what you’re looking for
You can adjust the weights and descriptions to reflect your programme’s priorities more accurately.
Guard rails
Section titled “Guard rails”Guard rails are automatic checks the platform runs on submitted answers. When a submission fails a guard rail check, it’s flagged for your reviewers — it doesn’t automatically reject the application, but it highlights something that needs attention.
Examples of guard rail checks:
- A location field is checked against your allowed geographies
- An age field is checked against your minimum/maximum age requirement
- A sector dropdown is checked against your allowed sectors
Guard rails are configured from your eligibility settings when the form is generated. Applicants never see the rule — they only see the question.
Testing your form
Section titled “Testing your form”Before you share the form with applicants, preview it from the Form → Preview tab. This shows you exactly what applicants will see.
To do a full end-to-end test — including the AI review — click Test Submission in the preview. This submits a test application that goes through the full scoring pipeline. Test submissions are labelled clearly and excluded from your real analytics.
Sharing your form
Section titled “Sharing your form”Once you’re happy with the form and your cohort is Open, go to the Form tab and copy the public application link. This is a unique URL you can:
- Share directly with prospective applicants
- Embed on your website
- Include in emails and social media posts
The link works for anyone — applicants don’t need a Narrative Intelligence account to apply.
What happens after a form is submitted
Section titled “What happens after a form is submitted”The moment a founder clicks Submit, the platform queues their application for automated review. See How Applications Are Reviewed for a full explanation of what happens next.