Get Matched Faster — How to Answer the Intake Chat

Last updated: [19/05/2026]

The intake assistant structures your mandate for the matching engine. It asks few questions — 2 to 4 at a time — and every answer directly shapes who you get matched with. Here's how to get through it in two or three messages.

The golden rule: ranges and descriptors, never names

You never need to share the company name, client identity, or any sensitive detail. "Pune-based diagnostics chain, ₹30–40 Cr revenue, NABL accredited" is a perfect answer. The assistant will remind you of this once — take it seriously in both directions: don't over-share, and don't withhold the non-sensitive basics that matching runs on.

Your first message: the 30-second version

The more of these you put in your first message, the fewer questions you face. Cover:

1. What you're doing — buying, selling, raising funds, seeking debt, or a partnership.
2. Who you are — the owner/promoter, or an advisor representing a client.
3. What the business does — sector and one line of description.
4. Where — city, state, or region (or target geography if buying).
5. Scale — revenue range and rough EBITDA (selling/raising), or budget range (buying).
6. Structure — full sale, majority, minority, or open.

Example (sell-side):

"I'm an advisor representing a promoter selling a Nashik-based specialty chemicals manufacturer. Revenue ₹60–70 Cr, EBITDA ~₹9 Cr, mostly export. Full sale or majority stake."

Example (buy-side):

"I'm the acquirer. Looking to acquire an NBFC with a clean RBI licence, anywhere in West India, ticket size ₹15–25 Cr, majority or 100%."

A message like that skips most of the questionnaire entirely.

Have a teaser or brief? Paste it.

If you have a prepared teaser, IM summary, or structured brief, paste the whole thing (with names redacted if you prefer). The assistant extracts everything, shows you a summary, and asks you to confirm — one message instead of a Q&A.

The sector questions — why they matter

After the basics, the assistant asks 2–3 questions specific to your sector: regulatory approvals for pharma, retainer mix for agencies, PPA profile for energy assets, loan book quality for NBFCs. These aren't bureaucracy — they are exactly what serious counterparties filter on. One specific answer here ("USFDA-approved plant, 12 DMFs filed") is worth more to your match quality than everything else combined.

Answer with what you have

• Exact numbers not required — ranges are fine ("revenue between ₹40–50 Cr").
• Don't know something? Say "not sure" and move on. An approximate mandate that gets submitted beats a perfect mandate that gets abandoned.
• Made an error? Just say so in chat — "correction, it's Gujarat, not Maharashtra" — the mandate updates.

What happens after

Once the mandate has enough to match on, you'll confirm it's a genuine requirement, and the engine takes over — evaluating your mandate against the network continuously. Matches appear on your Deal Dashboard with the reasoning behind each one. Everything from there is covered in How DealCollab Works.

Three mistakes that slow you down

1. One-word answers dripped over ten messages. The assistant groups questions so you can answer in bulk — do that.
2. Withholding revenue/size entirely. A range is anonymous and is the single strongest matching signal. No scale, weak matches.
3. Vague sector descriptions. "Manufacturing business" matches poorly; "auto-component machining, IATF certified, OEM supplier" matches well.