---
url: /docs/deals-01-overview-and-concepts.md
---
# Deal Pipeline — Overview & Concepts

Deal Pipeline tracks every deal you're evaluating, from first sourcing
through close — or through passing on it.

## What problem it solves

Deals tend to live in inboxes, a shared spreadsheet, and people's heads.
That makes it hard to see how many deals are in play, which ones have
stalled, and what was last said to a founder.

| Feature | The problem | What Cairn does |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline board | No single view of every deal and where it stands | Every deal as a card in its stage, from Sourced to Closed or Passed, with a count per stage |
| Days in stage | Deals quietly stall and nobody notices for weeks | Each deal shows how long it's been in its current stage |
| Activity timeline | Call notes and emails are scattered across inboxes | Notes, calls, meetings, emails, and stage changes in one timeline per deal |
| Contacts | The same founder or banker is re-entered for every deal | One shared contact list, linked to each deal |
| Screening note | A first opinion on a deal waits for someone to find time to write one | Cairn Intelligence drafts a thesis, strengths, risks, and a recommendation from what you've recorded about the deal |

> The examples below use a made-up firm and companies to show how each
> feature is used.

> **Example: keeping a deal moving.** A banker introduces Lumen Health. An
> analyst adds it as a deal in **Sourced** and links the banker from the
> firm's contacts. After a first call, they log a Call with their notes and
> drag the card to **Screening**. Two weeks later, the Monday review shows
> Lumen Health has been in Screening for 15 days, longer than the other
> deals there, so the partner asks for a decision: move it to **Diligence**
> and open a workspace, or move it to **Passed** with a note on why.

## The pipeline board

Deals are shown on a Kanban-style board with six columns, one per stage:

| Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sourced | A deal has been identified |
| Screening | Initial evaluation is underway |
| Diligence | Formal due diligence is in progress |
| Term Sheet | Terms are being negotiated |
| Closed | The deal has been completed |
| Passed | You've decided not to pursue this deal |

A metric strip above the board shows how many deals sit in each stage.

## The deal detail page

Opening a deal shows:

* **Overview** — deal size (a single amount or a range), current stage,
  assigned GP, how many days the deal has been in its current stage, when
  it entered that stage, and who referred it. The deal's sector and
  geography show under its name.
* **Contacts** — people associated with the deal, linked from your firm's
  shared contacts.
* **Description** — what the company does and why the deal is
  interesting, as written when adding or editing the deal.
* **Activity timeline** — a log of notes, calls, meetings, emails, and
  stage changes.
* **Screening note** — a Cairn Intelligence first read of the deal: a
  thesis summary, strengths, risks, and a recommendation (proceed, pass, or
  proceed with conditions). Each generation is kept as a version.

## Key terms

* **Stage** — where a deal sits in your pipeline (see table above).
* **Assigned GP** — the general partner responsible for the deal.
* **Days in stage** — how long the deal has been in its current stage,
  useful for spotting deals that have stalled.