First steps - Managing a Challenge – AEVO Support

In this article, you will find the main functions to start using the platform and the Startup Hub. See below what you will find here:

How to access the platform?
How to register a user?
How to create and publish a funnel?
How to bulk add organizations to my funnel?
How to create evaluation criteria?
How to communicate with startups?
How to extract data from the Startup Hub?

Accessing the platform

We have an article covering all login scenarios: How to log in to the platform.

How to register a user?

Today, there are a few ways to register and update users on the Innovate platform. It is possible to:

Update in bulk, using an import spreadsheet;
Manually, directly on the user edit page; and
Through automatic integration (AD).

Using the import spreadsheet

The first step to register or update employees in bulk is to fill out the Import Template Spreadsheet, available in the Gear Menu 👉 Users 👉 Import Users.

In it, only the fields Name, Username, Department, and Active are mandatory. The others are optional and serve to complement the employee's registration.

Regarding the spreadsheet, it is important to know that:

The field Username is the user's identification key, which the system uses to check whether another user with the same username is already registered. The most common data used in this field are email, personal ID, or employee number.
The field Department refers to the area of the company the employee belongs to. As it can be used in the approval flow, it is very important that the managers of each Department are also well mapped.
The field Password is not mandatory because if the spreadsheet is imported with this field blank, a random password will be automatically created for the employee. If you choose to fill this field, the password must meet the following requirements:
1. Be at least 6 characters long;
2. Contain at least one uppercase letter;
3. Contain at least one lowercase letter;
4. Contain at least one number;
The column Active indicates whether the employee should be updated or deactivated. For that, enter 1 to update/register and 0 to deactivate.

After filling out the spreadsheet, just upload it by clicking on Import Spreadsheet right after. At this point, the system will read it and identify possible errors: duplicate username, incorrectly formatted email, password with fewer than the minimum required characters, etc.

If no errors are found, a new screen will appear showing the new departments and employees to be added, updated, or deactivated. It is important to point out that upon identifying new departments, the system automatically assigns the default department manager as the manager of these new ones that will be created.

In this screen, you will also be able to update collaborators' access permissions. Finally, just click on Import without sending Email or Import and send Email to choose whether or not to notify employees about the created login and password.

Through AD integration

The automatic user integration allows employees to access AEVO Innovate using the same credentials they use for internal applications and systems such as SharePoint, Intranet, etc. With this, instead of having to create new login credentials for the employee, the same day-to-day credentials are used, enabling easier, safer, and more transparent access to the platform.

Through this integration, user management on the platform also becomes easier, since any updates in the employee’s company record, except for terminations* (see note below), are automatically reflected on the platform with each new login made by the user.

In AD integration, the advantage is that the manager does not need to previously register or manually update users.

When automatic user integration is enabled in an environment, each time a user logs in, their information is updated automatically based on the data stored in the client's AD. This means that any change to the employee’s record must be made in the client's environment first, and then it will be mirrored on the platform.

*Note: if an employee is terminated and is also deactivated in the AD, this deactivation is not reflected in the user record on the platform. In other words, the user must be manually deactivated by the manager within the platform.

Manual change

This is a quick and practical way to make changes or create just a few users. Just go to Gear Menu 👉 Users, where you will have access to the list of all users registered on the platform.

In the top bar, on the right corner, you have access to two icons. Using the 🔍, you can access filters to find users:

And the ➕ icon takes you to the page to create a new user:

On this page, just fill in the required fields and assign the desired permissions.

You can also enhance user security by enabling the two-factor authentication option.

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a method that requires two or more independent forms of verification to confirm a user’s identity. This method improves system security by protecting against unauthorized access, even if user credentials are compromised.

Learn more in our article:
🔐 More secure login with two-factor authentication (MFA) in AEVO

At the bottom of the page, you will find the following options:

Register without sending email: clicking this option will register the user without sending the registration email; and
Register and send email: this option will send a confirmation email upon user registration.

To make changes to an already registered user, simply search for them on the listing page and click the Pencil ✏️ icon, which directs you to the user’s edit page. From there, you can update the desired information and click Save to confirm the changes.

If your goal is to deactivate a user, click the ✖ icon. If the user has any pending tasks on the platform, a pop-up will appear, and you must assign an active user to inherit the deactivated user’s pending items:

To finalize the action, just click the "Select responsible user" button, completing the deactivation process.

How to create and publish a funnel?

To create a funnel, simply click the indicated icon on the upper tab in the top right corner.

A pop-up will then appear where you can enter the desired name for the funnel and confirm by clicking the Create button.

You will then be redirected to the funnel page, where you can create various lanes (stages) by clicking the ➕ icon, which by default is next to the first lane, "Connection."

To complete the lane creation, enter the desired name of the stage in the blank field and click Create. You can create multiple lanes with different names and perform actions such as: create forms for each stage, set evaluation criteria by assigning responsibility to a collaborator, edit lost and progress email templates. All these actions can be performed individually in each stage by clicking the three dots icon.

Clicking "Forms" lets you create new fields (or select existing ones) to customize the form for that specific stage:

When clicking Email Template, a pop-up window will open, and to customize the Progress or Disqualification email for that stage, you must enable the flag “Configure progress email template for this stage?”.

Once enabled, the editing fields will appear.

Clicking the Evaluations button allows you to manage and/or create evaluation criteria for the stage. This will be covered in more detail in the next section.

To create, just click the “+ Create Ratings” button and fill in the fields that appear next, as follows:

The last button will delete the entire stage. A confirmation message like the following will appear:

Once the lanes are populated with startups, the manager can perform batch actions by clicking the icon at the bottom corner of the lane.

Clicking the ✏️ icon next to the funnel name will open a pop-up window with tabs to edit details. Next, we’ll go over each tab in more detail.

Funnel Tab

Here you can edit the following information. Additionally, if the AI (Artificial Intelligence) feature is enabled for this module, some startup suggestions will appear here.

Name
Internal description (used on the Home page)
Add startups to the funnel in bulk or individually.

Permissions Tab

Here you can edit the funnel’s permissions and make the evaluations private.

Editors
- Only funnel editors can configure and unarchive the funnel.
- By default, the funnel creator is an editor.
- Each funnel must have at least one editor.
- Editors can view the funnel even if not listed as viewers.
- SuperAdmin can edit any funnel.
Collaborators (formerly Viewers)
- If left blank, all users with access to the Startup Center can view the funnel.
- SuperAdmin can view any funnel.

Private evaluations: prevents bias in other evaluators’ scores. When this option is enabled, only superusers and funnel editors can see the startup’s average in the funnel (startup modal), stage averages, individual and overall scores, and comments from collective evaluations. The evaluator only sees what they have access to.

Note: Both Editors and Collaborators can be users or groups.

Applications Tab

In this tab, you can perform the following actions:

Display challenge on the widget (formerly "Make public").
Enable the challenge page. When enabled, the “Challenge Page” tab will appear.
Configure the link to which the startup will be redirected after completing the registration, which can be in two cases:
- If the stage has a form, after completing the form
- If it does not have one, after submitting the startup’s data.
Close funnel applications.
Set the application deadline.

Challenge Page Tab

Here, you can define the following fields:

Title
External Description: Information visible to all startups, describing the challenge, its phases, and expectations for participation. These are concise details about what the company expects from the challenge. Everything in this field appears above the funnel’s banner, for example:
Banner image (background image) – also used in the Startup Center
Page content

Important: Don’t forget to click update after finishing these edits.

How to bulk add organizations to my funnel?

If you wish to bulk add organizations to your funnel or base, we now offer a new feature to simplify the registration process. Interested? Then check out the following article that explains how to use this powerful functionality: How to import organizations in bulk to my funnel?

How to create Ratings criteria?

To create evaluation criteria for each stage, you must click on the three-dot icon of the desired stage and select the “Ratings” button. Upon clicking, the following page will appear:

To create, simply click on the “+ Create ratings” button and fill in the fields that appear next, as shown below:

Once created, the “Manage evaluations” page will look like this:

Here you can see the created criteria (with title and weight) and also the stage averages for each startup in the funnel. The stars are filled according to the average of the assigned scores, and the number on the left shows the score from 1.0 to 5.0. The number on the right of the stars represents the number of evaluations that startup has received.

Note: The score will only be zero if no evaluations have been completed.

You can also check the evaluation received within the startup’s card:

How to communicate with startups?

After launching a challenge to the ecosystem and starting to receive applications, begins the communication phase with startups. This phase is essential to ensure they provide all the necessary information for a proper evaluation. Below, we show you how to manage this communication directly from your challenge funnel.

Types of emails that can be sent

Communication with startups through the Startup Hub happens exclusively via email, and currently there are four types of emails that can be sent:

Invitation email: sent when you want to individually invite a startup not yet in your funnel to apply to an open challenge.

Progress email: sent when you want to inform a startup that it has advanced to the next stage in the funnel.

Disqualification email: sent when a startup did not progress and has been “rejected.”

Custom email: sent when you want to initiate a direct message thread with the startup.

Sending invitation emails

To invite an organization not yet in your funnel to join a challenge, go to the desired funnel and click the “Invite Organization” button, located in the funnel’s top bar.

After clicking the button, a pop-up will appear where you can perform the required actions:

The registration link is the funnel application page URL, and is included in the email template sent to the organizations.
In the Send to field, enter the email addresses to which you want to send the invitation.

Important! After entering each email address, you must press Enter to confirm the inclusion of that email in the recipient list.

Using the Edit Invitation Email button, a new pop-up will appear, allowing you to customize the email template sent to the organizations:
The subject field is mandatory. Without it, you cannot save the template or send the invitations. Once finished with your customizations, click the Save button to apply the changes.
The Restore Default Email button allows you to revert to the platform’s default invitation email template.

Attention! If no template is predefined, the platform will open the email editor pop-up right after clicking Send Invitation.

Once all necessary adjustments are made, click the Send Invitation button to dispatch the emails.

Before completing the action, the platform will show a final confirmation pop-up:

Only after clicking the Send button will the emails be sent.

Sending progress and disqualification emails

Since progress and disqualification emails notify startups about whether they will continue in the challenge, it is necessary to enable them in each funnel stage where communication is appropriate. To do this, click the three-dot icon and select the option "Email Templates".

In the modal that opens, you must enable the progress and/or disqualification email templates to configure them.

After editing, you must save and then send a test email to an address of your choice to validate the email formatting.

Once configured, progress and disqualification emails can be sent in two ways:

First, by clicking the envelope icon at the bottom of the stage

A dropdown will appear with options to select either the progress email or a custom email. The number next to "Send Progress Email" indicates how many startups in that stage will receive the email, since some may have already received it.

Important: If the startup filter applied to the funnel is “Active”, the “Progress” email will be sent. If the filter is “Lost”, the “Disqualification” email will be sent. If the filter is “All”, neither of these two emails can be sent.

Important! In both cases, the user must be a “Funnel Editor” or a “Superuser” to see the buttons.

Sending personalized emails

To send personalized emails, the user must have access to the Startup Hub enabled in their profile (Settings Menu 👉🏽 Users), and be assigned as a Funnel Editor through the funnel edit modal (funnel kanban 👉🏽 pencil icon on the funnel title).

Personalized emails can only be sent to startups that are in your funnel, through three methods:

1) Via the “Send Email” button in the funnel

2) Via the email sending button within the funnel stages

3) Via the “Send Email” button inside the startup modal

By clicking on “Send Personalized Email” through any of these paths, the email sending modal will open. In the recipients field, you can include all active startups in the funnel at once by clicking “Include all active startups.”

In the ‘Subject’ field, you can insert variables such as Startup Name and Funnel Name.

The same variables are available in the 'Email Body' field, in addition to Description and Response Link.

The Response Link variable automatically inserts a link in the email body, allowing recipients to reply to emails sent from the Startup Hub, creating a communication thread inside the startup’s modal.

Important! Only emails that include the Response Link variable can receive replies from recipients.

After filling in all fields, click 'Send Email' to complete the action and send the message to the selected recipients, or 'Send Test Email' to preview the layout before sending it.

“Emails” Tab and Receiving/Replying to Startups

To track communication with startups, access the “Emails” tab within the startup's modal. This tab displays the entire history of emails sent and responses received, organized into threads. You can also reply to the most recent email in each thread.

Each thread is ordered by the date of the original email, with the most recent at the top. Threads with four or more emails are collapsed by default, showing only the first and last messages. To view the entire conversation, click “View more.” The thread will remain expanded until the modal is reopened.

Unseen responses appear expanded and marked with the “New!” indicator. Once the user accesses the “Emails” tab, these messages are considered read.

Funnel editors can reply to the latest email received from the startup by clicking the reply icon. It's not possible to add other recipients to a reply.

Important: This tab is only available when accessing the startup through the funnel. It is not visible when opening the startup from the base or via the AI flow.

Attachments: Images inserted directly into the email body are not considered attachments and appear embedded as a preview.

When an image file—or any other file type—is attached instead of pasted into the email body, it is displayed as follows:

Notifications: Currently, the only notification available is sent by email to funnel editors whenever a startup replies to a message.

Permissions:

Only funnel editors can send/reply to emails
Only funnel editors can export communication data
Users with view-only access cannot see the emails tab, as it may contain sensitive information.

Email layout: All emails sent from the funnel follow AEVO’s default formatting. Only the content can be edited with basic formatting options, similar to challenge landing pages.

Email template includes:

The platform logo at the top/header of the email
The primary layout color used for buttons and links
AEVO’s standard footer added to all emails

How to extract data from the Startup Hub?

Currently, there are 5 types of reports that can be exported in .xlsx format. However, to access and download these reports, you must be a Superuser.
On the Startup Hub's main page, in the upper right corner, you’ll find the first two report options:

1) Startups Registered in Challenges: the first button lets you download a report of all startups that registered via the registration link for each active funnel. This spreadsheet includes fields such as ID, Last Update, Startup Name, Startup Descriptions, Foundation Date, Model, Organization Type, Target, Market, Technology, Tags, Number of Employees, Phone, Email, Website, LinkedIn, City, State, Country, Registration Date, Entry Funnel, Status, and more.
Additionally, each additional field and its corresponding responses (semicolon-separated) will be listed. If no response was provided, the cell remains blank. Note: If a startup is registered in more than one funnel, each will have its own row, repeating the startup's data but with funnel-specific details.

2) Total Startups in Funnels: the second button allows you to export the total number of startups across all funnels, active and archived. The report includes fields such as ID, Last Update, Startup Name, Descriptions, CNPJ, Foundation Date, Model, Organization Type, Target, Market, Technology, Tags, Number of Employees, Phone, Email, Website, LinkedIn, City, State, and Country. It also indicates the funnel(s) in which each startup is present.

The remaining three reports can be found within each funnel via the Export Data button. Its position may vary depending on the funnel title’s length, but it is always the first button following the title:

3) General Funnel Data: This is the first report available via the Export Data button. This report includes one general spreadsheet for the funnel (named after the funnel) and one spreadsheet per stage.

The general spreadsheet contains one row per startup in the funnel, including multiple fields such as Name, ID, Description, etc., along with funnel-specific data: Source, Current Stage, Status (Active or Lost), Registration Date, Average Stage Rating, and Funnel Rating. Each additional field is represented by a column with the startup's response(s) (semicolon-separated if multiple; blank if none).

The individual stage spreadsheets list one row for each startup that passed through that stage, showing: Startup Name, responses to each form field (if the field wasn’t deleted or had at least one response), and the startup’s status in the funnel (Active or Lost).

4) Evaluations: This second report option provides detailed data about evaluations configured in the funnel. Each stage receives a separate spreadsheet showing one row per startup that has passed through the stage. It includes scores for each evaluation criterion as well as the average score for the stage. Note: Only active startups are included in this report.

5) Communication with Startups: This report contains all emails sent and received within the funnel.

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