Nova AI Product Documentation
Everything you need to know about using Nova to find, apply for, and win growth opportunities.
What is Nova AI?
Nova is an AI-powered growth operator built for startups and SMEs. It continuously scans 20+ sources for grants, accelerators, competitions, procurement tenders, cloud credits, and partnerships that match your company. When you find an opportunity worth pursuing, Nova generates a complete application pack — cover letter, pitch deck, budget, business plan, and answers to the funder's specific questions — all tailored from your company profile.
Beyond drafting, Nova provides 8 "Win Intelligence" tools that increase your probability of success: evaluator-perspective scoring, competitive positioning analysis, compliance pre-checks, deadline-based workflows, iterative draft refinement, warm-intro pathways, post-submission follow-up plans, and win/loss feedback loops.
Find
Radar scans 20+ sources daily for matching opportunities
Apply
AI generates full application packs in minutes
Win
8 Win Intelligence tools boost your success rate
Getting Started
Create your account
Sign up with your email. You'll receive an OTP code to verify your address. All new accounts start on the Pro plan ($20/month).
Complete your Company Profile
Go to Settings → Company Profile. Fill in your company name, what you do (one-liner), industry, stage, target audience, and differentiators. The more you fill in, the more tailored your applications will be. You can also auto-fill from your website URL.
Open the Opportunity Radar
Click "Opportunity Radar" in the sidebar. Nova immediately scans for opportunities matching your profile. Each opportunity shows a fit score, quality score, win probability, and recommended action.
Generate your first application
Click "Open workspace" on any opportunity, then "Generate application draft." Nova creates a full response pack in 30-60 seconds: cover letter, pitch, answers, budget, founder bio, pitch deck, and submission checklist.
Company Profile
Your company profile is the foundation of everything Nova generates. The richer your profile, the more specific and compelling your applications will be.
| Section | What to include | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Company basics | Name, country, industry, stage, type, team size | Eligibility filtering |
| One-liner | Single sentence describing what you do | Used in every pitch and cover letter |
| Target audience | Who your customers are, their pain points | Tailors problem/solution narratives |
| Differentiators | What makes you different from alternatives | Competitive positioning in applications |
| Traction | Revenue, users, pilots, partnerships | Evidence of progress for evaluators |
| Team | Members with roles, bios, LinkedIn, email | Grant/investor team slides and bios |
| Brand | Voice, palette, logo, product gallery | Consistent visual identity in decks |
| Documents | Business plan highlights, pitch deck content | Richer context for longer applications |
Tip: Use the "Auto-fill from website" button to let Nova read your site and draft your pitch, audience, and differentiators automatically.
Opportunity Radar
The Radar is Nova's opportunity discovery engine. It continuously monitors 20+ sources and scores each opportunity against your company profile.
How scoring works
Fit Score (0-100)
How well the opportunity matches your company's industry, stage, geography, and capabilities.
Quality Score (0-100)
How legitimate and well-structured the opportunity is based on source trust, deadline clarity, and requirements detail.
Win Probability
High / Medium / Low estimate of your chances based on fit, competition level, and application quality indicators.
Recommendation
Apply Now / Review / Verify First / Skip — a clear next action based on all signals combined.
Opportunity types
Status pipeline
Each opportunity moves through a pipeline as you work on it:
Application Drafts
When you're ready to apply, Nova generates a complete application pack tailored to the specific opportunity and your company profile.
What's included in a draft
Cover Letter
200-350 word narrative addressed to the funder
Elevator Pitch
120-180 word pitch tailored to the funder's focus
Application Answers
Responses to the funder's actual questions (auto-detected)
Pitch Deck
10-14 themed slides with speaker notes
Budget Breakdown
Use-of-funds with rationale per line item
Founder Bio
Short + long bio and team capability statement
Business Plan
Full plan with financials, TAM/SAM/SOM, funding ask
Submission Guide
Step-by-step checklist of what to submit and where
Two modes
Full Mode
Generates finished, submission-ready prose. Use when AI content is allowed or disclosure-required.
Research Mode
Generates outlines, bullet points, and talking points — never finished answers. Use when the funder restricts AI or you want to write in your own voice.
AI Policy Detection: Nova automatically scans the opportunity text for AI usage policies. If the funder prohibits AI-generated content, Nova switches to Research Mode and shows a clear badge.
Win Intelligence
8 AI-powered tools designed to increase your win probability. Access them from the "Win Intelligence" panel inside any opportunity workspace — they work even before you generate a full draft.
Evaluator Scoring
Simulates how a real panel reviewer would score your application against typical evaluation criteria for this opportunity type. Returns per-criterion scores, specific feedback, and a prioritized list of what to fix.
Requires: Application draft generated first
Competitive Positioning
Identifies the likely competitor archetypes applying for the same opportunity and shows exactly how to differentiate. Gives you your single strongest competitive edge to lead with.
Works without a draft
Compliance Pre-check
Cross-references every required document against your certifications and compliance status. Flags expired, expiring, or missing documents and blockers that would prevent submission.
Works without a draft
Deadline Workflow
Creates a day-by-day action plan based on your deadline, current draft state, and blockers. Each task is checkable and time-estimated. Includes a critical path and risk factors.
Works without a draft
Draft Refinement Chat
An iterative conversation with Nova to improve specific sections of your draft. Ask to strengthen your traction narrative, add more evidence, adjust tone, or rewrite a section entirely.
Requires: Application draft generated first
Warm-Intro Intelligence
Maps connection paths between your team and the funder based on LinkedIn profiles, shared networks, and industry overlap. Provides ready-to-send outreach templates.
Works without a draft
Follow-up Strategy
After submission, generates a professional follow-up plan with timing, channels, key contacts, and ready-to-send templates. Includes expected response windows for the opportunity type.
Requires: Opportunity marked as submitted
Win/Loss Feedback Loop
Record whether you won or lost, paste any funder feedback, and Nova analyzes the outcome to generate specific lessons, strengths to repeat, and areas to improve for future applications.
Available after recording a decision
Draft Refinement Chat
The refinement chat lets you iterate on your application in a conversational way. Select which section you're working on, then ask Nova to improve it.
Example prompts
Tip: Use the section selector dropdown to focus on a specific part (cover letter, pitch, answers, budget, bio, or submission guide). This gives Nova the right context for better edits.
Exports & Delivery
Once your application is ready, export it in the format you need:
DOC Pack
Word-compatible document with cover letter, answers, and documents
PDF Pack
Print-ready PDF of the full application
Pitch Deck (.pptx)
Editable PowerPoint with themed slides and speaker notes
Present Mode
Full-screen interactive presentation (keyboard navigation)
Budget CSV
Spreadsheet export of the budget breakdown
Paste Pack
One-click copy of everything — paste directly into funder portals
Plans & Quotas
Nova uses monthly quotas that reset on your signup anniversary. The Pro plan is the minimum — generous enough for most active applicants.
| Resource | Pro ($20/mo) | Business ($49/mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Active opportunities | 150 | 500 |
| Radar scans/month | 100 | Unlimited |
| Application drafts/month | 75 | Unlimited |
| Win Intelligence calls/month | 250 | Unlimited |
| Draft chat messages/month | 500 | Unlimited |
| Image generation/month | 50 | Unlimited |
| Video generation/month | 10 | Unlimited |
| Speech clips/month | 30 | Unlimited |
| Exports (PDF/PPTX/DOC) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Approaching limits? You'll see a warning banner in the Radar and a progress bar in Settings → Billing & Usage. Quotas reset monthly. Most Pro users use 30-40% of their limits.
Team Profiles
Add your core team members in Settings → Company Profile → Team. Each member's credentials strengthen grant applications, investor materials, and thought-leadership content.
Fields per team member
- Name — full name
- Role — e.g. "CEO & Co-Founder", "CTO"
- Bio — 1-3 sentences about expertise and background
- Photo — avatar for pitch decks and team slides
- LinkedIn — used by Warm-Intro Intelligence
- Email — for contact in generated materials
Settings
Access settings by clicking the gear icon in the sidebar.
Company Profile
Your brand identity and company data that Nova uses everywhere
Document Vault
Upload and manage compliance documents, certifications, and templates
Billing & Usage
Current plan, quota usage bars, upgrade options, payment history
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Nova for opportunities outside Africa?
Yes. While many of our sources focus on Africa and emerging markets, Nova also scans global programs (Y Combinator, Techstars, Google for Startups, etc.) and matches them based on your operating regions.
What happens to my data?
Your company profile and application data are stored securely and never shared with third parties. Nova uses your data only to generate applications for opportunities you choose to pursue.
Can I edit the generated drafts?
Absolutely. Every generated section uses placeholders like [INSERT: revenue last 12 months] for facts Nova doesn't have. Replace these with your real data. You can also use the Draft Refinement Chat to ask Nova to rewrite sections.
How do I cancel?
No long-term commitment. Contact hello@livingilabz.com to cancel at any time. Your data remains accessible for 30 days after cancellation.