If you want a tight timeline, you can still use the traditional application form? I agree that's super valuable if you're in fundraising mode.

However, their target market is bootstrappers, who are probably not actively fundraising.

For example, I'm not fundraising, but I have no problem replying to emails about how things are going. If Earnest finds the progress interesting, maybe we can talk about a partnership. If not, I probably didn't spend much time on it. (This is assuming the Trailhead updates are quick to answer, that remains to be seen.)

The model actually sounds somewhat similar to Pioneer, which also involves continuously providing data without a promised timeline.

Venture capital is a product, and almost no product can cover all use cases. Experiments like this enable VC's to cater to different types of founders.