New database recommendation [Your name] I’ve evaluated a few different databases—and I’m going to share why we need comprehensive data, the criteria I used during my search, the database I recommend we move forward with, and why I think it’s the right choice.

More corporations participating in VC rounds Need to adapt our strategy as the startup landscape changes US venture activity with corporate participation Deal value ($B) Deals closed Lower barriers to entry have caused a proliferation of startups, and new industries can pop up (and fall flat) quickly. This makes it difficult to determine which emerging markets we should enter. To stay on top of ‘hot’ industries and get in early with promising companies, many corporations are participating in venture rounds and shifting to more proactive strategies.   We need comprehensive private market data, so we can adapt our strategy to changes in the market and make more informed decisions to buy, build or partner. Source: PitchBook

More opportunities for M&A Need to proactively source deals and conduct extensive due diligence US inventory of PE-backed companies The number of private equity-backed companies continues to grow, which creates more opportunities for M&A. More opportunities also mean more noise, and it’s challenging to determine which companies to go after.   If we want to pursue the best opportunities, we need detailed information on companies to help us source deals and conduct due diligence. Source: PitchBook

Median deal size on the rise Need to price deals as precisely as possible Global median M&A deal value ($M) Median M&A deal size and valuations have continued to rise for the last few years.   With bigger deal sizes, it’s even more important to price deals with precision. Detailed company and deal data will help us determine how much a company is truly worth and execute deals more effectively. Source: PitchBook

Corporations spending more on M&A Need insight into our competitors’ activity and deals in our space Global M&A activity Deal value ($T) Deal count In 2015, M&A deal value hit an all-time high of $2.2T, and 2016 wasn’t far behind with a total of $2.1T spent on M&A.  Corporations are spending more than ever on inorganic growth. To keep up with other companies in our space, we need insight into our competitors’ investments and acquisitions to better understand their strategies.   And if we can track all the activity in our space, we can keep tabs on new competitors. Source: PitchBook

Deal sourcing & due diligence In the current market, we need a database that can help us with: Strategy Deal sourcing & due diligence Deal execution Competitive intel Efficiency To navigate this complex and ever-evolving landscape, we need more comprehensive data.   I evaluated several databases, looking for one with data and analytical tools that can help us with our: -Strategy -Deal sourcing and due diligence -Deal execution -Competitive intel -And efficiency

My recommendation: The PitchBook Platform The database I recommend is the PitchBook Platform.   It covers every aspect of the private markets—from venture capital to private equity to M&A—and has more detailed data on companies than any other resource. Now, I’m going to walk through how the Platform can help us in the five areas I outlined previously.

Strategy Track all financing and exit activity Find out where other investors and corporations are investing See deal flow by industry and analyze financing trends How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: Strategy To adapt our strategy to changes in the market, we need insight into where deals are happening, which industries are growing, which companies are gaining traction and what other investors are doing.   With the Platform, we can track financings and exits—or look at other investors’ and corporations’ recent investments—to identify emerging industries we want to enter. Analysis tools allow us to dig into financing trends within a specific space—like valuations, deal sizes and purchase price multiples—to see if it’s smarter to buy, build or partner.

angel and seed deals 110,000+ How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: VC deals 192,000+ Strategy PE deals 132,000+ M&A deals 195,000+ I’ve referenced the kind of data PitchBook tracks, but I also want to share the breadth of information available on the Platform. IPOs and PIPEs 38,000+

Deal sourcing & due diligence Search for companies by industry, growth stage, revenue and more Access detailed information on companies Pre- and post-money valuations Financing histories Cap tables Financials Investors Executives Quickly determine if a company is worth pursuing Find VC- and PE-backed companies How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: Deal sourcing & due diligence To ensure we’re going after the best opportunities, we need comprehensive information on companies.   With the Platform, we can search for companies that fit our strategy and quickly determine which are worth pursuing. Another way to source deals is to look at which companies are in VC and PE portfolios. VC and PE firms are experts at evaluating opportunities and put companies through an intense vetting process. We could use this insight to our advantage.

Deal sourcing & due diligence pre-venture companies 138,000+ How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: VC-backed companies 98,000+ Deal sourcing & due diligence PE-backed companies 106,000+ Here’s a deeper look at how many companies PitchBook tracks.

Deal execution Access detailed information on deals Pre- and post-money valuations Purchase price multiples Deal sizes Shares issued Percent acquired Voting rights Build comps and analyze trends within a specific space How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: Deal execution In addition to company data, PitchBook offers deal data that will help us build more accurate comps, price deals with precision and avoid overpaying.   Insight into a company’s capital structure and series terms will help us negotiate more effectively.

Deal execution 720,000+ 183,000+ 15,000+ deals How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: pre- and post-money valuations 183,000+ Deal execution cap tables 15,000+ More data counts here. PitchBook is the only data provider that calculates pre-money valuations, and the Platform has the most private company valuations of any database.

Access detailed information on investors and corporations Investments by industry and year Investments, acquisitions and exits Lead partners on deals Track our competitors’ activity Get notified every time a new company enters our industry See the most active investors in our industry and how they structure deals How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: Competitive intel We need to keep tabs on our known competitors as well as large corporations and startups entering our space.   The Platform lets us see our competitors’ previous investments and acquisitions, so we can better understand their strategies and inform our own. We can even set up email alerts that will let us know when new companies enter our industry. With insight into which investors are active in our space, we can determine who we may be going up against in the future and the best approach for negotiations.

Competitive intel 139,000+ 34,000+ 16,000+ 12,000+ strategic acquirers How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: 34,000+ angels, accelerators and incubators Competitive intel 16,000+ VC firms More data counts to show you how many investors PitchBook tracks. 12,000+ PE firms

Information is connected so we can seamlessly navigate between datasets Integrated with Excel How the PitchBook Platform can help us with: Efficiency Other databases silo their information, but data on the PitchBook Platform is all connected, making it easy to get from one place to the next. PitchBook will also save us time because we can access their data directly from Excel.

PitchBook’s research process 650,000+ web crawlers scan public sources to capture relevant financial information Research process is repeated every day to ensure data is up to date Primary research team contacts dealmakers to collect and confirm data Natural language processing and machine learning technology organizes the data Obviously, accuracy is just as important as breadth when it comes to data.   PitchBook’s research process combines technology and a 270-person research team. Human judgment is the key differentiator here—researchers can suss out important details that computers miss. PitchBook’s analysts calculate figures (like valuations) that aren’t always available online. They also have an entire team that reaches out to investors, executives and other people involved in deals to get information that isn’t publically available. No other data provider has a research process this complete. Specialized data teams find and calculate key figures

Information technology Corporate venture capital Corporations that use PitchBook Consumer products Financial services Information technology Materials & resources Corporate venture capital Energy Healthcare More than 300 corporate development teams across many industries—including energy, healthcare, financial services and consumer products—rely on the PitchBook Platform.

The official data provider of ACG & NVCA “It’s important for NVCA to have access to the most reliable data about the industry. PitchBook sets itself apart from the rest of the field.” Bobby Franklin President & CEO, NVCA ACG and NVCA both picked PitchBook to be their official data provider—a testament to the quality of PitchBook’s data. I read NVCA’s blog post explaining their decision, and they evaluated 11 different data providers based on: -Data quality, breadth and depth -Research methodology -Database usability and functionality -And customer support

The PitchBook Platform is worth the investment because better data will help us make more informed buy, build or partner decisions. In conclusion, the PitchBook Platform is worth the investment because better data will help us make more informed buy, build or partner decisions.