Last updated on Jan 31, 2024

How can you gather data on startups and competitors?

As a venture capitalist, you need to gather data on startups and competitors to evaluate their potential and risks. Data can help you assess the market size, growth, trends, customer segments, value proposition, differentiation, traction, financials, team, and more. But where can you find reliable and relevant data sources? How can you analyze and compare them effectively? In this article, we will share some tips and tools to help you gather data on startups and competitors.

1 Public sources

One of the easiest ways to gather data on startups and competitors is to use public sources, such as websites, blogs, social media, press releases, podcasts, newsletters, reports, and databases. These sources can provide you with information on the startup's vision, mission, product, features, customers, partners, awards, milestones, funding, and news. You can also use public sources to learn about the competitor's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. However, public sources may not be enough to give you a comprehensive and accurate picture of the startup and the competitor. You may need to verify, supplement, and cross-check the data with other sources.

Add your perspective

Ramkumar Raja Chidambaram

Top-Ranked Tech M&A Strategist | 15+ Years Driving Successful Exits | VC/PE Growth Advisor
Report contribution
As someone in the VC industry, some of the public sources that i rely on include: 🔍Crunchbase 🚀Angel List 👤Linkedin 💡Product Hunt 🐥 Twitter 📚Medium 📊Industry reports - Gartner and Forrester 📜Pitch decks Further, in some cases, i got data that i needed from ✨Patent offices 🎉Industry conferences 🌱Hackathons 🌐Reddit forums 🎓Academic research 📢Earning calls from established competitors 💼Job postings Also, please remember that your success does not lie in collecting data but in interpreting the data and deciphering the narratives that lead to investment-worthy decisions. 🕵️♂️🚀

Like

Unhelpful
Steve Nguyen
Report contribution
There are a number of websites that allow venture capitalists to gather data on startups and competitors. Some of the most popular websites include: - Crunchbase - PitchBook - CB Insights - Dealroom - Beauhurst In addition to these general-purpose websites, there are also a number of websites that specialize in providing data on specific industries or sectors. For example, AngelList is a website that focuses on early-stage startups, while PrivCo is a website that focuses on private companies.

Like

Unhelpful

2 Private sources

Another way to gather data on startups and competitors is to use private sources, such as interviews, surveys, feedback, referrals, testimonials, reviews, ratings, demos, trials, and beta testing. These sources can provide you with more in-depth and qualitative data on the startup's value proposition, problem-solution fit, product-market fit, customer satisfaction, retention, churn, unit economics, scalability, and growth potential. You can also use private sources to gain insights into the competitor's customer segments, pain points, preferences, expectations, and loyalty. However, private sources may not be easy to access or obtain. You may need to build trust, rapport, and relationship with the startup and the competitor.

Add your perspective

Daniele Viappiani

Venture Capital Investor @ GC1 Ventures | Former Civil Servant
(edited)
Report contribution
Nothing is more valuable than talking to users for a startup. The same goes for the VC funds that fund them. Users will happily tell you their pain points and share ideas on how to solve them. They will also share their experience with the various products/companies that they used.

Like

Unhelpful

3 Analytical tools

A third way to gather data on startups and competitors is to use analytical tools, such as spreadsheets, dashboards, charts, graphs, metrics, indicators, ratios, benchmarks, and models. These tools can help you organize, visualize, summarize, and interpret the data from public and private sources. You can also use analytical tools to compare and contrast the data from different startups and competitors. For example, you can use a SWOT analysis to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each startup and competitor. You can also use a scorecard to rate each startup and competitor based on criteria such as market fit, product fit, team fit, financial fit, and risk fit.

Add your perspective

4 Data quality

A final tip to gather data on startups and competitors is to ensure the data quality. Data quality refers to the accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, relevance, and validity of the data. You can improve the data quality by using multiple sources, methods, and tools to gather data. You can also check the data for errors, gaps, biases, outliers, and anomalies. You can also validate the data with external sources, such as industry experts, mentors, advisors, peers, and customers.

Gathering data on startups and competitors is a crucial part of the venture capital due diligence process. It can help you make informed and confident decisions on whether to invest in a startup or not. By using public sources, private sources, analytical tools, and data quality, you can gather data on startups and competitors effectively and efficiently.

Add your perspective

M. Kim Saxton, MBA, PhD

Marketing strategy professor/author/presenter who helps marketers make data-driven decisions.
Report contribution
But also consider what this data on competitors tells you. Sometimes people feel like having competitors is a bad thing. But, that’s not necessarily the case. The existence of competitors can mean your startup is doing something that’s important - having others trying to solve the same problem can be validation. It can also be a source of learning - what have they done well? What can you mimic? But also, it can help you find the white space to excel.

Like

Unhelpful

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

Daniele Viappiani

Venture Capital Investor @ GC1 Ventures | Former Civil Servant
(edited)
Report contribution
Keeping an eye on your competitors can be a motivator and a source of ideas and insights. However, it can also be a distraction. In fact, as a VC fund collaboration between funds is more important than competition. In the same way a startup needs to focus on building a great product and team, the same is true for VC funds. Your users are the LPs who invest in you and the founders you invest in.

Like

Unhelpful

How can you gather data on startups and competitors?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Public sources

2 Private sources

3 Analytical tools

4 Data quality

5 Here’s what else to consider

Venture Capital

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Venture Capital

More relevant reading

How can you gather data on startups and competitors?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Public sources

2 Private sources

3 Analytical tools

4 Data quality

5 Here’s what else to consider

Venture Capital

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

Explore Other Skills