How Verus Ventures Improves Coverage by 75%
Stop contacting the same companies as everyone else in your market by relying on traditional mechanisms such as industry classifications, keyword searches, or AI recommendations.
Our custom sourcing solutions scan terabytes of information and fine-tune your search with a multi-dimensional search algorithm, Generative AI, and proprietary datapoints to deliver outlier results.
Outbound sourcing is something that's near (but perhaps not so very dear) to the hearts of every investor.
On your quest to find relevant acquisition targets, you've likely nurtured relationships for many years, attended every industry conference, participated in dozens of auctions with all your competitors, purchased a myriad of data products, and hired offshore teams to manually scan the internet.
We've laid out these sourcing methodologies in the framework below. While all of these methods have their merits (and most should still have a place in your overall deal sourcing strategy), we noticed that once a market got too competitive, or an investor wanted to scale up from several deals a year, most of the items in the table no longer gave them a cost effective way to support their growth.
Sourcing Methods Comparison
A comprehensive analysis of different deal sourcing approaches and their effectiveness
| Method | Volume | % Success | Cost | Time | Competition | Scalability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Connections | Low | High | Low - High | High | Low | Low |
| Broker Relationships | Low | Medium | High | Low | High | Medium |
| Events or Conferences | Low | Low | High | High | Medium | Low |
| Social Media | Low | Low - Medium | Low | High | Low | Medium |
| Deal Marketplace | Medium | Medium | High | Low | High | Low |
| Data Products | High | Low | Medium | Medium | High | Medium |
| Manual Search | Medium | Low | Low | High | High | Low |
| Custom Lead Engine | High | Medium | Medium | Low | Low | High |
The Problem with Data-Driven Sourcing
Data-driven sourcing is a numbers game that focuses on attaining a large volume of leads with an expected low probability per lead.
The Math Looks Great
With 0.01% lead-to-close:
1 deal/year = $35K per deal
5 resources = 5 deals at $19K each
The Reality Check
The one major red flag with data-driven sourcing is that all your competitors can replicate your strategy if you look for the easiest solution.
In particular:
All your competitors will buy the same data products
Everyone will find the easiest 50% of companies from each data product by utilizing industry filters, simple keyword search, or AI recommendations
Everyone contacts the same companies and increases the probability that the seller will hire a sell-side broker to manage the process
Low-cost resources mean you fill your database with a lot of junk (either irrelevant or out of business companies)
Anything proprietary that you do find, you will upload it to the data product by way of a CRM sync/integration and expose it to all of your competitors unless a strict no data-sharing agreement is in place
Not so great now eh.
That doesn't mean data-driven sourcing can't be successful - it just needs to be done in a thoughtful, proprietary, and custom way.
Our Proprietary Lead Engines
Built to deliver outlier results through advanced technology and comprehensive market coverage
Comprehensive Coverage
Built off a database of over 30M active companies to ensure you capture the entire market - not just the easiest 50%
Cutting-Edge Technology
Leverage cutting-edge technology such as proprietary classification algorithms and Generative AI
Precise Targeting
Can be tuned to your precise investment mandate with custom parameters and filters
Quality Assurance
Include lead quality testing, mandate verification, and lead scoring
Scalable Results
Set you up for success with scalable, repeatable processes
Competitive Edge
Proprietary methods that your competitors cannot easily replicate
The Verus Ventures Advantage
Traditional Data-Driven Sourcing
Same data products as competitors
Focus on easiest 50% of companies
High competition for same targets
Low-quality leads and database pollution
Data sharing exposes proprietary findings
Verus Ventures Custom Lead Engines
Proprietary 30M+ company database
100% market coverage with advanced algorithms
Low competition through unique targeting
High-quality, verified leads with scoring
Completely proprietary and confidential
Why Choose Verus Ventures for Deal Sourcing?
We've helped private equity firms and strategic acquirers identify acquisition targets that their competitors miss, resulting in higher-quality deal flow and better outcomes.
Improved Market Coverage
Active Companies in Database
Higher Lead Quality
Proven track record with PE firms across multiple verticals
Proprietary technology that competitors cannot access
Custom solutions tailored to your investment mandate
Ongoing refinement and optimization of your lead engines
Complete confidentiality and no data sharing