Beyond Databases: A Smarter Way to Source Deals

Private equity deal teams often lean on databases to identify potential acquisition targets, analyze markets, and benchmark competitors.

These tools aggregate information from a mix of partner data sets, public filings, press releases, web content, and community contributions. That breadth is useful, but it also means coverage and update speed can vary across companies and sectors.

Information That Can Lag or Fall Short

The value of a database is tightly tied to how often it updates. Many rely on data with lagging refreshes. In lower mid-market sourcing, these delays can mean missing an opportunity. Founder-led and small private companies often have minimal public information, making them even harder to appear in database outputs.

Pricing That Can Add Up Quickly

Subscription platforms tend to avoid publishing clear pricing. You submit a request and get a quote based on firm size and user count. That quote usually covers only one seat. When your firm needs multiple seats or licenses, annual costs can multiple quickly. Add in extras and upgrades and your budget can balloon well beyond what you expected.

Multiple Subscriptions Without Better Outcomes

Because no single source covers everything, many firms subscribe to two or three databases. This approach may improve visibility, but it often leads to overlapping data and high recurring costs. You may still miss crucial opportunities, without seeing a matching boost in results.

Export Tools Don't Replace Tailored Insights

Most platforms offer data export features, viz., Excel plug-ins, report downloads, or saved search lists. These are valuable for certain workflows, but data exported remains just data unless it’s re-organized to support strategic decision-making. Without insight layering, what you export doesn't become a deal-ready roadmap.

A Better Approach: Custom Built, Ready to Use

Databases are excellent for fast scans and foundational coverage. But when clarity, relevance, and cost-efficiency truly matter, Agathon Research Partners helps private equity deal teams cut through the noise. By building custom, human-driven M&A target lists, Agathon surfaces founder-led and off-market opportunities that databases often miss, while structuring the research so it’s immediately actionable.

Instead of juggling multiple subscriptions with opaque pricing and overlapping results, Agathon gives you a clear, accurate, and cost-effective foundation for sourcing and winning deals.

If your firm is rethinking the limits of databases and wants sourcing that is sharper, cost-effective, and immediately actionable, I’d be glad to explore how this approach can strengthen your deal flow. yash@agathonrp.com