Deal Sourcing Automation
A custom system that searches your chosen sources, screens companies against your criteria and hands your team a structured shortlist to review.
The problem
Finding acquisition targets or investment opportunities is largely research: scanning directories, news, registries and databases, then checking whether each company fits. It is slow, depends heavily on individuals, and tends to be done in bursts. Promising companies get missed because nobody had time to look.
Screening compounds the effort. For every worthwhile company there are many that are the wrong size, sector or location, and someone has to read enough to rule them out. Automating discovery and first-pass screening lets analysts spend their time on the assessment and outreach that need judgement.
What it automates
Searching agreed data sources on a regular schedule for companies that may match your criteria
Collecting structured details such as sector, location, size indicators and ownership where available
Screening each company against your rules and scoring how well it fits
Removing duplicates and companies you have already reviewed or rejected
Summarising what a company does from public information
Adding shortlisted companies to your CRM or tracker with the supporting notes
Notifying the team when a strong match appears
Before and after
Analysts scan directories and news by hand, and searches happen in bursts.
Agreed sources are searched on a regular schedule, so candidates surface consistently.
Ruling out unsuitable companies takes as long as assessing good ones.
First-pass screening applies your criteria, so analysts see a shortlist rather than a long list.
Notes on rejected companies are scattered, and the same names are reviewed twice.
Reviewed and rejected companies are recorded, with duplicates removed.
Screening logic sits in individual heads and varies between people.
Explicit criteria are applied the same way each time, with a record of the reasoning.
How it works
Define the thesis and criteria
We work with your team to turn what a good target looks like into explicit, testable criteria, and to note which are essential and which are preferences.
Choose the sources
We agree which public and licensed sources to use, checking terms of use and data availability, as not every source can be automated.
Build discovery and screening
The system gathers candidates, enriches them, applies your criteria and scores fit, keeping a record of why each company passed or failed.
Deliver to your workflow
Shortlists arrive in the tool your team already uses, such as a CRM, spreadsheet or shared channel, with the supporting summary alongside.
Review and tune
Your team marks results as good or poor matches. We use that feedback to adjust criteria and scoring over time.
A worked example
A worked example
Imagine an advisory team looking for small manufacturers in a particular region that fit a defined size and ownership profile. The team writes its criteria, marking location and sector as essential and other points as preferences. Each week the system searches the agreed public sources, gathers candidate companies and removes any already reviewed. It scores each against the criteria, drafts a short description from public information and records why the company passed. Strong matches are added to the team's CRM and announced in a shared channel. An analyst reviews the shortlist, marks two companies as poor matches and the team adjusts a rule. Approaching any company, and any decision to pursue a deal, stays with the team.
Common variations
Scheduled discovery and shortlist
The system runs on a schedule, such as weekly, searches your sources and delivers a shortlist. It suits teams with stable criteria who want a steady flow of candidates.
Enrichment of a supplied list
You provide a list of companies and the system adds public information, screens each against your criteria and scores them. It suits teams that already have names but lack time to research them.
Monitoring for trigger events
The system watches chosen companies for public signals, such as leadership changes or new filings, and alerts your team. It supports timing of outreach, which a person still decides.
What we need from you
Your target criteria, split into essential requirements and preferences
A list of the sources you are allowed and want to use
Examples of companies you consider good and poor matches
Access to the CRM or tracker where shortlists should land
An analyst who reviews results and gives feedback in the early weeks
What to measure
Share of shortlisted companies judged a good match
Analyst hours spent on desk research
Duplicate or already-reviewed companies surfaced
Good matches missed, found through other routes
Shortlisted companies progressed to the next stage
Typical integrations
Company registries and public data sources
Licensed company databases
News and web sources
CRM platforms and deal trackers
Spreadsheets
Team chat and email for alerts
A good fit when
Your team spends significant time on repeatable desk research to find candidates
You can describe your target criteria clearly, even if they evolve
The information you need is available from public or licensed sources
You want a consistent, auditable screening record rather than ad hoc notes
Honest limits
It supports research and screening and does not replace judgement. Investment, acquisition and outreach decisions, and any commitments, stay with your team.
Output depends on source coverage and accuracy. Some private companies have sparse public data, so a shortlist is a starting point that needs verification.
You are responsible for confirming that data sources, scraping and any contact with targets comply with terms of use, data protection and applicable financial regulation.
How we deliver Deal Sourcing Automation
Deal Sourcing Automation in production
Industries where Deal Sourcing Automation applies
Use cases related to Deal Sourcing Automation
Frequently asked questions
What sources can the system search?
That depends on what you are allowed to use and what is technically available, including public registries, websites, news and licensed databases. We assess terms of use and data quality for each source before committing to it.
Does it decide which deals to pursue?
No. It scores and shortlists based on criteria you define and explains why. Your team decides which opportunities to pursue and what to offer, since those choices carry financial and legal consequences.
How accurate is the screening?
It depends on your criteria and the data available. Clear, measurable criteria screen more reliably than subjective ones. We test against companies you already know and expect to tune the rules after early results.
Can it contact the companies it finds?
It can prepare outreach for your review, but we would not recommend sending anything unattended. Compliance, tone and timing matter, so a person should approve messages before they go out.
What if our criteria are not fully defined yet?
That is common. We start with the criteria you can state clearly, run the first shortlist and use your reactions to sharpen the rest. Treat the early output as a way to refine your thesis, not a finished answer.
How do we know why a company was shortlisted or rejected?
Each result carries a record of the criteria it met or failed and the source of each fact. That lets your team check the reasoning, challenge a score and correct the rules, instead of trusting an unexplained ranking.