The challenges of manual research in deal sourcing

Data collection and analysis is often an awkward, tedious and time-consuming task. As research is derived from multiple data sources and various tools, it is difficult to collate, group and then analyse all this data manually. Indeed it makes deal sourcing more difficult, increases the risk of human error and, worse, has the potential to miss out on companies and deal opportunities.

On top of that, once the research has been completed, there is no single repository to centralise the data, which means work is often duplicated needlessly and the time spent collecting and analysing the data manually is not leveraged again.

All of this time spent inefficiently researching companies and potential deals, and putting data together manually, could be far better spent on more value-adding tasks that would improve both deal sourcing and deal execution processes and allow any PE firm to remain competitive.

How does artificial intelligence help the deal sourcing process?

Artificial intelligence can automate intelligently labour-intensive research tasks and delivers succinct information for review, allowing PE practitioners to save time and uncover hidden opportunities that would otherwise be missed. It also centralises the data so that your research is easier to manage and insights are clearly actionable.

As the use of AI is rapidly gaining adoption, the risk of not leveraging its full power puts teams at risk of not only losing a lot of time doing manual work but also missing out on or not being able to identify companies and deals quickly enough for the market. The majority of PE practitioners are aware of this and have already adopted various tools and subscribed to multiple data vendors. However, many PE practitioners still collate data and information manually. In addition, by using multiple tools, this comes with its own set of issues and can create inefficiency as data is not centralised.

There is a way, though, to transform these manual processes into intelligence; it is possible to store all of your data in one place, including list reviews, so that you can leverage all of this information effectively. AI then learns from your usage, which results in both a reduction of repetitive tasks and the generation of more tailored, intelligence-driven data. To sum up, by leveraging AI, you can connect intelligent data, derive additional insights and also build your own intelligence that is specific to your needs. An additional long-term benefit is that the more you use the system, the more you train it, making it increasingly intelligent and personalised to your needs.

What are the obstacles to fully leveraging AI in Private Equity?

Due to its massive time-saving capabilities, it is unsurprising that AI is rapidly gaining traction. However, many companies do not have their own internal teams to build tech initiatives or enough time for proactive deal sourcing, even though it is mission critical to optimise the success of a deal execution phase. Or, they have initiatives to gather data but not the right tools to analyse the data properly, connect data from market data providers with their clients’ proprietary data, or the ability to add intelligent layers to the data. 

This puts PE practitioners in a difficult position; knowing that they need to leverage AI but without the skills or budget to create their own system. 

SEALK’s solution

SEALK’s SaaS solution is a tool that can centralise all your sourcing data in one place, add layers of intelligence to this data, and derives precise insights. By using SEALK, you avoid the cost of developing internal initiatives, having to build systems from scratch and hiring and managing a tech team to execute. SEALK provides an easily adoptable system that not only transforms manual research into actionable insights but also iterates itself to become more and more intelligent and suited to your needs and preferences with use. This means that you will get increasingly better recommendations for new companies and will be able to track and monitor companies in a more tailored way. 

By using SEALK, your team can gain time and be more productive when they are searching for companies and exploring different sectors. Thanks to the combination of the vast amount of data sources SEALK uses and the way it treats and centralises data intelligently, you can uncover otherwise hidden opportunities. Plus, it eradicates the need for multiple tools, subscriptions and spreadsheets. SEALK leverages multiple data sources, with data already plugged in, in one tool. 

All of this improves your productivity and efficiency and allows you to spend less time on time-consuming research tasks and more time on high-level tasks that allow you to build opportunities for portfolio companies and actually move you forward in your deal sourcing and execution processes. 

In addition, the exhaustive nature of SEALK’s AI means that you’ll never miss any potential companies or deal opportunities. In fact, PE practitioners will be able to uncover hidden opportunities, thanks to the combination of the vast amount of data sources and the intelligence that SEALK applies to this data. And since the AI’s knowledge, intelligence and accuracy builds with use, you gain a competitive advantage as you become better able to serve your clients.

Finally, if your company already has its own initiative, SEALK’s API offering can complement your own system for even greater efficiency and effectiveness.

If you’d like to see how SEALK’s powerful AI works, please contact us to request a trial.