Features in Market Intelligence Platforms
for Due Diligence
Research tools providing data on market size, growth trends, competitive landscapes, and industry dynamics to validate startup market claims.
We ask vendors to mark their product against our feature list. It is not available for all products and in some cases we have derived data from publicly available sources. The list of features follows. Vendors can add a further 10 key features of their own.
Alerting & Monitoring
Proactive intelligence with alerts and monitoring on companies, sectors, metrics, or trends relevant to diligence.
- Activity Log
- Store and retrieve history of triggered alerts and actions.
- Alert Speed
- Average time for an event to trigger an alert.
- Custom Alert Rules
- User-defined triggers for updates on chosen metrics/companies.
- Daily/Weekly Digest
- Automated summary emails/reports on watched industries or companies.
- Event-driven Notifications
- Immediate alerts for events (funding, M&A, news, regulatory changes).
- Report Automation
- Schedule and receive periodic automated industry/company reports.
- Threshold-based Watchlists
- Set watchlists that notify when specific thresholds are breached.
Collaboration & Security
Features supporting team collaboration, access control, data privacy, and compliance for sensitive diligence processes.
- Access Control
- Granular setting of permissions at data, project, and user levels.
- Audit Logs
- Comprehensive tracking of user actions for compliance.
- Collaborative Annotation
- Shareable notes, comments, and annotations on datasets.
- Data Retention Controls
- Flexible retention/deletion policies for sensitive data.
- Secure Data Storage
- Use of encrypted and compliant (e.g., SOC2, ISO27001) storage.
- Secure Sharing
- Controlled external sharing of reports or insights with time-limited links.
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Enterprise-level authentication and identity management.
- Two-Factor Authentication
- Enhanced login security via two-factor auth.
Competitive Landscape Analysis
Capabilities specific to understanding market structure, player positioning, market share, and the competitive environment.
- Acquisition & Exit Tracking
- Tracks M&A and exit activity among competitor set.
- Competitor Mapping
- Visualization and clustering of competitors in terms of business model, stage, and size.
- Custom Peer Set Creation
- Allows users to define and save custom lists of competitor companies for repeated analysis.
- Digital Presence Analytics
- Measures online visibility, social presence, and web traffic for competitors.
- Funding and Investment Tracking
- Coverage of competitors’ funding rounds and investors.
- Geographic Competitor Segmentation
- Ability to segment and view competition by region or country.
- Headcount and Team Analysis
- Provides breakdowns of competitor company sizes and organizational structures.
- Market Share Estimates
- Availability of market share breakdowns for key players.
- Partnership & Ecosystem Mapping
- Mapping of competitor partner networks and ecosystems.
- Player Number Limit
- Maximum number of players that can be analyzed simultaneously.
- Product Comparison Tools
- Ability to compare product features, pricing, or go-to-market strategies between companies.
- SWOT Analysis Automation
- Automated generation of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) reports for selected competitors.
Cost, Licensing & Support
Considerations about licensing models, price transparency, support, and training resources for optimal platform utilization.
- 24/7 Support Availability
- Round-the-clock technical or product support.
- API Call Quota
- Maximum number of API calls per month.
- Custom SLAs
- Negotiable service level agreements for uptime and support response.
- Dedicated Customer Success Manager
- Assignment of a human specialist for onboarding and ongoing support.
- Flexible Licensing
- Options for per-user, team, or enterprise licensing.
- Free Trial or Demo
- Availability of a no-obligation trial or custom demo.
- Knowledge Base & Documentation
- Comprehensive support, onboarding and usage guides.
- Marketplace Integration
- Ability to subscribe and manage access through cloud marketplaces (e.g. AWS Marketplace).
- Transparent Pricing
- Clear display of product packages and fees.
Data Coverage
Extent and depth of market and industry data covered, ensuring the platform captures wide-ranging and granular datasets for comprehensive analysis.
- Alternative Data Sources
- Integration and coverage of alternative or non-traditional data sources.
- Company Universe
- Total number of companies tracked on the platform.
- Coverage of Private Markets
- Whether the platform includes private company and deal data.
- Custom Data Uploads
- Ability to upload and integrate proprietary or custom datasets.
- Geographic Reach
- Number of countries or regions with available data.
- Growth Rate Estimates
- Number of unique growth rate estimates provided per industry/segment.
- Historical Data Depth
- Number of years for which historical data is available.
- Industry Breadth
- Number of industries and sectors covered by the platform.
- Market Size Metrics
- Number of unique market size estimates provided per industry/segment.
- News and Media Monitoring
- Includes monitoring and analysis of relevant news and media signals.
- Patent/Technology Data Coverage
- Availability of patent, IP, and technology landscape data.
- Real-time Data Availability
- Availability of real-time or near-real-time market information.
- Segment Granularity
- Level of sub-sector or microvertical breakdowns provided.
Data Quality & Reliability
Assurance features and transparency regarding data sourcing, updating, and accuracy, critical for high-stakes diligence.
- AI/Human Verification
- Indication of whether data is AI-generated/augmented or human-verified.
- Audit Trail
- Ability to see historical changes and edits to datasets.
- Confidence Scoring
- Assignment of confidence scores to market estimates.
- Data Backfilling
- Ability to backfill missing or outdated data via platform tools.
- Data Refresh Frequency
- Frequency at which datasets are updated.
- Error Reporting
- Mechanism for reporting and tracking data errors or inconsistencies.
- Historical Data Revision Logs
- Logs of all corrections or revisions to previously presented data.
- Source Diversification
- Coverage of multiple independent sources per datapoint.
- Source Transparency
- Visibility into source provenance for each data point.
Integration & Export Features
Functionalities allowing data and insights to be exported or integrated with VC workflow tools (e.g., CRMs, portfolio management).
- API Access
- Availability of APIs for direct data integration.
- CRM Integration
- Built-in connectors to popular CRM or dealflow tools.
- Custom Report Generation
- On-demand creation of tailored diligence reports.
- Data Feed Subscriptions
- Ongoing or scheduled delivery of selected datasets via email or data feeds.
- Excel/CSV Export
- Direct export to spreadsheets for further analysis.
- Export Speed
- Average time to generate and export requested reports/data.
- Third-party Analytics Integration
- Plug-ins or integration points for market analytics tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI).
- User-defined Templates
- Create reusable templates for exports or insights formats.
Market Size & Trend Analysis
Tools and data points to validate claims on the market's total addressable size, growth trajectory, and future trends.
- Custom Assumption Inputs
- Ability to input and adjust forecast model assumptions.
- Data Source Citations
- Clear referencing of underlying sources for market size and trend data.
- Event Impact Modelling
- Ability to simulate impacts of major events (e.g., regulation changes, pandemics) on market projections.
- Exportable Charts
- Charts and graphs exportable for use in diligence reports.
- Forecast Horizon
- Maximum number of years forward the platform projects out market data.
- Growth Rate Projections
- Provision of forward projections on market growth (CAGR, YoY, etc.).
- Market Driver Analysis
- Identification and scoring of key market growth drivers and inhibitors.
- Market Segmentation
- Detailed segmentation of market size and growth by customer type, use case, or region.
- Scenario Analysis
- Scenario-based projections and sensitivity analysis tools for evaluating market claims.
- TAM, SAM, SOM Calculation Tools
- Ability to calculate or estimate Total, Serviceable, and Obtainable Market automatically.
- Thematic Trend Monitoring
- Monitoring of broader trends (e.g., regulatory, tech, macroeconomic) affecting market evolution.
Search & Query Functionality
Breadth, flexibility, and power of the tools used to search, filter, and query datasets on the platform.
- Advanced Filtering
- Supports multi-parameter filtering (sector, region, funding, etc.).
- Batch Download
- Download capability for results sets.
- Boolean Logic Search
- Support for AND/OR/NOT logic in queries.
- Cross-Platform Search
- Unified searching across all features/data types.
- Custom Query Builder
- Interactive visual tools to build custom dataset queries.
- Natural Language Search
- Allows users to input search queries in plain language.
- Saved Searches
- Ability to save queries for future use.
- Search Speed
- Average time to return complex search query results.
User Experience & Interface
Design and usability aspects, supporting efficient research and collaboration among investment teams.
- Accessibility Compliance
- Adherence to accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
- Collaboration Tools
- Integrated notes, tagging, sharing, and workflow features.
- Dashboard Customization
- Users can personalize dashboard layout and widgets.
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Efficiency support for power users via shortcuts.
- Mobile Access
- Availability of mobile app or responsive web interface.
- Multi-user Access
- Support for team accounts with role-based permissions.
- UI Language Support
- Number of supported languages for the interface.
- User Onboarding & Tutorials
- Availability of in-platform training/guided tutorials.