Vaquero is an investment bank based out of San Francisco, CA that advises technology companies on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising transactions. By developing a deep understanding of their sectors and goals, Vaquero realizes better outcomes for founders, PE and VC firms, and strategic partners focused on SaaS, internet, mobile, and data verticals.
For dealmakers, data is only as good as it is actionable. Years ago, Vaquero’s business development (BD) team’s existing data tools were not providing the level of data quality, accuracy, and freshness the team needed to take action. Gaps in company profiles, incomplete market information, and fragmented conference intelligence prevented them from connecting with the right companies and bringing in top deals.
To compensate for these tools’ shortcomings, the team was spending a lot of time and resources manually researching companies for the firm’s software and private equity clients. Dominic Chan, Vaquero’s Head of BD, quickly recognized that his team needed an easy-to-use tool with highly accurate data and broad coverage on bootstrapped, transaction-ready companies to fuel their sourcing efforts and overall deal flow. This became especially important as the post-COVID deal boom came to a halt, prompting modern firms like Vaquero to find better ways to harness data to drive sustainable advantage.
“In such a competitive market, getting in with the right pre-transacted companies hinges on access to actionable data like employee count, proxy revenue data, depth of company coverage, and historical growth metrics,” shares Dominic. “We needed a more efficient and comprehensive way to track target companies’ digital footprints, and our current technology just wasn’t cutting it.”
Vaquero evaluated a few different tools in their search for a more robust solution that would fit their long-term data strategy. Upon review of several alternative technology solutions, “even though they offered an attractive initial price, the product and data quality didn’t come even remotely close to what Sourcescrub has to offer,” recalls Dominic.
Ultimately the team decided that Sourcescrub’s comprehensive bootstrapped company data, breadth of industry lists, purpose-built functionality, and data validation process was exactly what it needed.
“Sourcescrub’s bootstrapped company coverage was really the biggest selling point for us,” Dominic shares. “The platform does a great job at painting the complete picture of founder-owned companies, and the data is always reliable because of Sourcescrub’s unique combination of technology-driven and human-supervised operations.”
The private company intelligence platform is not just a data offering, but a sourcing solution that renders data actionable from the start. Capabilities such as company tagging, conference intelligence, real-time alerts, and list building have helped Vaquero systematically build out detailed market maps, differentiate the firm in outreach, and foster relationships with the right decision makers. With Sourcescrub, Vaquero is able to generate lead lists and execute sourcing strategies that match private equity firms’ specific theses and investment criteria.
Today, Dominic and his team rely on Sourcescrub’s high-quality, actionable data to streamline their sourcing efforts and fuel a deal origination machine they can count on. It’s now easier than ever for the BD team to quickly map markets and make more informed decisions about which opportunities its clients should pursue. Overall, research efficiency has increased by 35%.
Because the firm is able to provide its clients with such relevant and timely opportunities, Vaquero has become a category leader that both private equity shops and sell-side businesses trust. As recognized experts in their focused verticals, Vaquero has successfully increased directly sourced deal origination significantly, which in turn has converted into multiple more won deals per year.
“Sourcescrub helps give investment banks and private equity firms sustainable advantage,” says Dominic. “Because of the breadth, depth, and integrity of data we now have at our fingertips, and the speed at which we’re able to act on it, I’m confident that we’ll be able to outmaneuver the competition whatever the market throws our way. On a business impact scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most impactful, Sourcescrub gets top marks from our team.”
