CMC Library Ledger

Finding Growth Stage Companies in PitchBook

If you’re looking to build a list of high-growth companies in PitchBook, we recommend looking at the company's VC round post-valuation as an indicator of growth.

So, let’s say you’re wanting to build a list of growth stage VC-backed companies headquartered in Illinois….

• In PitchBook, go to the Screeners section of the menu on the left side of the dashboard and click on Companies & Deals
• In the Key Fields tab, select the following criteria:
  • Backing Status --> VC-backed
  • Location --> United States --> Great Lakes --> Illinois
  • Select “Search HQ only” on the radio buttons below the Location dropdown
• Your selected search criteria at the top of the page should look like this:

• Click the blue Search button at the top right.
• On the results page, click into the Deals tab.
• Then, we recommend sorting by Company Name and Deal Date:
  • Click "Edit table"
  • Then click “Sort Columns” under Table Settings
  • Change the first Sort By field to Deal Date --> Newest to Oldest
  • Change the second Then By field to Companies --> A to Z

• Click Apply
• Then, click "Edit table" again
• Click "Edit Columns" under Table Settings and add the following columns:
  • VC Round
  • VC Round Up/Down/Flat
  • Pre-Money Valuation
  • Post Valuation
• Drag the columns into the order you want under "Arrange columns" and click Save:

• You can filter by Up under the VC Round Up/Down/Flat column to identify companies that increased in post valuation compared to their pre-money valuation. An up round is considered to be an indication that a company is growing and is more likely to be profitable for investors.

Library Tip: PitchBook's Company Signals data shows how a company’s web presence, social media audience, and other online engagement trends have increased over time, which could also indicate that a company is growing!