Database Guide: Pitchbook

Navigate the PitchBook platform through the main menu in the left navigation panel:

• Data: Screeners for different data types: companies, deals, investors etc. for creating custom sets.
• Research: Analysts’ research on industries, companies, emerging market trends, investment activity worldwide. Tools for creating custom searches on corporate events, such as filings, earning calls transcripts and more.
• LCD Credit Analysis: Data and research on global debt markets, with the emphasis on loans and high-yield bonds.
• Market Analysis: Data and research on industry trends, financial markets, and investment activities worldwide.
• Funds Analysis: Data and research on all types of investment funds, e.g. PE, VC, etc., including performance, strategy, benchmarking and other metrics and characteristics.
• My PitchBook: User-created saved contents, such as saved lists and searches.

The screening function in PitchBook is a powerful tool for creating custom sets of entities such as companies, investors, deals, etc., based on user-defined criteria. The screeners are located in the Data section of the main menu in the left navigation panel. Screening follows the uniform search process for all types of entities.

Creating a Custom Set

1. Expand the menu in the Data section of the main menu in the left navigation to open a list of all available screeners.
2. Double click the screener name, for example, Companies. Alternatively, hover over the screener’s name and choose:
   • Built a custom … screen
   • If applicable, select a prebuilt screen. All prebuilt screens are fully customizable.
3. Select all applicable filters. Add as many parameters as needed including financial metrics, deals characteristics, industry sector, etc. Monitor the number of results that have passed your criteria at top of the screen.
   Search Tips:
   1. For industry selection, use the keyword search and choose the best matching category from the suggestion list.
   2. Upload a custom list – most of the screeners offer an option to upload a user-created list of entities: Companies, Funds, Investors, or Limited Partners. To use this option, you must meet two requirements:
      • The list must be saved in Excel or .csv format.
      • Your list of entities must be uploaded into PitchBook template. See the Uploading a Custom List section of this document.
   3. Click Search in the top right corner when done.
4. View results.
   Query results are organized into data types tabs, e.g. Overview, Companies, etc. The layout varies by the screener. Except for People and Service Providers screeners, results are grouped under the following tabs with a slightly different configuration depending on the screener: Overview, Companies, Deals, Investors, Limited Partners, People, Pivot Table, and Charts tabs.

Editing, Saving, Downloading

With the results displayed, you can perform additional optional actions:

Customize columns in a result table

1. Click the Edit Table button above the table on the right,
2. Select the Edit Columns link to configure the output table format by adding, removing, or rearranging columns as needed.

Save the Search

Click the Save button in the top right corner and choose the option to save your search as either:

• Dynamic List: The list updates automatically when new data matches your criteria.
• Static List: Preserved current results.

To retrieve your saves searches:

1. Go to My PitchBook > Saved Searches & Lists on the main menu in left navigation.
2. Click the title of the saved search.

Note: We recommend using the Save feature for quick access to your data. You can always refine your search criteria and/or output format.

Download results

Exporting results is limited per PitchBook Academic Use Terms to:

• 10 Excel rows per day
• 24 Excel rows per month

For larger datasets consider using the Pivot Table to summarize and analyze your data.

Access the analyst-created predefined sets of companies in industry verticals:

1. In the Market Analysis section in left navigation, select Analyst-Curated Verticals and select a vertical. That will open the corresponding table of companies.
2. View, edit, download results. These predefined lists function similarly to custom company sets or prebuilt lists available through the Data > Companies screener, offering the same editing and downloading capabilities, and downloading limits described in the Creating a Custom Set section of this guide.
   • Notable Feature: Segment Breakdown. Each industry vertical list includes segment labels displayed above the table, showing the number of companies in each sector. Clicking a segment label replaces the current view with a list of companies in that specific segment. All editing operations can be applied to the selected segment.

The Market Maps application allows users to present the market environment and competitive landscape in a visual format by organizing companies within an industry or sector based on specific criteria such as market segment, investment stage, or geography. Market Maps are fully customizable and downloadable in ready-to-use formats for presentations and documents.

Accessing Market Maps

Access Market Maps in the following ways:

• From Companies or Deals (under Companies tab) screeners
  • Under the Overview tab, scroll to the Market Map Preview / View Full Market Map section.
  • Under the Companies tab in user-created or prebuilt screens, click the Segment with Market View > GO tab.
    NOTE: This opens a new window with different map types options to choose from.
  • From Analysts-Curated company lists, click Go to Analyst Market Map > GO tab.
• From the Main menu
  • Select Market Maps in the Market Analysis section

All Market Maps, either PitchBook created or user-generated, are fully customizable by the following methods:

• Click the Edit Map button above the map at top right to modify a map by the following parameters:
  • Segments – select verticals, location, backing status, etc.
  • Companies – add companies to the list individually or in bulk
  • Data Labels – select a label for an aggregate data, like Total Raised, Companies count, etc. or remove a label from the map title bar.
  • Design – change some design elements, e.g. colors, logo shapes etc.
• Drag and drop a company logo on the map to move it to a different position or drag it outside the map to remove from the map.
• Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the segment title bar for some additional features, such as editing companies list, view a segment description etc.
• Hover in the bottom right corner of the map to display the Add Companies button.

Downloading Market Maps

Click the Download button in the top right corner and choose from the following formats:

• Image: .png or .pdf
• Presentation: PowerPoint slide (.ppt)
• Logos download: All company logos as individual image (.png) files in a ZIP folder

The Search Tools page, located in the Data section of the main menu in the left navigation panel, serves as a one-stop shop for all the screening options, divided into three categories:

• Find a Screener for Your Use Case: This section includes a pre-built screener library for the following types of searches: Find Comparables, Business Development, Gather Market Intelligence, and Find Service Providers.
  Simply select a pre-built screener that either precisely matches your search request or use it as a base for easy modification. Each resulting table is customizable using Edit Criteria or Edit All Criteria button at the top.
• Screen by Data Type: This section provides access to tools for building custom screens in the following categories: Companies, Deals, Investors, Funds, Debts, Lenders, Public Companies, Limited Partners, People, and Service Providers. (These categories are also listed in the Data section of the main menu on the left navigation and can be accessed from there).
  When hovering over a category name in the in the Screen by Data Type section, note the View Guide link for vendor-provided instructions and search tips specific to the selected screen.
• More Search Tools: This section provides access to specialized search features:
  • Upload A List - Conducting a search using a custom list of identifiers. For detailed instructions, see the Uploading a Custom List section of this guide.
  • Natural Language Search - A machine-learning-powered Beta feature that lets you use the natural language expressions to create custom screens. For example, you can type, “ipo companies in telehealth industry”. Once your request is processed, results can be refined using the Edit All Criteria button at the top.

PitchBook's Pivot Table is a data analysis tool that applies statistical methods to analyzing data in your query dataset and creating results summaries from the perspective of: Companies, Deals, or Investors.

For example, the prebuilt screener Companies > Unicorn Companies returns close to 1.5K results. To summarize data, go to Pivot Table tab > Companies. The results represent the statistical analysis of your dataset based on the quantifiable data fields in your resulting table layout. In this example, the Pivot Table returns statistics on deal count, revenue, valuation, etc., across available time spans.

The Pivot Table is customizable by the following attributes:

• Adding additional filters to the results.
  • Click the + sign in the Add New Filed column and apply additional filters. For example, Time between VC rounds, or add statistical criteria for the industry sector to analyze the performance of the companies in your dataset against the industry averages.
• Adding additional filters to the query.
  • Click the + in the Add Filters column. For example, select new geography, or add Deal Size parameter.
• Customizing the year range.
  • In the Year column, select the specific years.

Once you select additional filters, the results in the Pivot Table update dynamically.

When using screeners, you can upload a custom list of companies, investors, limited partners, or service providers. Your list should be saved in Excel or CSV format and must include at least one parameter that matches the corresponding PitchBook template field. To upload a custom list:

1. Select a screener from the Data section in the left navigation panel.
2. Click the Upload a List link in the relevant field, such as Company Names.
3. In the Upload a List window, review the Matching Criteria list to ensure your custom list contains at least one field matching the template.
4. Click the Download a Template Now link if using the feature for the first time or don’t have a saved template. 
5. The template will open in Excel. Copy and paste your list into the appropriate column in the template.
6. Save the file.
7. Drag and drop the saved file into the upload area in the Upload a List window.
8. Click Next twice to proceed.
9. Confirm that all entries have passed the check, then click the Add to Search button at the bottom of the window.
10. Select the appropriate option below the results: Include in results or Include in results ONLY if the company meets all other criteria.

For additional instructions and live training use the PitchBook Pioneer. Click on your name in the top right corner and from the dropdown menu select PitchBook Pioneer.
Also, use the Library’s Knowledge Base section for additional examples of the use of PitchBook for data search.