DealEngine is Using Data Science to Help 20 Startups, Totally Free!

We are very excited to announce the launch of a new set of data-driven tools designed to benefit both startup founders and investors. DealEngine (https://dealengine.ai/) has launched with the purpose of leveraging machine learning and data analysis to help assess startups’ viability and traction, while systematically giving remedial feedback for adjustments and mini-pivots as business models are formed and adjusted.

With this launch we are inviting 20 companies to work with us for the next three months. We’ll help those companies with direct mentorship, as well as providing tools and templates. Most importantly, we’ll assess and score the areas of the business that are working and those that are not.

What are we asking of these companies? Not much. Just share some of the data you’d likely share with investors anyway. We will use that data strictly for analysis, feedback and, with opt-in, possibly investor introductions. We do take privacy and security very seriously, and will never share any data without authorization. No sales, no marketing, no fees, no equity dilution. We simply work with you to help make your company better.

What’s the catch? Only that we want to analyze your anonymized data to make our algorithms better for the next cohort.

How the Process Works

We are leveraging a wide variety of data to evaluate companies’ potential, including but not limited to:

1. Company KPIs & Metrics
2. Founding Team Mindset & Chemistry
3. External Market Data

We have built a variety of easy-to-use tools that help streamline the process, while giving feedback and scoring. For example, we have an easy-to-complete tool that will automatically generate and score pitch decks and executive summaries. Yes, you fill out a form once and we email you decks and executive summaries. How much time will you save if you don’t have to keep crafting and re-working your presentation materials?

We’ll also assess and score your materials to help you understand whether the company is moving in the right direction. As you gain new insights and adjust your model, simply update the form and we’ll send new materials, scores and feedback.

Why are we doing this?

We are motivated by two key realities of modern venture capital. Firstly, you may have noticed that the startup investment model is far from perfect; its legacy is an 85+% portfolio failure rate, meaning that almost 9 out of 10 startups go under. Theoretically, that might be ok because that one Unicorn in the bunch makes up for the other 9. That might help serve somewhat as a salve to investors’ portfolio returns, but the majority of founders and their employees don’t get to feed at the trough of success and return to the cycle of rebooting their careers. Something even more daunting during today’s challenging times.

And in spite of over $130 billion in venture investment during a good year, investor returns aren’t even matching those of Wall Street. 85% of VC firms fail to outperform Wall Street, yielding an industry wide average of 4% annualized returns. 

Secondly, and most importantly, venture capital is not inclusive enough. If you have previously raised capital and think you had it hard, consider an under-represented founder that will most likely never get a seat at the table. Female founders raise $0.15 for every dollar raised by men. Founders of color raise less than half of that.

We believe that a data-driven platform focused on analyzing the metrics and performance of startups will effectively serve to chip away at the institutional implicit bias that is built into the venture screening and review processes. Investors cannot, should not and will not look away from a deal based on its merits. We believe our tools will deliver on that goal.

Privacy and Security are Key

And we are very committed to privacy and security. We will tokenize your data to ensure that it remains your data, secure and confidential and only released when you want to share.

Join Us

If you have a startup at any stage from Pre-Seed through B round, we’d like to work with you. We’ll provide data-driven tools, mentorship and resources and will work with you for the next three months to help get you to the next level. Join us today by applying here: https://dealengine.ai/join/.