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The VC Playbook: How to Spot a Purple Cow in Crowded Pastures

By Barbara Tague, Financial Research Leader

The venture capital landscape is pivoting to a stage of accelerated capital deployment as investment periods narrow and macroeconomic conditions burgeon. With a crowded marketplace and a sense of underlying urgency, how do investors spot coveted startups in this environment?

In this playbook, we leverage insights from Harry Stebbings of 20VC to answer this question among others, including: What are the characteristics of successful early stage companies? Which unconventional criteria play an important role in securing deals?

About the Author
  • Barbara Tague, Financial Research Leader

    Barb is a Financial Research Leader covering the financial services segment at AlphaSense. Previously, she spent more than a decade at institutional investment managers and at a SaaS startup leading business development, content, and product initiatives.

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The Future of Primary Research: An Evolution of AI-Driven Expert Insights

In this report, we explore the evolution of expert research as AI-driven enhancements streamline inefficiencies and bottlenecks, creating asynchronous workflows. As access proliferates and AI enables faster synthesis, it is increasingly essential for investment teams to harness complete ecosystems to drive high-stakes decisions with conviction.
Text "The Future of Primary Research: An Evolution of AI-Driven Expert Insights" next to a blue AI interface showing a chat between an 'AI Interviewer' and an 'Expert'.

EMEA Outlook 2026: Navigating Inflation, Manufacturing Shifts and AI Adoption

The extent to which EMEA economies can tame inflation, manage weakness in the auto sector, and harness AI for growth will be key to their economic prosperity in the months to come. In this report, we explore how these themes will impact EMEA in the second half of 2026.
Report cover for 'EMEA Outlook 2026: Navigating Inflation, Manufacturing Shifts and AI Adoption' by Shelly Hagan, featuring a globe and an upward trend arrow.

Top AI Use Cases for Life Sciences Market Intelligence

Across life sciences functions, platforms like AlphaSense are streamlining the entire decision cycle. This report covers the top AI use cases that have transformed how the industry’s leading teams reach defensible answers.
Top AI Use Cases for Life Sciences Market Intelligence, with illustrations of a DNA helix, bar chart, and building on a blue grid.

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