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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
  • AlphaSense logo

    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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Top AI Use Cases for Investment Firms

Recent findings show that while financial services companies are rapidly scaling enterprise AI integration, a majority are still not generating meaningful ROI.
Title: Top AI Use Cases for Investment Firms in 2026 by Barb Togue, illustrated with outline icons of money, circulation, and a magnifying glass.

Top AI Use Cases for Consulting Firms

The top consulting teams have moved beyond isolated AI experimentation and disconnected tools. They’re using AI to generate decision-grade outputs tailored specifically to them. In this report, learn the top AI use cases that are transforming how consulting teams operate.
Title: Top AI Use Cases for Consulting Firms, with isometric line art illustrations of a data dashboard, chat bubbles, and a person working at multiple monitors.

Luxury at an Inflection Point: What the Numbers Aren’t Telling Investors

Luxury has enjoyed close to four decades of near-continuous growth, and the industry has come to view that run as a baseline rather than an exception.
Dark blue graphic with the title "Luxury at an Inflection Point: What the Numbers Aren't Telling Investors." Features blue line drawings of a watch, handbag, and high heels, with text mentioning interviews with LVMH and Prada executives.

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