How VCs Use Save to Accelerate Due Diligence and Deal Sourcing

VC associates spend weeks on due diligence that could take days. The information is all out there—Crunchbase profiles, founder interviews, market sizing reports, competitor products—but gathering and synthesizing it is painfully manual.

Here’s how investment teams are using Save to compress due diligence timelines without sacrificing depth.

Workflow 1: Startup Profiles → Deal Screening

A partner forwards you a company to evaluate. You have 24 hours to form an initial view.

The workflow:

1. Save the company’s website, Crunchbase profile, and any press coverage
2. Build a screening memo:

“Here’s a startup’s homepage, Crunchbase profile, and 3 press articles. Create a deal screening memo covering: what they do (1 sentence), target market and TAM, business model, funding history, founding team background, competitive landscape mentioned in press, and 3 key risks to investigate further.”

“Based on their positioning and market, which portfolio companies are they most similar to? What questions should I ask in the first meeting?”

3. Brief the partner — A structured screening memo from public sources in 30 minutes instead of 3 hours

Workflow 2: Market Reports → Investment Thesis Validation

You have a thesis about a market opportunity. You need data to back it up—or kill it early.

The workflow:

1. Save market sizing reports, industry analyses, and trend pieces from multiple sources
2. Validate or challenge the thesis:

“Here are 5 reports about [market]. I believe [investment thesis]. Based on these sources, what evidence supports this thesis? What evidence contradicts it? What data points are missing that would strengthen or weaken the case?”

“Create a 1-page investment thesis document with: market size and growth, key tailwinds, key risks, and 3 companies that would benefit if this thesis is correct.”

3. Present a data-backed thesis — Not a hunch, but a documented argument with evidence from current sources

Workflow 3: Competitor Products → Competitive Moat Assessment

You’re evaluating a company’s defensibility. You need to understand what competitors offer and where the moat (or lack thereof) is.

The workflow:

1. Save the product pages, pricing, and feature lists of the target company and its top 5 competitors
2. Assess the moat:

“Here are the product pages for [Company] and its 5 closest competitors. Where is [Company] differentiated? Where is the product commoditized? How defensible are their advantages—could a well-funded competitor replicate them in 12 months?”

“Based on these product offerings, what would a new entrant need to build to compete? What’s the estimated time and investment?”

3. Make the investment call — Defensibility assessment backed by actual product comparison

Workflow 4: Portfolio Company Updates → Board Prep

You sit on 8 boards. Each company sends updates, publishes blog posts, and puts out press releases. Staying current on all of them is a full-time job.

The workflow:

1. Save each portfolio company’s recent blog posts, press releases, and news coverage
2. Generate board prep:

“Here are recent updates from [Portfolio Company]: their last 3 blog posts, a press release, and 2 news articles. Summarize: what they shipped recently, how they’re being covered in press, any signals of strategic shifts, and 3 questions I should ask the CEO at next week’s board meeting.”

3. Walk into every board meeting prepared — Even when you only had 20 minutes to prep

Get Started

1. Install Save (free, 3 saves/month)
2. Start saving every company profile, report, and article during due diligence
3. Feed your research library to Claude or ChatGPT
4. Produce investment memos at a pace that wins competitive deals

The deals don’t wait for your research to finish. Save makes sure your research keeps up.

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