Once you are comfortable navigating Pesql’s core signals and workflows, you can begin using the platform for deeper diligence and investment committee preparation. These advanced techniques help you quantify execution quality, contextualise founder narratives and build conviction with data rather than intuition alone.

This guide outlines how to use Pesql for benchmarking, peer analysis and preparing IC-ready materials.

Benchmark companies against true peers

Benchmarking in Pesql goes beyond comparing high-level metrics. When you open a company’s peer view, you see how it performs against startups of similar stage, headcount, category and geography. This normalised lens makes it far easier to spot outliers.

Use the benchmarking layer to analyse:

• Team growth trends
• Engineering and product velocity
• Digital traction indicators
• Category-adjusted momentum
• Execution quality relative to size

Strong performers show consistent, multi-signal outperformance; weak signals often reveal narrative gaps or stalled execution. Benchmarks give you a grounded basis for questioning founders and shaping early conviction.

Use peer analysis to uncover hidden advantages

Peer analysis helps you understand whether a company is genuinely breaking away or simply blending into its category. A company with modest Growth but strong Category Momentum may be riding a rising wave; one with strong Growth but weak Heat may be executing quietly without external attention.

Look for patterns such as:

• Companies outperforming their category but under-recognised by the market
• Teams hiring aggressively ahead of expected milestones
• Competitors plateauing, signalling potential openings
• Subcategories within a broader vertical showing early breakout behaviour

These insights often act as “edge moments” in sourcing—places where you can build theses or reach out before competitors notice.

Validate narratives with data

When founders share their story—product traction, growth pace, market pull—it’s useful to check how well those claims reflect in the signals.

You can validate:

• Whether hiring arcs match stated expansion plans
• Whether product shipping cadence aligns with roadmap claims
• Whether digital traffic or engagement reflects momentum
• Whether early partnerships or customer traction appear in the data
• Whether external visibility supports or contradicts the story

This doesn’t replace trusting founders; it sharpens your conversations and helps you ask better questions.

Prepare data-driven IC materials

Pesql simplifies IC preparation by consolidating all relevant signals, comparisons and context into one place. For each shortlisted company, you can export or compile:

• A momentum timeline showing key signal shifts
• Benchmark tables comparing the company to its closest peers
• Fundraising probability profiles
• Category and subcategory momentum charts
• Founder and team snapshots
• Notable catalysts or risks
• Thesis fit indicators

The combination of narrative and quant creates a more compelling investment case and reduces the need for manual data gathering.

Monitor portfolio companies with the same discipline

These techniques aren’t only for sourcing. After investment, you can continuously track your portfolio using the same signal set. Automations can alert you to major shifts—new hires, product changes, score surges or category volatility—allowing you to keep a consistent, real-time view of portfolio health.

Turn insights into conviction

Advanced use of Pesql is about depth, not volume. By understanding how companies perform relative to peers, how signals evolve over time, and how narrative aligns with execution, you build sharper internal conviction and stronger IC outcomes.

With these tools, Pesql becomes more than a discovery platform—it becomes a decision-making engine.