Help: Using the General Search Bar
Learn how to use the General Search Bar found at the top of the PitchBook Platform.
When the data you need is spread across companies, investors, funds, people, and tools, knowing where to start a search can slow you down. The General Search Bar allows you to conveniently find data across the PitchBook Platform, all in one place. Search for any company, investor, fund, person, or entity on PitchBook and preview the search results to ensure you find the data you need. You can also use the General Search Bar to find other PitchBook tools, generate a search, and find Analyst Content. In this article, learn about the ways you can use the General Search Bar to get started with your PitchBook needs.
Not a PitchBook customer?
To start your search, click on the General Search Bar at the top of the page. This feature supports a variety of search functions to help you find the data you’re looking for quickly. It works best when searching by specific keywords, industries, verticals, and short phrases for broad but relevant results. You can also search for specific PitchBook tools as well as analyst reports, news articles, and conferences.
As you begin typing, the drop-down menu automatically updates and displays the top search results that match your query. For more results, you can either click on the magnifying glass icon or the see the full list of results link at the bottom of the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can press Enter on your keyboard.
If you want to create a more detailed search with all the fields that PitchBook has to offer, you can create a screener. You can also visit the sections Generate a list of companies and deals and Generate a list of investors and funds in this article for more instructions on running a specific search using the General Search Bar.
Once you’re on the page with your full list of results or recent searches, you can choose how you’d like them sorted by selecting the following options from the menu at the top:
- All – Lists all search results related to your search term(s).
- Profiles – Lists the PitchBook profile and/or specific deal results related to your search term(s).
- Screeners – Lists Screeners from your search term(s), including screeners based on industries, verticals, and custom searches generated utilizing natural language search capabilities.
- Analyst Content – Lists analyst verticals and emerging spaces related to your search term(s).
- Research – Lists research reports related to your search term(s).
- News – Pulls third-party news related to your search term(s) or the entity name you are searching.
- My PitchBook – Lists your Saved Lists and Saved Searches related to your search term(s).
If you click on the General Search Bar without typing anything, you can find a list of your 10 most recent searches in the drop-down menu. Selecting a search from this list takes you back to the same content you had previously visited, allowing you to quickly resume your search journey. The drop-down menu also shows the recent content you accessed on the mobile platform, so you can continue your searches across the web or mobile.
If you want to see more of your previous searches, you can either click on the magnifying glass icon, the See All Recent Searches link at the bottom of the drop-down menu, or press Enter on your keyboard.
Ready to get started?
Use the General Search Bar to easily find other PitchBook tools. Can’t remember how to access market maps? Search for “market maps” and a tooltip appears at the top of the full search results list.
Tooltips surface for a variety of features, including:
- Benchmarks
- Excel Plugin
- League Tables
- Manager Scoring
- Market Maps
- Research Center
Note: This feature is only available on the full search results page and is not accessible in the drop-down menu. To access the tooltip feature, you need to type in the name of the tool as it appears on the platform.
The General Search Bar is a great place to start a Companies & Deals search. You can generate a list of companies or deals filtered by common search criteria, including company location, industry, vertical, keyword, backing status, employee count, revenue, deal type, deal size, deal date, and post valuation.
These search results show a preview of key statistics, such as the number of companies and deals in the screeners. Click on the screener result to be taken to the search results page of the screener featuring the specific criteria you entered.
For example, you could search for “companies in New York with over 1,000 employees in media” and have a Companies & Deals search generated for every company that matches that description, as shown below.
Note: Not all search criteria from a Companies & Deals Screener are supported in the General Search Bar. If you’d like to learn how to create your own custom Companies & Deals Screener, visit Learn the basics of creating a screener.
“PitchBook is the gold standard for data on privately-backed companies and the VC and PE ecosystem. Over the years they have expanded their coverage to provide excellent data on public companies and M&A as well, and have vastly increased the coverage on international companies. The platform is intuitive and easy-to-use and customer service is top-notch.”
Source : G2.com
The General Search Bar is also a great place to start an Investors & Funds search. You can generate a list filtered by common search criteria, including investor type, assets under management, investor location, fund types, fund status, fund access point, fund size, and fund date.
These search results show a preview of key statistics, such as the number of investors and funds in the screeners. Click on the screener result to be taken to the search results page of the screener featuring the specific criteria you entered.
For example, you could search for “US Investors actively investing in Information Technology” and have an Investors & Funds search generated for every investor who meets those criteria, as shown below.
Note: Not all search criteria from an Investors & Funds Screener are supported in the General Search Bar. If you’d like to learn how to create your own custom Investors & Funds Screener, visit Learn the basics of creating a screener.
You can also use the General Search Bar to find industries that are still emerging. Simply search for the Emerging Space or Analyst-Curated Vertical you’re interested in and click on the Analyst Content tab once on the full results page.
Click on the search result to be directed to additional data, research, and information. To learn more about these spaces, check out our articles Emerging Spaces tool and methodology and Understanding Analyst-Curated Verticals.
How are results ordered?
Our search results are arranged to display results in order of relevance to the search criteria. The highest matches are highlighted, while other results include an explanatory text to clarify why they are shown.
How does the General Search Bar handle special characters like periods or colons?
Knowing where to place a period or a colon can be challenging, especially for companies with long acronyms or unique names. The General Search Bar supports additional handling for special characters, except the ampersand (&). This means that “Remax” and “Re/Max” return the same results. This logic gives you more results, improving the likelihood of finding what you’re looking for.
Does the General Search Bar handle non-Roman characters?
You can use the General Search Bar to look for profiles using Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese characters.
If a business is tagged to multiple entity types, how does it appear in General Search?
Each business has a primary entity type designated, which is the profile type that is shown by default when you search for the entity. You can always change the view once you click on the entity.
If you’re having trouble finding a company by name, we recommend searching by website, LCD ID, or PBId. Also, please provide feedback to our Support team about your experience so we can continue to enhance this feature.
To understand how this feature fits into a broader workflow, check out PitchBook Pioneer’s course – PitchBook 101.