web-research

Web Research Skill

Guidelines for conducting high-quality research in this deal room workspace.

Tool Hierarchy

Use tools in this priority order. Always prefer MCP tools -- they return more structured, citable data.

1. Perplexity (perplexity_ask) -- First choice for market questions, industry trends, Why Now arguments, regulatory context. Returns synthesized answers with citations.
2. Exa (web_search_exa, company_research_exa, people_search_exa) -- Best for structured lookups: company data, competitor profiles, founder backgrounds, similar companies.
3. Firecrawl (FIRECRAWL_SCRAPE_EXTRACT_DATA_LLM) -- Use when a specific page needs scraping: competitor pricing, product pages, JS-rendered sites that WebFetch cannot read.
4. WebSearch -- Fallback when MCP tools are unavailable or return insufficient results.
5. WebFetch -- Direct URL fetch for static pages or when you have a specific URL to read.

If MCPs are not connected, proceed with WebSearch + WebFetch and note that MCP tools would improve results. See reference/mcp-setup.md for setup instructions.

Core Principles

1. Search Strategically

• Start broad, narrow down: "B2B project management market size" → "B2B project management SaaS TAM 2024"
• Use quotes for exact phrases: "total addressable market" "project management software"
• Combine terms: site:crunchbase.com + company name for funding data

2. Source Hierarchy (best → acceptable)

1. Primary research reports (Gartner, IDC, Forrester, McKinsey, CB Insights, PitchBook)
2. Government data (Census, BLS, SEC filings)
3. Company blog posts / press releases (for their own funding/metrics)
4. Reputable journalism (TechCrunch, Forbes, WSJ, Bloomberg)
5. Industry associations and trade publications
6. Secondary blogs that cite primary sources

Avoid: Anonymous blog posts, content farms, statistics without clear attribution

3. For Market Sizing

• Look for: market size ($), CAGR (%), year range, methodology
• Key search patterns:
  • "[industry] market size 2024 2025"
  • "[industry] TAM report Gartner"
  • "[sector] global market forecast"
• Always find at least 2 sources and note if they agree

4. For Competitor Research

• Always visit competitor websites directly
• Search: "[company] pricing" "[company] review G2" "[company] funding Crunchbase" "[company] news 2024"
• Check: G2.com, Capterra.com for reviews
• Check: Crunchbase.com for funding

5. For Customer Research

• Reddit search: "site:reddit.com [problem description]"
• Review sites: G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, App Store
• LinkedIn: company and role targeting
• Industry communities: Slack groups, Discord, Facebook Groups

6. Saving Research

Always structure saved research files with:

# [Topic] Research

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD **Purpose:** [what deal room section this feeds]

## Key Findings

[numbered list of key facts]

## Detailed Notes

[full research]

## Sources

| Claim | Source | URL | Date |
| ----- | ------ | --- | ---- |

7. Research Quality Checklist

Before saving research:

• At least 2 sources for key statistics
• Sources dated within 3 years (flag anything older)
• Direct URLs saved for every claim
• Numbers are specific (not just "large" or "fast-growing")
• Customer voice included where relevant