deal-sourcing

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 1a9a359bc586 · 29 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisheranthropics GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderanthropics/financial-services/plugins/vertical-plugins/private-equity/skills/deal-sourcingThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceApache-2.0As the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict1a9a359bc586A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedPushed today
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: PE deal sourcing workflow — discover target companies, check CRM for existing relationships, and draft personalized founder outreach emails. Use when sourcing new deals, prospecting companies in a sector, or reaching…

---
name: deal-sourcing
description: PE deal sourcing workflow — discover target companies, check CRM for existing relationships, and draft personalized founder outreach emails. Use when sourcing new deals, prospecting companies in a sector, or reaching out to founders. Triggers on "find companies", "source deals", "draft founder email", "check if we've seen this company", or "outreach to founder".
---

# Deal Sourcing

## Workflow

This skill follows a 3-step sourcing pipeline:

### Step 1: Discover Companies

Research and identify potential target companies based on the user's criteria:

- **Sector/industry focus**: Ask the user what space they're looking in (e.g., "B2B SaaS in healthcare", "industrial services in the Southeast")
- **Deal parameters**: Revenue range, EBITDA range, growth profile, geography, ownership type (founder-owned, PE-backed, corporate carve-out)
- **Sources**: Use web search to find companies matching criteria. Look at industry reports, conference attendee lists, trade publications, and competitor landscapes
- **Output**: A shortlist of companies with: name, description, estimated revenue/size, location, founder/CEO name, website, and why they fit the thesis

### Step 2: CRM Check

Before outreach, check if the company or founder already exists in the firm's CRM:

- Search the user's email (Gmail) for prior correspondence with the company or founder
- Search Slack for any internal mentions or prior discussions about the target
- Ask the user: "Have you or your team had any prior contact with [Company]?"
- Flag any existing relationships, prior passes, or known context
- **Output**: For each company, note: "New" (no prior contact), "Existing" (prior correspondence found — summarize), or "Previously Passed" (if evidence of a prior pass)

### Step 3: Draft Founder Outreach

Draft personalized cold emails to founders/CEOs:

- **Tone**: Professional but warm. Not overly formal — founders respond better to genuine, concise outreach
- **Structure**:
  1. Brief intro — who you are and your firm (ask user for their firm intro if not known)
  2. Why this company caught your attention — reference something specific (product, market position, growth)
  3. What you're looking for — partnership, not just a transaction
  4. Soft ask — "Would you be open to a brief conversation?"
- **Personalization**: Reference the company's specific product, recent news, or market position. Never use generic templates
- **Length**: 4-6 sentences max. Founders are busy
- **Voice matching**: If the user has sent prior outreach emails, study them to match their tone and style. Search Gmail for "sent" emails with keywords like "reaching out", "introduction", "partnership" to find examples

### Email Draft Guidelines

- Subject line: Keep it short and specific. Reference the company or sector, not "Investment Opportunity"
- No attachments on first touch
- Include a clear but low-pressure CTA
- Draft in Gmail if available, otherwise output as text for the user to copy

## Example Interaction

**User**: "Find me founder-owned industrial services companies in Texas doing $10-50M revenue"

**Assistant**:
1. Searches web for industrial services companies in Texas matching the criteria
2. Presents a shortlist of 5-8 companies with key details
3. For each, checks Gmail/Slack for prior contact
4. Drafts personalized outreach emails for the ones marked "New"
5. Presents drafts for user review before sending

## Important Notes

- Always present the shortlist for user review before drafting emails
- Never send emails without explicit user approval
- If the user's firm intro or investment criteria aren't clear, ask before drafting
- Prioritize quality over quantity — 5 well-researched targets beat 20 generic ones

Excerpt, first 3,761 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/anthropics/financial-services
git -C financial-services checkout 1a9a359bc586

Works in

1. 2026-10-29
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 1a9a359bc586

Questions about deal-sourcing

• github.com/anthropics/financial-services/tree/main/plugins/verti — the audited source at commit 1a9a359bc586 and every finding aboveObserved · 29 Oct 2026

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