If you’re in sales, business development, or just trying to break into a new market, you know the pain: getting a big, bloated list of “prospects” that’s mostly junk. You don’t need 10,000 random companies. You need 50 that actually fit your target. This guide is for anyone who wants to use CB Insights to build a real prospect list—one you can actually use, not just stare at in a spreadsheet.
Let’s cut through the noise and get straight to how you do it, step by step.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Target
Before you even log in, get specific about who you’re after. CB Insights has all the filters in the world, but if you don’t know the basics—industry, location, funding stage, size—you’ll just spin your wheels.
Ask yourself: - What’s my ideal customer’s industry or vertical? (Be honest, not “anyone with money.”) - Do they need to have raised funding recently? How much? - Where are they based? Does it actually matter? - How big are they? Employees, revenue, or both? - Is there a tech stack or business model you care about?
Pro tip: Write these down. Seriously. If you’re not clear here, no tool will save you.
Step 2: Set Up Your Search in CB Insights
Log in to CB Insights and head to the Companies search. The interface can be overwhelming at first—there are dozens of filters. Don’t worry, you don’t need most of them unless you’re building a NASA-level shortlist.
The Filters That Actually Matter
Focus on these first:
- Industry: Start broad, then narrow as needed.
- Geography: Country, region, or even city. Skip this if you’re open.
- Funding Stage: Seed, Series A, etc. Useful if you’re after early-stage or mature companies.
- Funding Amount: Filter out garage-stage startups or giant unicorns as needed.
- Company Size: Employees or estimated revenue.
- Business Model: B2B, B2C, SaaS, hardware, etc.
- Technology tags: If you care about AI, blockchain, or anything specific.
What to ignore: Most of the “buzzword” tags and “trending” lists. They’re fun for browsing, but not for real prospecting.
Step 3: Layer Filters—But Don’t Go Overboard
It’s tempting to stack every filter possible. Don’t. Every filter cuts down your list, but too many and you’ll end up with nothing—or worse, companies that only exist on paper.
How to sanity-check: - Start with 2–3 filters. See how many results you get. - Add more only if you’re getting hundreds or thousands. - If you end up with fewer than 10, you’ve probably gotten too cute with the filters.
Example:
Let’s say you want Series A fintech companies in North America, with 50–200 employees. That’s three solid filters. If you add “uses blockchain” and “founded after 2021,” you might end up with, well, nobody.
Pro tip: If you’re not sure what a filter does, click the little info icon or just Google it. Some filters sound useful but are based on fuzzy data.
Step 4: Review and Refine Your List
Once you’ve got a manageable number of results (say, 30–200), it’s time to dig in.
What to Look For
- Company Profile: Click through to see recent funding, leadership, and descriptions. CB Insights is pretty good about linking to news and funding rounds.
- Website: Always check the company’s site. Sometimes the data is stale, or the company has pivoted.
- News & Signals: CB Insights tracks news mentions, layoffs, and leadership changes. This stuff can be gold for context—or a red flag.
What to Watch Out For
- Zombie companies: If there’s been no funding, news, or staff changes in years, skip them.
- Weird employee counts: Sometimes “employee” numbers are estimates. If it says “3–500 employees,” don’t trust it.
- Duplicate or holding companies: These sneak in. Always double-check before adding to your outreach list.
Step 5: Export—But Don’t Just Dump to CSV
CB Insights lets you export lists. Before you do, clean it up:
- Remove obvious junk or irrelevant companies.
- If you’re on a team, tag or annotate companies so others know why they’re on the list.
- Don’t export more than you’ll actually use. No one needs to wade through 400 companies.
Pro tip: If your export includes contacts, double-check their roles and emails. CB Insights isn’t always up-to-date here—you’ll usually need LinkedIn or another tool to fill the gaps.
Step 6: Add a Human Touch
No tool, not even CB Insights, will hand you a perfect, ready-to-call list. You’ll need to do some digging:
- LinkedIn check: Make sure your main contact is still at the company.
- News scan: Look for recent announcements—layoffs, pivots, funding, or lawsuits.
- Personalize: Note something specific for each prospect (“Congrats on Series B!”), even if it’s just for your own notes.
What not to do: Blindly email everyone on the list with the same pitch. That’s how you end up in spam.
Step 7: Save Your Search—So You Don’t Have to Start Over
CB Insights lets you save searches and set up alerts for new companies that match your criteria. This is actually useful—set it and forget it, then come back when you need more prospects.
- Name your saved search something clear (“NYC Series A Fintech, 50–200 Employees”).
- Set up weekly or monthly alerts, not daily—unless you like email clutter.
- Come back every month or so and prune your list. The market changes fast.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
Works: - Starting simple, then layering filters as needed. - Double-checking company info outside CB Insights. - Using news/alerts for timely outreach hooks.
Doesn’t: - Relying on a single filter or buzzword (“AI!”) to find real prospects. - Trusting all the company data at face value. - Exporting massive lists and hoping something sticks.
Ignore: - “Trending” or “top 100” lists unless you’re just browsing. - Overly broad filters (“all tech companies in the US”)—you’ll get nowhere.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Building a good prospect list takes a bit of setup, but it shouldn’t be a weeklong project. Get clear on what you want, use the filters that matter, sanity-check your results, and keep your lists tight. Don’t get sidetracked by every shiny filter or “hot” company—focus on what’s actionable.
Start simple, test your list in real outreach, then tweak your filters as you learn what works. That’s how you build a prospect list that actually moves the needle.