ID Tree plans to provide standardised financials on private companies
ID Tree is raising $1m in its quest to help investors discover private companies and track their financial progress. Providing standardised financials generated by software which prorates comparable public company results and adjusts for relative maturities so that it enables investors to analyse private companies which they are interested in comparing with those of publicly quoted peers.

At a time when startups stay private longer, and fintech investment is at its peak (maybe), where do investors look? Private companies. However, those are known for being, well, “private” about their financials.

Enter ID Tree.



The New York-based startup allows investors to discover private companies and track their financial progress. Instead of requesting financial statements from companies one by one, investors are able to request standardized financials in a format that allows for comparison analysis. Additionally, they can request access to eventual prospects based on the analysis. The company writes:

Investors in private companies using standardized financials can take advantage of this by comparing private financial information with public company financial information. Valuations done by prorating the comparable public company results and adjusting for relative maturities can now be done programmatically, with a dramatic improvement in consistency.

Submitting financial information – mainly market data and accounting data – to ID Tree is free for private companies. Incentive? Luring in prospective investors, the company said.

The old method of filtering out the investment prospects through a network of professional connections, such as founders of portfolio companies, is a start and is probably the only way for early stage companies. However, for later stage companies with distinguishable financials, this process is not scalable and limits the reach to the immediate network.

The company is now seeking $1 million in funding for client development and early marketing efforts, Bank Innovation has learned.

Equityzen is another startup that’s working to put the spotlight on private company investment space. The startup calls itself a stock exchange for private company securities, and it gives investors access to pre-IPO shares. “We want to bring private market closer to the public,” said the founder Atish Davda. “Today, there is not a ton of focus on investment opportunities outside of public market, because they have been out of reach.”