Executive Summary

In 2019, YipitData was already known as the leader in alternative data, using proprietary methodologies to analyze billions of data points for actionable insights. The company had successfully pivoted its model to data services, but its founders sought more than capital — they wanted a partner to help scale efficiently, expand market share, and strengthen its foundation for the long term.

Over the next two and a half years, Norwest worked shoulder to shoulder with the YipitData team to accelerate go-to-market strategies, optimize margins, and expand into new markets, while also supporting a transformative acquisition. By 2021, the company had driven nearly 10x shareholder value creation, increased net retention by 25%, and announced a $475M investment from The Carlyle Group. Norwest remains a meaningful shareholder and partner to date.

YipitData’s story began in 2010 as a scrappy startup called Yipit, built to aggregate daily deals from Groupon and other sites. When that market lost momentum, co-founders Vin Vacanti and James Moran made a bold pivot. In 2013, they launched YipitData with a new mission: to harness web data at scale to deliver actionable insights for institutional investors.

YipitData’s platform evolved to analyze billions of data points across fast-growing digital sectors such as ridesharing, e-commerce, streaming, and payments. By pairing proprietary data collection with rigorous analysis, the company gave hedge funds and asset managers an information edge in understanding disruptive businesses.

What set YipitData apart was its ability to grow profitably. While many peers chased growth at all costs, YipitData balanced expansion with strong unit economics and capital efficiency. By 2019, the company had crossed $20M in annual revenue, grown to more than 100 employees, and established itself as the clear leader in alternative data. Its customer base had expanded to 150+ investment funds, validating its reputation for delivering high-quality, “sticky” products that clients relied on quarter after quarter.

With momentum building, Vacanti and Moran began looking for a partner who could provide liquidity for early backers and help chart the company’s next stage of growth.

Norwest stood out. With deep expertise in information services and an “invited guest” approach, our team demonstrated we could bring not only capital but also hands-on partnership.

“When Norwest says ‘invited guest’ they mean it,” says YipitData CEO Vin Vacanti “Always above and beyond, but never intrusive, the Norwest team gives us guidance and thought partnership at every step.”

Scaling with Focus on Growth and Profitability

At Norwest, we believe growth and profitability are not mutually exclusive. Cash efficiency, scalability, and sustainable margins are critical to building enduring companies and YipitData embodied this balance.

Together, we worked with the team to:

• Strengthen financial rigor in product development, ensuring ROI was measured on every investment.
• Optimize sales execution, driving a 16% increase in gross retention and 25% increase in net retention.
• Recruit key executives, including seasoned leaders across go-to-market, AI and data science, and finance.
• Drive business development, making introductions to potential customers, including leading retailers, global CPG brands, and top financial services firms.
• Unlock capital markets access, leading debt financing and introducing YipitData to Carlyle, who ultimately led the recap.

A Transformative Acquisition

M&A was central to YipitData’s expansion strategy. In partnership with management, Norwest sourced and closed the acquisition of Edison, one of only two proprietary providers of email receipt data.

The move was strategically crucial: it secured ownership of mission-critical data, de-risked vendor reliance, and positioned YipitData as the market’s dominant provider. Within three months of the deal, Edison’s only competitor had been acquired by another buyer, validating the importance of the acquisition. 

On a Winning Trajectory

The results of this partnership were impactful:

• ~10x shareholder value creation in 2.5 years
• 25% uplift in net retention
• 7x increase in customer base
• $475M growth investment from The Carlyle Group in 2021

Norwest sold a partial stake in YipitData during the Carlyle investment but remains a meaningful minority shareholder and board partner today.

The Carlyle investment provided YipitData with the scale and resources to accelerate product innovation, pursue new M&A opportunities, and expand its client base across both investment funds and enterprises. With Carlyle’s backing and Norwest’s continued involvement, the company is positioned to deepen its leadership in alternative data — building on its foundation of profitability, sticky customer relationships, and a track record of consistent, capital-efficient growth.

As Norwest Managing Partner Jon Kossow said at the time: “Since our investment in 2019, the company has driven phenomenal growth and we feel confident that Carlyle’s track record of success with M&A will be critical in helping YipitData continue that trajectory.”