The Big Fish Method a.k.a. How to find high-paying clients on Crunchbase

Chapter

Getting Clients

Experience

Just Starting OutBooked My First 3 ClientsGrowing & Scaling

Format

VideoGuideTemplate

Lesson Description

How to use Crunchbase to find funded companies who are more likely to have a budget for freelancers.

Suggested Order

Tags

OutreachIdeal Clients

Est. Time to Complete

15 mins

‣

Video Transcript

Hey freelancer, today I am going to show you how I use Crunchbase to find my big fish clients, the ones who can more likely pay my rates and are ready to hire me. So before we dive into this tutorial, I just want to remind you that the free trial of Crunchbase is only seven days, and after that seven days is up, it does cost $99 per month. So when you sign up, it is going to ask for your credit card information to get that free trial, and they're out there to get their bag.

They are going to charge you if you don't cancel on time, so make sure you cancel your free trial on time. This is not a service that you need long term. You do not need to pay $99 for this.

I recommend it because the free trial offers so much value. So yeah, I recommend when you put your credit card information to sign up for the free trial into the form, immediately go and put on your calendar, cancel Crunchbase free trial so that you don't get charged. This should only take you two hours or even possibly less, so I would make sure you don't sign up for the free trial until you are immediately going to be ready to export your results and put them into your ideal clients tracker.

Like, make sure you have time set aside for this so that you don't get stuck paying for something that you don't need to pay for. All right, so let's get to it. On your screen, you should see a yellow button when you get to Crunchbase homepage.

It's where my upgrade now button is. It should say start free trial. That's where you're going to start your free trial, obviously.

Once you have your free trial and you go back to the homepage, this is what you are going to see. So on the homepage, obviously, you can see the search bar. It's like really tempting.

On the free trial, they limit your search results for semantic and descriptive searches, which is what this search bar is. Anywhere that you can just type in regular terms and get results, they're going to limit because they've just integrated AI into their tool and AI costs them money to use. Therefore, they want you to be paying to use it.

So they're going to super duper limit your searches. So if you've tried to use Crunchbase in the past and you're like, I don't understand why I get like 600, why it says 600 results and I only see four of them or it's only giving me 12 results or something like that. That's probably why.

Don't use the search bars. Instead, we're going to go to advanced search. We're going to click companies.

Now that we're over here, I personally like to drag over the description and the last funding type tabs. You'll see them sort of scattered throughout the rest of the thing. You can drag any of these little categories that you want to to rearrange this table to look the way you want.

So once again, we are not going to use the search bar. Instead, we're going to use filters to get what we want. So first, we're going to head into financials.

Funding is the most important indicator to tell you whether a company is ready or going to be ready soon to work with you. Personally, I do seed through series C. You can choose funding type based on your needs. I've described all the types of funding you might want to look for in the lesson below.

So go read those details. I've also put in the like step-by-step instructions of how to put these filters in below. You'll see a little lightning bolts.

Those are pro tips. There is a pro tip explaining which types of funding you're going to want based on the types of services that you offer. So go check that out if you're not sure what to put in.

Now at the bottom of this, you can choose when they received funding. So personally, I do a custom date range and usually I just do the last five years so that it's like relatively current. But you can pick whatever date range you would prefer.

Now I go over to company status. It should be right next to financials for you. I personally choose for-profit.

Obviously, if you're trying to work with nonprofits, you can choose nonprofit or you can choose both. And you want to make sure you choose active for operating status. We don't want companies that are closed.

I choose both publicly and publicly traded companies and privately funded companies, but you can choose whichever you prefer. Now that will give you all of the companies that are financially more likely to be able to afford you and at a stage in their business where they're more likely to be able to hire you. Now we're going to go over to overview.

I have tried to record this video like four times today. You guys, I am like losing my mind. Anyway, we're going to filter by industry now and this is where you're going to find companies in your niche.

You can just search through these search terms and like scroll through them and just pick the ones that feel right to you based on your niche and just like select them or you can use this search bar to find them. This search bar will not fuck you up, so feel free to use it. I am going to just put in some marketing stuff because that's I'm doing a lot of marketing things right now.

Maybe I want some martech on my plate. Now that gave us 1900 results. I also like to personally filter to just include Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. as the locations for the companies because I live in a country that has a high cost of living.

Therefore, my hourly rate is pretty high, so I want to choose other countries that have similar costs of living so that I know that they're more willing to pay my rates rather than like countries with lower costs of living where they could hire local labor for cheaper, if that makes sense. Also, you want to pick the countries that speak the language that you speak, so you're more likely to be writing in the same language as the company. That's pretty much how I would filter everything.

I've got 900 results. That's still a lot. Now, I would filter by funding type or I would sort by funding type just to see.

Personally, I might consider exporting this whole list because one of the things about using the Crunchbase free trial is that I want to get as many results out of it as possible so I can cancel my free trial and then I can filter the results later. I'm going to take full screenshots of the entire results pages so I can see all this information without being in Crunchbase. So, I would personally export this list.

Now, you can use a Chrome plugin called GoFullPage if you would like. That's what this little camera button is here. It is free.

It works pretty well. You can export as a PDF or a PNG and you don't need to pay for it unless you want to be able to edit in their tool. You can also use a tool called CleanShotX if you're on Mac.

This is my personal favorite screenshot tool. It's what I'm using right now to record this video on. They have scrolling screen captures which I really like.

You can also edit the screenshots in their tool. It is a purchase. Like, you have to buy the tool but it is a one-time purchase which I really appreciate and they're amazing.

You can make GIFs with it and so much more. So, if you do a lot with screenshots, you might want to consider getting something like this or you can just use GoFullPage for free. GoFullPage can sometimes be glitchy.

So, you might have to make sure like your browser is the most updated version and things like that to use it just so you know. Once you take a screenshot, you can save those screenshots and down and sorry and put them into ChachiBT to get it to spit out copy and pasteable results and that information exactly how I export it and everything is in the bottom of this lesson if you scroll all the way down with GIFs showing you exactly what I'm doing on my screen so that you can imitate it and export your list and get it into your ideal client's tracker more easily. So, definitely refer to that if you're not sure how to export this list.

You will not be able to export it from Crunchbase itself. Like, if you try to click this export button, they're going to try to charge you. You do have to pay for that feature.

So, that's why I recommend taking screenshots, having ChachiBT or another AI tool that you like, transcribe it into copy and pasteable text, and then copy and pasting that into your tracker instead of trying to export it from Crunchbase itself. Now, if you're like, 900 results is way too much for me. You said I only need 200.

Could you please make it easier? One thing you can do is just remove some of the funding types. So, maybe we remove seed funding and then, you know, now we have what 257 results. Oh my god, perfect.

Alright, let's go. That's it. That's all you need, right? You can also play around with industries.

Like, maybe you have too many industry tags up. You could just filter to the country that you're in if you wanted to. You could also change the dates when they received funding and things like that to try to get your results more narrowed.

Honestly, a bigger list is not really a problem in my opinion because it just means that your list is going to last you longer and you'll have more companies to reach out to. Now, as far as seeing it in your tracker, if you're feeling like, ooh, this is a little too much for me. Like, let's say, let's go back to having seed funding in here and we have 900 results.

If you wanted to, when you export this, you can ask ChatGPT to put the type of funding they have next to the company name. You'll just have to modify the prompt that I have down here because the prompt that is in the bottom of this lesson asks it to just take the company names and give them to you in a copy of pasteable text. You can ask it to format it so that it includes the type of funding.

And then in your tracker, if you want to, this is, oh, sorry. I want this one. In your tracker, if you wanted to, when you put them in, when you go to import ideal clients list here, you can add a new tag when you import them.

So, you could say like seed funding or something and then add to the filter when you're importing them seed. So, then anything you're importing now is going to get tagged with seed funding as well. And same with like all the types of funding.

You can just create a new tag for each type of funding and then import them in groups based on the type of funding. So, when you want specific types of clients, you know which companies to target. And again, there's way more information in the lesson below.

So, go watch it. And if you have any, or go read it. Wow.

If you have any questions about any of this, just let me know and I'm happy to help you. I know Notion can feel like a little complicated and so can ChatGPT. I mean, sorry, so can CrunchBase.

So, so can ChatGPT, honestly. So, if you have questions, I am totally here to help. And I, you can DM me, you can message me in the challenge chat if you're in the LinkedIn challenge or post a question, shame-free questions, if you're in pop club.

If you want to get higher-paying clients, you need to find Big Fish (companies who are getting venture-capital funding or are publicly traded)!

It might sound intimidating at first, but you can definitely land clients like these, and they’ve got bigger budgets to pay you. Funded companies can be bigger corporations or smaller startups. They run the gamut of niche and company size.

Signs of a Big Fish:

Just one of these signs is a good indicator that they can afford your rates:

Have received Series B+ funding in the past year (or five years, but preferably recently)
Have a valuation of $7 million or more (sometimes as low as $4 million but usually between $7-$10 million).

So how do you find this information? Google and/or Crunchbase.

You can find valuations by searching “[company name] + valuation.” For funding, you’ll need Crunchbase. If you found a company on Crunchbase (we’ll go over how to do this in a moment), you don’t need to look up their valuation. They wouldn’t have gotten funding if they didn’t fit the valuation standards.

I’d recommend starting a Crunchbase free trial when you’re ready to use it. During your free trial, write out the most interesting companies to you based on your search results so you don’t lose that information, and then cancel your trial so you don’t have to pay. You can do this ~ once a year, you’ll get thousands of results (not all will be a match, though).

Using Crunchbase

Okay, so Crunchbase might look intimidating, but I promise, it’s actually super easy to navigate.

⚠️ If you’re on the free trial of crunchbase, descriptive searches (the AI search bar on the home page and at the top of the search screen as well as the descriptive search in the “overview” filters) are limited. Meaning you can only do so many searches and they’ll yield super limited results when you use them. So, I recommend using filters instead! ⬇️

Here’s how I use Crunchbase to find potential clients:

Click “Advanced Search” in the top right-hand corner and choose “Companies”
At the top of the search results, you’ll see filter fields (overivew, contacts, predictions, etc.). Choose “Financials” and filter for the funding you want to see. I usually use these settings:

2020-2025
Seed, Series A-C

⚡️ the Seed level companies are future potential clients or clients that will likely want strategy. The Series B & C companies are in the growth phase and will want help with organic and paid growth services. Series A is just establishing marketing, usually, and may want strategy or services! So filter for what you want to target. You can also make a new column in your tracker for each funding level so you can target based on your current & future needs long term.

Company Status

⚡️I prefer for profit companies, but if you’re targeting non-profits, obviously filter for that!!

Type: For Profit
Operating Status: Active
IPO Status: Public or Private

Now we’re going to filter for niche and location. Click the “overview” filter button…

find the “industry” field. Here, you can choose any relevant industries to your niche.
You can also choose where they’re located (I like to filter for primarily English-speaking countries since I write in English). This is optional, though!

⚡️ It’s tempting to use descriptive keyword searches but you’ll have limited results if you’re on the free trial so use them sparingly!!

Okay, now that you’ve got your filters on, it’s time to browse.

⚡️ You can rearrange the columns so you only see the info you need! You can also delete columns (this will make your screenshots much cleaner if you’re struggling with that!)

Personally, I just take the results, screenshot ‘em, transcribe them with ChatGPT, and add them to my tracker (see instructions for this below). I delete companies I’m not interested in later as I go through my outreach instead of wasting my time now on research.

But, If you want to, you can hand pick your list and window shop some more if that feels exciting for you, you have too many results, or the results you got don’t feel quite right and you want to play around some more.

🚨 Once you've copied out the results you're excited about, you can cancel your trial so you don’t get charged.

This process usually takes me about 1-2 hours. You won’t have to do it again for a long time if you keep the same niche for a while.

If your results from Crunchbase weren’t enough or you want to explore more, check out .

How Funding Works:

Funding series (Series A, B, C, etc.) refer to the different stages of venture capital (VC) funding that startups go through as they grow. Here’s a breakdown of each stage:

1. Pre-Seed Funding

Purpose: Very early funding, often from founders, friends, family, or angel investors.
Goal: Develop an idea into a viable product, conduct initial market research, and cover early operational costs.
Typical Investors: Angel investors, accelerators, incubators.
Amount Raised: Usually under $1M.

2. Seed Funding

Purpose: The first official funding stage to build a minimum viable product (MVP), gain early traction, and hire key team members.
Goal: Validate the business model, test the market, and prepare for scaling.
Typical Investors: Angel investors, early-stage VCs, crowdfunding, accelerators.
Amount Raised: $1M–$5M (varies widely).

3. Series A Funding

Purpose: Scale up operations, optimize the product, and expand marketing efforts.
Goal: Develop a strong business model, refine customer acquisition strategies, and generate consistent revenue.
Typical Investors: Venture capital firms specializing in early-stage startups.
Amount Raised: $5M–$15M+ (depends on industry and company potential).

4. Series B Funding

Purpose: Expand the company significantly—grow the team, enter new markets, or develop new products.
Goal: Move from an early-stage startup to a well-established company with scalable revenue.
Typical Investors: Larger VC firms, corporate investors, growth equity firms.
Amount Raised: $20M–$50M+.

5. Series C Funding

Purpose: Major expansion, acquisitions, international growth, or preparing for an IPO (Initial Public Offering).
Goal: Dominate the market, optimize operations for profitability, and establish brand authority.
Typical Investors: Late-stage VC firms, private equity firms, hedge funds, investment banks.
Amount Raised: $50M–$100M+.

6. Series D, E, and Beyond

Purpose: Further scaling, product diversification, global expansion, or addressing challenges before going public.
Goal: Optimize for an IPO or a strategic acquisition.
Typical Investors: Institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds.
Amount Raised: Can exceed $100M.

7. Initial Public Offering (IPO)

Purpose: The company goes public, offering shares to retail and institutional investors.
Goal: Raise significant capital from public markets and allow early investors to cash out.
Investors: Public investors via stock exchanges.
Funds Raised: Can range from hundreds of millions to billions.

Exporting Your List

You can’t export your list directly from Crunchbase unless you pay for a subscription. But, us Pop Clubbers are scrappy and have a cheeky ‘lil workaround for you.

Take screenshot of each page of your results using Go Full Page (you’ll need to be using Google Chrome (the browser) to use this free plugin) or, if you’re on Mac, you can use the scrolling capture feature on CleanShotX.

⚡️ If your screenshots are coming out super wonky, try deleting columns that you don’t need in Crunchbase!

Pop over to ChatGPT or claude and input one of these prompts:

If you only want company names:

I need your help turning these screenshots into copy and pasteable text. Can you take only the names of the companies in these screenshots and turn them into text for me? I have a few screenshots. I’ll send them to you one at a time. You can just reply in this chat thread. No bullet points please, just each company on a new line!

If you want company names and their funding:

I need your help turning these screenshots into copy and pasteable text. Can you take only the names of the companies and their funding level from these screenshots and turn them into text for me? I want it formatted like this: “[Company Name] – [Funding Level]” I have a few screenshots. I’ll send them to you one at a time. You can just reply in this chat thread. No bullet points please, just each company on a new line!

Once Chat replies that it understands the assignment, start sending it the screenshots one at a time. One at a time is KEY here. Chat can only handle so much data at once!!
Copy and paste the results into your or .

How to import a big list into Notion

Once you’ve got your ideal clients list, you can bulk import it into notion by:

Find the “Table” view, create a new table view, OR go to “Import Ideal Clients List Here”.

In the top left-hand corner of the tracker, you’ll see “board” highlighted in gray. If you’re on a small screen, click “board” and you’ll see other view options. On a larger screen, choose “# more” to the right of “board” to see more options.

Skip this step if you’re in the “Import Ideal Clients List Here” view.

Once you’re in the table view, find the “filter” icon near the blue “new” button and filter by tags → Ideal Clients. That way, anything you import will automatically get tagged as an “ideal client” and end up in the first column in the “board” view of your tracker.

Scroll to the bottom of the table and click “new page.” A box will pop up with a blinking cursor. Click outside of the table (anywhere to the left) and the box should turn blue.
Head to your ideal clients list (a spreadsheet, doc, note, etc. will work as long as each company name is on a new line or in a new cell). Copy all the company names. Go back to Notion and just type command + V or win + V to paste the company names into your Notion tracker.

⚡️ If you’re struggling with this, try pasting your list into a spreadsheet, copy it from the spreadsheet, and paste it into Notion from there. Notion can be fnicky with formatting sometimes.

⚡️ If you’re on Google Chrome, just type “docs.new” into your Google Chrome address bar to pull up a new blank spreadsheet! 😊

Now you’ve got a tracker full of your ideal clients 🎉