Why Dakota Falls Short for Fundraising—and How Altss Fills the Gap
A strategic comparison of Dakota and Altss, revealing why Altss is the superior LP intelligence platform for emerging fund managers and IR teams in 2025. This article highlights gaps in mandate tracking, contact quality, and pricing transparency.
Introduction: Fundraising Has Changed—Has Your Data Platform?
Raising a fund in 2025 is harder than ever. LPs are over-allocated, inboxes are full, and timelines are stretching longer. For emerging managers—especially first- and second-time GPs—breaking through requires more than hustle. It requires precision.
Today, fund managers rely on data platforms to guide outreach. One of the most commonly used is Dakota. But Dakota, built for outbound investment sales, often falls short of what modern fundraising actually requires. In this article, we break down why Dakota underperforms for capital raising, and how Altss offers a more powerful alternative for IR professionals, solo GPs, and lean fundraising teams.
What Dakota Gets Right—and Where It Falls Short
Dakota Marketplace is known for its simplicity and U.S. allocator contact lists. It provides basic CRM features and curated profiles of pensions, consultants, and foundations. But when it comes to fundraising in 2025, its limitations become clear:
No Real-Time Mandate Signals
Dakota doesn’t alert you when an LP changes strategy, allocates to a new asset class, or hires a new decision-maker. You’re often working with data that’s weeks or months out of date.
Altss Difference: Uses open-source intelligence (OSINT) to detect and alert on real-time mandate shifts, personnel changes, or new fund launches.
Limited Family Office & HNWI Visibility
Dakota tracks roughly 4,100 family offices—many with shallow profiles and unverified contacts. It’s geared toward institutional allocators, not the new wave of capital coming from private wealth.
Altss Difference: Tracks 6,000+ family offices and 150,000+ HNWIs and angels, with verified emails and deep investment preference tagging.
Static Contact Data
Dakota relies on manual updates by internal teams. Contact details may be stale, bounce rates are unpredictable, and you’re left to verify on your own.
Altss Difference: Every record is re-verified every 30 days. Altss guarantees 99.7%+ email deliverability. If it bounces, it’s not in the system.
No Strategic Intelligence
Dakota is a directory. It doesn’t tell you who is allocating, what they’re looking for, or when to reach out. It’s up to you to guess.
Altss Difference: Mandate alerts, allocator news, predictive timing signals, and soon: a relationship graph (Q4 2025) that helps surface warm intro paths.
Pricing Model That Penalizes Teams
Dakota charges per user, plus add-ons for global data or family offices. A 1-person team could easily pay over $15,500 per year.
Altss Difference: $15,500 per year flat. Everything is included—mandates, contacts, filters, and future feature rollouts.
Altss: The Platform Built for IR Teams, Not Just Contact Lists
Altss was designed for one thing: turning data into capital. Unlike legacy directories, it’s built from the ground up for today’s lean IR and GP teams. Here’s what makes it different:
Intelligence-First
Altss doesn’t just give you contacts—it gives you context. Mandates, behavior-based alerts, allocator preferences, and geographic or sector trends are updated daily through OSINT tracking.
Verified, High-Quality Contacts
Altss verifies all LP contacts every 30 days and removes outdated entries. That means your email campaigns and outreach are tighter, faster, and more professional.
Full-Stack LP Intelligence
From discovery to qualification to engagement, Altss is your single source of truth. Use it to:
- Build investor lists
- Detect mandate openings
- Prioritize warm leads
- Monitor LP news
- Find relational paths for intros (coming Q4)
Built for the End User
Whether you’re a solo GP, a Head of IR at a fund manager, or a placement agent managing multiple mandates, Altss delivers a clean UI, fast filters, and export-ready lists. No Salesforce overlays. No guesswork.
Final Word: Dakota Lists. Altss Helps You Raise.
If your platform only shows you who exists, but not who’s moving, you’re already behind. Dakota is fine for pulling U.S. allocator lists—but it doesn’t help you fundraise strategically.
Altss gives you:
- Live LP signals
- Fully verified contacts
- Family office and HNWI access
- Real-time mandate tracking
- Predictive fundraising timing
In short: Altss connects the dots that Dakota doesn’t even track.
Request a Demo
To explore how Altss can support your next raise, visit altss.com and request a personalized walkthrough.
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