Using the Internet to

Research Private Companies

August Jacksonaugust (at) augustjackson (dot) net

http://www.augustjackson.net@8of12

#sla2011ci

Our Approach

#sla2011ci

I need Competitor X’s

price list, customer list and

tax filings.

I need Competitor X’s

price list, customer list and

tax filings.

Decision-Focused Intelligence

#sla2011ci

I need Competitor X’s

price list, customer list and

tax filings.

I need Competitor X’s

price list, customer list and

tax filings.

I also need their CEO’s 4th grade report card, her

mother’s maiden name and the book report she wrote

on “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” in the

5th grade.

I also need their CEO’s 4th grade report card, her

mother’s maiden name and the book report she wrote

on “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” in the

5th grade.

Decision-Focused Intelligence

#sla2011ci

I need Competitor X’s

price list, customer list and

tax filings.

I need Competitor X’s

price list, customer list and

tax filings.

I also need their CEO’s 4th grade report card, her

mother’s maiden name and the book report she wrote

on “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” in the

5th grade.

I also need their CEO’s 4th grade report card, her

mother’s maiden name and the book report she wrote

on “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” in the

5th grade.

Decision-Focused Intelligence

#sla2011ci

I have an important

decision that I need to make.

I have an important

decision that I need to make.

Decision-Focused Intelligence

#sla2011ci

I have an important

decision that I need to make.

I have an important

decision that I need to make.

There are some things I need to understand about Competitor X to help me

make those decisions.

There are some things I need to understand about Competitor X to help me

make those decisions.

Decision-Focused Intelligence

#sla2011ci

Strategic PlanningPartnershipMergers & AcquisitionsBusiness DevelopmentResearch & DevelopmentProduct Development & Life CycleMarket Entry/ExitMarketing & Advertising PlanningTactical Sales Activity

Decisions Commonly Supported

#sla2011ci

Define KITs: Choosing Analytical Models

Which analytical

frameworks will we use?

Choose The Right Analytical Frameworks

#sla2011ci

Define KITs: Choosing Analytical Models

Match Analysis to Your Business Decision

Business and Competitive AnalysisBabette Bensousan and Craig Fleisher

Choose The Right Analytical Frameworks

#sla2011ci

Define KITs: Common Information Requirements

Product RevenuePricing

ProfitabilityMarket Share

StrengthsWeaknesses

Product RevenuePricing

ProfitabilityMarket Share

StrengthsWeaknesses

Marketing and SalesPartners

Current MarketsMarket Position

Marketing and SalesPartners

Current MarketsMarket Position

Supply ChainCapacityFacilities

EmployeesHiring

Supply ChainCapacityFacilities

EmployeesHiring

Likely StrategiesFinancial CapacityExecutive Decision-MakingIndustry TrendsOpportunitiesThreats

Likely StrategiesFinancial CapacityExecutive Decision-MakingIndustry TrendsOpportunitiesThreats

FinancialsOwnership

Legal and Regulatory

Kinds of Information Commonly Sought

#sla2011ci

Plan Research StrategyD

ata

Inte

lligence

PrimarySecondary

A Framework for Research Planning

#sla2011ci

Plan Research StrategyD

ata

Inte

lligence

PrimarySecondary

Internet research

Interviews

Verifiable answers direct from a single source

Diverse sources, analysis, varying levels of confidence

A Framework for Research Planning

#sla2011ci

Plan Research StrategyD

ata

Inte

lligence

PrimarySecondary

Hiring

Locations

Channels to Market

Current Markets

Company Revenue

Ownership

Legal

Regulatory

Industry Trends

Employees & Skills

Market Share & Position

Capacity

Opportunities & Threats

Product Revenue

Suppliers

Product Profitability

Supply Chain

Decision Making

Capacity to ActStrengths & Weaknesses

A Framework for Research Planning

#sla2011ci

Best Secondary Sources for Private Company Info

#sla2011ci

Our Use Case: Raynor Garage Door

Our use case: Raynor Garage Door

of Dixon, Illinois

Our Use Case

#sla2011ci

Premium Sources

#sla2011ci

Premium Sources

#sla2011ci

Company Web Site

DescriptionsOffices LocationsIdentified partnersExecutivesJob postingsPress releaseSales channelsCorporate history

Company Web Site

#sla2011ci

META Tags and Web Page Source Code

#sla2011ci

META Tags and Web Page Source Code

#sla2011ci

#sla2011ci

Link Analysis

http://www.siteexplorer.search.yahoo.comUse “link:” command in Google

PartnersDistributorsPhilanthropic venturesFormer employeesFansCriticsBloggersUser forumsNews coverage

Free and Easy-to-Use Link Analysis Tools

#sla2011ci

Legal and Regulatory Filings

• Regulatory Filings• Environmental• Employment• Building Permits• Export Permits• Shipping Records• Legal Filings and Decisions• Patents & Trademarks• Securities• Government contracts and proposals

Budget time and funds!

• Regulatory Filings• Environmental• Employment• Building Permits• Export Permits• Shipping Records• Legal Filings and Decisions• Patents & Trademarks• Securities• Government contracts and proposals

Budget time and funds!

Jurisdiction-Specific•National•State and provincial•City, county, municipal

Not all offices are Internet-ready, some may require an office visit

Search+jurisdiction+”public records”+”probate”+”legal records”

Directory of resources in the appendix

Jurisdiction-Specific•National•State and provincial•City, county, municipal

Not all offices are Internet-ready, some may require an office visit

Search+jurisdiction+”public records”+”probate”+”legal records”

Directory of resources in the appendix

Legal & Regulatory Filings

#sla2011ci

Legal and Regulatory Filings

#sla2011ci

#sla2011ci

#sla2011ci

#sla2011ci

Legal and Regulatory Filings

• Location openings• Site growth• Hiring & firing• Near-term activities• Changes in management• Industry position• Execute profiles• Company profiles

• Location openings• Site growth• Hiring & firing• Near-term activities• Changes in management• Industry position• Execute profiles• Company profiles

Location and industry specific

Search+city+”newspaper”

Search+industry+”journal”

Search+industry+product+technology+”association”+”society”

Location and industry specific

Search+city+”newspaper”

Search+industry+”journal”

Search+industry+product+technology+”association”+”society”

Local and Industry News Sources

#sla2011ci

Example of Local News Discovery

#sla2011ci

Example of Local News Discovery

#sla2011ci

Example of Local News DiscoveryLocal News Coverage

#sla2011ci

Industry Associations and Journals

#sla2011ci

Industry Associations and Journals

#sla2011ci

Industry Associations and Journals

#sla2011ci

Legal and Regulatory Filings

• Locations• Centralization• Employees’ skills• Outlines of organization charts• Targets for primary research• History of business initiatives• Perspectives of customers

Remember your ethics.Don’t be scary or pushy!

• Locations• Centralization• Employees’ skills• Outlines of organization charts• Targets for primary research• History of business initiatives• Perspectives of customers

Remember your ethics.Don’t be scary or pushy!

LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com

Ninghttp://www.ning.com

Industry-specific social networksSearch+industry+”social network”

Directory in the appendix

LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com

Ninghttp://www.ning.com

Industry-specific social networksSearch+industry+”social network”

Directory in the appendix

LinkedIn

#sla2011ci

People Search and Social Networks

#sla2011ci

People Search and Social Networks

#sla2011ci

People Search and Social Networks

#sla2011ci

Slideshare

#sla2011ci

People Search and Social Networks

#sla2011ci

People Search and Social Networks

#sla2011ci

#sla2011ci

Legal and Regulatory Filings

• New hiring• Skills sought• Location of new hires• Clues to expansion• Clues to new market entry• Clues to priorities• Postings reveal corporate culture

• New hiring• Skills sought• Location of new hires• Clues to expansion• Clues to new market entry• Clues to priorities• Postings reveal corporate culture

Leading general job sitesMonsterCareerBuilderYahoo JobsIndeed

Industry-specific job sitesSearch+industry+”job”+”career”

Pay attention to sponsored search results and ads when doing a jobs keyword search

Leading general job sitesMonsterCareerBuilderYahoo JobsIndeed

Industry-specific job sitesSearch+industry+”job”+”career”

Pay attention to sponsored search results and ads when doing a jobs keyword search

Job Sites

#sla2011ci

Use Google Maps for Location Details

• Street view or sky view

• Square footage• Number of parking

spaces suggests workforce size and capacity

• Appearance of buildings

• Vehicles in the lot• Street access• Utilities evident• Preparation for

location visit

Google Maps

#sla2011ci

Questions?

#sla2011ci

Appendix: Directory of Filings Databases

• Fuld & Co. on-line resources:– http://www.fuld.com/fuld-bin/f.wk?fuld.i3.home

• BRB Publications Free Resource Center– http://www.brbpub.com/freeresources/pubrecsites.aspx?h=1

• State and Local Government on the Net (US)– http://www.statelocalgov.net

• Virtual Gumshoe (US)– http://www.virtualgumshoe.com/resources/

• International Organization of Securities Commissions– https://www.iosco.org/lists/display_members.cfm?memID=1&orderBy=none

#sla2011ci

Appendix: Directory of Newspapers and Industry Journals and Organizations

• Google News– http://news.google.com

• NewsVoyager– http://www.newspaperlinks.com

• BizJournals (US city-specific business journals)– http://www.bizjournals.com

• Scirus Scientific Journal Directory– http://www.scirus.com/

• Google Scholar– http://scholar.google.com

#sla2011ci

Appendix: People Search Engines

• Pipl: http://www.pipl.com• Spock: http://www.spock.com/• 123people: http://www.123people.com/• Yo Name: http://www.yoname.com/

• Masters of Criminal Justice Web Directory of People Search Engines– http://www.mastersincriminaljustice.com/blog/2009/50-best-people-

search-engines-to-track-down-anyone/

#sla2011ci