Search Funds

Using library databases it is possible to create a list of privately owned companies within a certain geography and industry.  For a search fund, it is best to cast a wide net and get a large list of companies that you can then narrow down further as you progress in your search.

Company Lists

Infogroup US Historical Business Data

Annual, geo-coded records of United States businesses and other organizations from 1997-2023. Records include company information such as contact information, industry description, annual revenues, number of employees, and year established. Each annual file consists of a snapshot of InfoGroup's data as of the last day of each year, creating a time series of data. Access via WRDS platform - individual account required.

Dun & Bradstreet Private Company Listings

A database that provides access to more than 45 years of private company listings. Content includes sales figures, employee counts, SIC Codes, addresses and family tree. Individual account required.

Orbis

Global company database unique in its breadth of geographies and extent of companies covered as well as availability  of private company financial information.

PPP loan data

The SBA has a dataset available related to the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program. Includes company address information, NAICS code, loan amount, and other information. Click through to "all loan data", see data dictionary for available data types and descriptors. 

Industry Research

Consult the list of library databases that cover industries and market research reports to learn more about a particular business you may be interested in, specifically:

• IBISWorld and S&P’s Net Advantage are good resources to start for industry overviews. 

• IBISWorld also includes the Industry Wizard tool, allowing for a narrowing of industries by a number of measures - performance (ex. revenue growth), risk ratings, competitive landscape, operating conditions and more. 

• OpenCorporates provides access to standardized, auditable legal-entity information direct from official primary sources across 140+ jurisdictions.

• American City Business Journals can provide information about the number and types of companies in a given city. 

• Factiva and Business Source Complete can be used to search news, industry, and academic sources for industry and company information and trends.

• Stanford Search Fund Primer and Studies - the Stanford Center for Entrepreneurial Studies has conducted a series of studies going back to 1996. The search fund primer is often cited by those interested in starting a search fund.