Home - ENT 227K - Entrepreneurship in the Not-for-Profit Environment

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We’ve done our best to select the most pertinent materials for these Course Resources pages, but if these are not helping with your topic/project, we encourage you to use the Schedule an Appointment link in the Profile box on this page.

Resurces for this class

All Purpose Search Tips for Simon Students
This is a quick handout of research and search strategies for databases, suitable for all situations. Take a moment to review it!

Let's start with some background:

This link will generate a list of books about non-profit or not for profit entrepreneurship
...many of them are electronic, no trip to the library necessary.
More possibilities: a big list of 'social entrepreneurship' books/ebooks

Here are some specific examples:

Social Entrepreneurship by Terri D. Barreiro
ISBN: 9781606495179
Publication Date: 2013-08-30
Strategy Making in Nonprofit Organizations by Jyoti Bachani; Mary Vradelis
ISBN: 9781606493861
Publication Date: 2012-12-10
A Primer on Sustainability by Ronald Whitfield; Jeanne McNett
ISBN: 9781606496350
Publication Date: 2013-11-30
Green Technologies and Business Practices by Patricia Ordóñez de Pablos
ISBN: 9781466619722
Publication Date: 2012-08-31

So you have an idea. You might want to find out more about the "space" in which your idea/business fits - i.e., do some industry research. Especially for this class, the "Trends" part of Mintel should be very useful!

Mintel Reports+Trends This link opens in a new window
In-depth market research & trends reports. Consumer products focus: brands/products, lifestyles, some finance & tech. US & Europe. The finance and culture & identity modules contain finance, sustainable consumer, and diversity, equity & inclusion reports. Each user must create a personal account using a UR email address.
Trends module adds analysis of consumer trends & how they align with business applications.
FirstResearch This link opens in a new window
Includes industry reports for consumer products, technology, and most U.S. industries.
IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Industry research reports; US & Global. Search by keyword or NAICS code. Market size, competitors, forecasts, valuation, & more. Includes Industry Wizard. The U.S. Spotlight Industry Report collection offers titles focused on ultra-niche industry categories that feature insights in condensed format focused on providing more charts, tables, and graphs
MarketLine GlobalData Intelligence Centers This link opens in a new window
This database provides access to Industry (reports by country), Company, and Country reports, plus Company News, Financial Deals, and Case Studies, Market size, segmentation, competition, and forecasts. MarketLine Explorer capitalizes on actionable intelligence spanning 22 global industries. Combining macroeconomic data and information on thousands of companies, Explorer offers detailed coverage of the global trends that are shaping industries, impacting companies, and driving innovation.
At the login screen, click on IP Access.
Additional modules within MarketLine:
Financial Deals Tracker: Track market activity with MarketLine's database of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity deals, venture finance deals, private placements, IPOs, and partnerships.
Company Prospector: Screen companies and build lists of potential business partners, clients, and investment targets in industries and countries of interest.
Investment & Advisory Prospector: Identify advisory & investment firms operating in specific industries, and gain insight into the investment and inorganic strategy of companies.
Company Report Generator: Generate fresh custom company reports featuring analytical text and charts which draw on MarketLine's company datasets. Example sections include company overview, history, SWOT analysis, M&A, partnerships and agreements, news and product information.
Gartner This link opens in a new window
Contains reports on the IT industry and the impact of IT on businesses. Search by market, topic, or industry.

eBooks on Social Media market research
Quick and easy way to get a sense of the wealth of electronic books available to you on all aspects of social media as a market research tool.
All Industry & Market Research Databases
Use this link to get to a complete list of all the databases available for industry and market research.

You might also want to figure out if there are any companies already doing what you're thinking of, or something close to it. The following databases are listed in order of company *size* that they cover: from smallest to largest.

CB Insights This link opens in a new window
Private company and investor database: deals, financing, M&As. Search by funding round or amount, location, name, industry, etc.
Each user must create a login using a UR email address.
PrivCo This link opens in a new window
Private company profiles and financial data (revenue, income statement, balance sheet, etc.), venture capital funding deals and investors, M&A, more.
Each user must create a login using a UR email address.
Yes – you CAN get financial data for private companies! Also very useful for creating lists of companies by geography, industry – with more granular detail than by NAICS or SIC, although those are available as well – rate of growth in revenue or employees, and whether or not the companies are PE/VC backed or not. Useful for career searches or entrepreneurial searches (who else makes this product? How many [x] are located within 50 miles of [place]? Etc.)
Reference Solutions via Data Axle This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive company/residential directory; build lists using 30 variables or Map Based Search. Includes consumer demographics and historical business data.
Reference Solutions is a series of databases from Data Axle, the largest business and residential data compiler in the US. Data is updated on a monthly basis and telephone verified for accuracy, and geocoded. Users can build lists of companies using more than 30 selections such as geography, industry, and employee size. Users can pinpoint their geographical parameters using Reference Solutions' Map Based Search feature which allows radii and polygons to be formed, allowing for the study of very specific areas. Data breakdowns can also be viewed in exportable graphs, charts and heat maps. Plus, the U.S. Historical Businesses database provides 10 years of historical data. Reference Solutions also maintains a database for US Consumers to allow the study of consumer demographics compiled at the individual level. The new US Jobs database is updated hourly with content on current job and internship postings.
OneSource This link opens in a new window
20M+ companies, US/int’l; financials, SWOT analysis, analyst reports, news articles. Search by region, sector, business size, more

Tweezing market or industry research information out of articles

If you can't find a report specifically on your company/product/industry in our market and industry research databases, you may have to comb the article databases for articles about your company/product/industry, and scan them for data: a statistic here, a percentage there. Yeah, I know, it's a lot more work! Here are your 4 best bets for business articles, in the order in which I would try them:

ABI/INFORM Complete This link opens in a new window
Articles from academic business journals and business trade publications; plus industry reports, some market data, and company profiles from the Experian Commercial Risk database.
For alumni access, see link to Proquest Alumni Edition on the Alumni Library Gateway.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Contains articles, company and industry reports, marketing reports, and country reports. Includes Harvard Business Review.
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Contains articles on business, news, and companies worldwide, current and historical financial quotes, and company profiles.

Factiva Search Tips
Improve your search experience in Factiva with these useful tips. Really. You NEED to look at this, trust me!

Business Plans Handbook This link opens in a new window
Includes templates for business plans for start-up companies in a wide range of U.S. industries
Entrepreneurship This link opens in a new window
To get to the business plan samples, after connecting, click "Browse" in the series of links just below the database name, then scroll down to "Start-up Tools" on the Browse page.
Click the Browse option to access these specific topics: Business Cases; Business Plan Samples; Business Start-Up; Company Profiles; Funding Sources; Guides, Templates and Tools; Legal Issues; Management and Leadership; Marketing and Sales; Operations Management; Profit and Financial Management; Product Development and Management; Special Topics; and Tips and Advice video clips.

Business Plan Books
This link takes you to a list of books on business plans - many of them are electronic; no trip to the library necessary.

Also of interest...

Crowd Funding Info Site
Learn about all the crowd funding options out there, and figure out which is right for your project.

Foundation Directory This link opens in a new window
Information on private grant-making foundations, community foundations, operating foundations, and corporate grant makers.
To use off campus, use VPN.
Records include entries from the following Foundation Center print publications: The Foundation Directory, The Foundation Directory, part 2, New York State Foundations, Guide to U.S. Foundations, and National Directory of Corporate Giving. Principal sources of information are voluntary reports by many grant makers directly to the Foundation Center and information obtained from public information returns (990's)filed each year with the Internal Revenue Service by private foundations. Updated monthly, the directory contains information about the largest public and private foundations in the U.S. and links to foundation web sites.

Financing New Ventures : an entrepreneur's guide to business angel investment by Geoffrey Gregson
ISBN: 9781606494738
Publication Date: 2014-01-31

Just a few of our many resources for statistical data, in order from "most local and focused" to "most wide-ranging and possibly odd."

Statista This link opens in a new window
A data aggregation platform with statistics, facts, and market data in a wide range of topic areas.
Downloadable in JPG, XLS, and PPTP.

American FactFinder - from the US Census
Easy-to-use, great source for demographic data for the national down to the neighborhood block level.

ProQuest Statistical Insight This link opens in a new window
US and international statistics. Includes full text statistical tables and abstracts of additional statistical sources.
Covers material in American Statistics Index (ASI), Index to International Statistics (IIS) and Statistical Reference Index (SRI). Googling for material not in full text in the database works quite well.

More Sources for Business Statistics
For more resources, including sources of international and trade data, visit this page.

Entrepreneurship This link opens in a new window
Contains market reports, articles, business plans, business cases, and sample templates and forms needed by entrepreneurs.
Click the Browse option to access these specific topics: Business Cases; Business Plan Samples; Business Start-Up; Company Profiles; Funding Sources; Guides, Templates and Tools; Legal Issues; Management and Leadership; Marketing and Sales; Operations Management; Profit and Financial Management; Product Development and Management; Special Topics; and Tips and Advice video clips.
Entrepreneurship Essential Topics This link opens in a new window
Readings, reports, & predefined search macros for the most important topics in entrepreneurship: start-up, funding, legal etc.
List of topics: Business Cases; Business Plan Samples; Business Start-Up; Company Profiles; Funding Sources; Guides, Templates and Tools; Legal Issues; Management and Leadership; Marketing and Sales; Operations Management; Profit and Financial Management; Product Development and Management; Special Topics; and Tips and Advice video clips. (whew)

Guide to Entrepreneurship Resources
An even more exhaustive (if possible) page of links to databases and websites related to E-ship.
UR Center for Entrepreneurshp Resources Lists
Community, Business, Funding, International Business, and Teaching/Research Resources.

Business Librarian

Kathy Wu

Email Me

Contact:

585-273-5322
I am available for one-on-one virtual consultation through Zoom.

I also hold office hour on Mondays from 2 PM to 3 PM in the Gleason Hall Room 330. Walk-ins are welcome.

Zoom meeting only by appointment at https://rochester.zoom.us/my/kathywu

ENT 227K - Entrepreneurship in the Not-for-Profit Environment: Home

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