What are your go-to industry data + sources?
August 13, 2024
by a searcher from Florida State University - College of Business in Nashville, TN, USA
I'm still learning and early to the process, and would love to know what kind of data you guys use to drive decisions - ex: market concentration, owner demographics, geographical concentrations, etc. What indicators have you all found useful to your search when deciding if a specific industry might present a unique opportunity?
Also, what are some of the sources you've found reliable, affordable data analysis and industry reporting?
from The University of Michigan in Bonita Springs, FL, USA
1. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/ (free);
2. Dun & Bradstreet https://www.dnb.com/products/marketing-sales/dnb-hoovers/research-and-reports.html (free trial);
3. U.S. Census Bureau https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/current-industrial-reports.html (free);
4. U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis https://www.bea.gov/data/economic-accounts/industry (free)
from University of New Haven in Cromwell, CT, USA
That is a pretty broad spectrum of information you may want to seek. The starting point is as Luke suggests is IBISWorld. One of the best sources of information you mention is Pitchbook followed by Crunchbase.
Driving a bit down I suggest a web search of research firm that produce industry specific reports - a lot of content is abbreviated but can assist.
I also suggest industry associations - some have free info - but others you either pay or need membership. The financial data can be very helpful in some industries from this source.