Author: Viral

Database of the Month: PrivCo

Viral

PrivCo is an indispensable tool for company and industry research.  Its primary focus is on private, public, and foreign companies in specialized industries like On-Demand Services, e.g. Grubhub, DoorDash, or Transferwise.    

What sets it apart from other company directories are the up-to-date funding and M&A histories, which are cross-listed with company and investor profiles directly on PrivCo. 

company profile for GrubHub

The company overviews are concise and state the company’s business and all the industries it operates in.  Furthermore, the organization information is current and accurate.  For example, Takeaway.com BV, a Dutch online food delivery marketplace, bought Grubhub in June 2020.  Accordingly, PrivCo gives Takeaway.com BV as its parent.  In other company directories, Grubhub Inc. is still given as the parent.  Former names are given too, e.g. Grubhub Seamless, which aid in researching the company history on our other databases such as Nexis Uni.

Industry classifications do not capture the dynamism of companies operating across boundaries.  To that end, PrivCo traces connections between companies through its crowdsourced keywords describing the new demands and opportunities companies are pursuing.  In one snapshot, the keywords capture the diversity of a company like Amazon and link you to its competitors. 

industry description and keywords for Amazon

Those same keywords can also be your starting point to find companies and investors on PrivCo.  In the Search feature, you can look up existing keywords for those entities.  The Search feature also allows you to select specialized industries, focus on specific geographic regions, and specify ranges for revenue, revenue growth, employees, employee growth, funding, and founding years.  You can also limit your search to companies backed by Private Equity or Venture Capital. 

PrivCo search feature

Below the Search feature, A 100+ page Knowledge Bank lays out important industry terms and meanings for you to interpret content.  Above the Search feature, PrivCo’s Dashboard you can view updates for M&A deals, funding, and specialized industries. 

PrivCo dashboard

Industry convergence defines business today, and PrivCo is the tool to learn about the companies making it happen. 

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to useful library databases, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of these resources for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Database of the Month: BioCentury

Viral

Five BioCentury publications are available to you through the library: BioCentury, BioCentury Innovations, BioCentury Extra, and BioCentury Weekly. Interdisciplinary, industry relevant, and unique, the content is created by BioCentury Analysts and commands steep prices as Business Intelligence, not only in BioPharma, but in any activity where science, technology, and commerce meet. Learn about how Machine Learning and VC Funding is speeding up drug development and time to market, new reimbursement methods lowering costs of drugs for insurers, and the political and business interests driving this innovation, several months before you read about it in The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. 

In fact, BioCentury publications focus on the innovation ecosystem by covering the entire value chain of pharmaceuticals, from human biology and research, to drug development and manufacturing, to regulation and patient outcomes. Boston is one of the two top Biotech hubs (the other San Francisco) and anyone looking to take advantages of the opportunities offered in this area should make BioCentury their daily reading since it’s what senior executives, investors, and policy makers base their decisions on.

Excerpt:

The publications are made more navigable through categories that take you directly to articles relevant to your need or interest.

You can easily access the library’s BioCentury publications by using the link on our Databases A-Z page.  Do not sign in or pay for content unless you wish to purchase it for sharing and download. 

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to a useful website or Library database, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of this resource for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Database of the Month: Nexis Uni

Viral

Aggregating a wide range of content, all from credible sources in news, law, and industry, Nexis Uni is essential when researching global and regional newsworthy events, U.S. State and Federal law, and U.S. and foreign business.  Formerly Lexis Nexis Academic, Nexis Uni features a new interface and enhanced functionality designed with input from students and researchers enabling you to quickly and effectively discover, collect, and organize information.   

A good example is the highlighted text search, which makes the text of any document you find within Nexis Uni an entry point to related documents.  With your mouse, highlight text, then copy or add the text to take your search in another direction:

The option to save items to a personal Nexis Uni account, Drop Box, or Google Drive, allows you to gather and organize documents first so that you can easily find and read them later.

You may also register for a personal account which lets you customize your search experience and which lets you create alerts notifying you of content added to Nexis Uni which include search terms you specify:

For legal research, use “Get a Doc Assistance” located on the main search page.  This feature enables you to obtain documents by creating the appropriate legal citation according to content type and jurisdiction and to find cases by party names or by docket number. 

Go to Nexis Uni from the link provided for Lexis Nexis Academic on the libraries Databases A-Z page to take advantage of this valuable resource for your assignment, research, or curiosity. 

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to a useful website or Library database, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of this resource for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.