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Entrepreneurship: Funding Activities of Startups

This guide supports UCI’s innovation and entrepreneurship community by connecting users to relevant resources used to conduct research throughout the entrepreneurial process.
URL: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/entrepreneurship

Funding Databases

PitchBook *New!*
Access: UCI - Authorized Affiliates
Geography: US & Global
Data and research covering the private investment market, including venture capital, private equity, and M&A transactions. Information on companies, deals, investors, and funds. Use PitchBook to establish benchmarks, identify and analyze competitors, and search investor details. 

  • Users must create an account with their UCI email address. Download limits apply.


​Preqin
Access: UCI
Geography: US & Global
This resource encompasses all of Preqin's private equity and venture capital databases. It provides data on all aspects of the asset class, including fund terms and conditions, fundraising, fund managers, institutional investors, fund performance, deals and exits, service providers, and more. The earliest data tends to be back to the 1980's.

  • To search by company: Enter a company's name in the “Quick Search” bar at the top  >  Select company from results list  >   Click on “Deals Summary” in the top left corner 


S&P Capital IQ
Access: UCI - Authorized Affiliates
Geography: US & Global
A comprehensive company intelligence database, offering granular financial and capital structure information on millions of companies worldwide, including data and graphs for historic stock prices, searchable SEC filings, mergers & acquisitions activities, and venture capital/private equity data.  

  • Learn this search!  <<  premade screens (i.e., lists) for common PE/VC & investing topics
  • Learn this search!  <<  getting started on building a custom screen (i.e., list) of PE/VC transactions


​Crunchbase
Access: Public
Platform for finding investment and funding information for startup companies, executives, and investors. (The UCI Libraries do not have a license/subscription to this resource.)

Funding Activities of Startups

Startups are usually private companies, so they are not required to disclose financial information, including funding.

In addition to the funding databases to the left, here are additional sources for identifying a startup’s funding activity:

Press Releases and News

Companies often promote funding accomplishments by issuing press releases or news updates.

These can often be found on the company’s website or through online searches (e.g., “company name” AND funding).

Grant Awards

Many companies rely on funding from grants during the early stages of development.

Search for a company’s name in the Small Business Administration Awards Database (Access: Public) to retrieve information about SBIR and STTR grants they have received.

  • Searchable by: keyword, company name, or topic code.
  • Filter results by: sponsoring agency (e.g., the National Institutes of Health), phase, program, year, and state.

Crowdfunding Platforms

Companies may also take advantage of crowdsourced funding opportunities early on.

Try searching for a company’s name on various crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter (Access: Public), Indiegogo (Access: Public), or Wefunder (Access: Public) for information on funds raised.

SEC Form D Notices

Companies might offer to sell securities to a limited group of investors in what’s called a private placement offering (source).

  • Companies are required to file a Form D notice with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) within 15 days after the first sale of securities.
  • Note: Companies don’t always comply with this requirement, and the SEC does not enforce compliance.)
  • A Form D notice includes brief information about the company, its management and promoters, and the offering itself.

Search by company name in EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system) (Access: Public), the SEC database for filings and notices to see if the company filed a Form D notice. 

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