LibGuides: Toolkit for Entrepreneurship: Venture Capital/Private Equity

CB Insights

CB Insights (CBI) provides information about venture capital and angel investor-backed start-up companies, venture capital firms, angel investors, and transactions. It covers emerging industries such as fintech, AR/VR, and telehealth as well as start-up financing stages from seed to series E. CB Insights supplies research analysis feeds which examine areas of emerging start-ups and current investments. This database also includes an in-depth quarterly venture capital report.

To use CB Insights, you must register for an account.

You must use your IL e-mail address for the user name, then choose a password with at least 8 digits. Password sensitive. There is a slight onboarding process whereby CBI has a wizard set-up for industries or companies you would like to follow for interest or research.

Once you have registered, then you may login.

To login: http://cbinsights.com/login?university=uiuc

For help on navigating the platform (under Help ? on left navigation bar)

Video Tutorial on how to search for company transactions
Video Tutorial on how to search for investors by geography, industry, or financing
Video Tutorial on monitoring competitors and trends using patent analytics (advanced search)

Be mindful of downloading companies--it is best to work with the collections first before downloading. One has a limit of 5000 companies per researcher.

Pitchbook

Pitchbook This link opens in a new window
Search Pitchbook for information on venture capital and private equity companies, funds, limited partners, service providers, founders, investors and buyers. In many cases, Pitchbook provides information about deals and funding.

U of I users must create an account to use Pitchbook. Please click on the "Log In" button on the top right of the screen and then click on the "Log In with SSO" link below the gray log in button on the next screen.

Not available for non-U of I students, faculty, or staff.

Preqin

Preqin This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive private equity information including performance analyst, investor intelligence, and PC cash flow.

PrivCo

PrivCo This link opens in a new window
Database of financial data on major privately-held companies. Includes private financials and revenues; private M&A deals and deal multiples, private firm valuations, VC funding, private equity deal history; and private and family ownership data.
Note that all users must create an account using their University of Illinois email address to access this database.

Refinitiv Workspace

Refinitiv Workspace is available to current faculty, staff and students of Michigan State University for non-commercial, academic research.* Users are prohibited from using the database for internships and external employment. Users should also delete the content downloaded when your project is complete. See below for additional terms. By continuing to use this database, you are agreeing to accept these terms.

To access the database you must first create an account using your Illinois email address.

1. Go to the Registration Page. You’ll have to log in with your IL netid and password first. Once you're to the registration page, you'll need to create your account by entering your email address. Make sure to use your @illinois.edu email address.

2. You will receive an email asking you to verify your account. Check your spam or junk folder.

3. Then you will need to enter your name, your status (faculty/staff, undergraduate or graduate student). Product should be Workspace for Students. After reviewing the privacy statement, click the check box to agree and then click "Register Now"

4. You'll receive a welcome email that will give you access and allow you to see up your password. Just note that this email can take approximately 15-20 minutes to get to you, and you should check your spam or junk folder.

Step 2 To Sign In after you have an account, you have two options:

Option 1: Refinitiv Workspace Web Access: Sign in via a web browser. This works like other databases and will meet most needs. Data can be downloaded via Excel.

Option 2: Refinitiv Workspace Desktop Application: This is a special app you must install on your desktop/laptop. It provides an excel add-in. (Tutorial can be found here.)

You can find both options linked on this page or by clicking the Connect to Refinitiv Workspace links on this page.