Startups and Student Founders

Startups often have specialized information needs that require additional resources and search strategies. The library is here to help connect you to the information you need and save you time. We encourage you to schedule a one-on-one consultation with a member of our research team.

Email library@tech.cornell.edu to get a walk-through of any library resources or find out how the library can support you.

We are always happy to meet via Zoom and to address any questions you may have.

PitchBook

PitchBook

  • Pitchbook provides data covering the private equity space. Includes information on thousands of private equity and venture capital deals, investors, funds, LPs, and more.
  • Official source of data for the National Venture Capital Association.
  • Use PitchBook to establish benchmarks, find real time data on deals, identify and analyze comparables, and search investor details.
  • Use your Cornell email to log in with SSO. 

Top Library Resources

Industry Insights 

  • Frost & Sullivan – In-depth market research and strategy reports with European and global coverage of emerging technologies, including B2B spaces and growth opportunities. 
  • Technavio – Use Technavio when researching emerging and niche industries such as specialty chemicals, materials, health care, IT, energy, and more. Users can download up to 20 reports a month. 

Market Research 

  • Mintel Reports – Use when you need detailed market research from a variety of sectors, including consumer goods, travel and tourism, financial industry, internet industry, retail, and food & drink. You will need to create an account using your Cornell email address.
  • IBISWorld – Use when you need either full reports or one-page snapshots on industries in Canada, China, and the United States. Reports include industry performance, outlook, major companies, supply chain, demand drivers, cost structure, barriers to entry, and key statistics. You can get a good sense as to whether or not something is growing and the size of the companies involved.
  • Mergent Intellect – Navigate to the First Research reports to learn more about the industries that interest you. The Call Prep and Executive Insights sections are useful to prepare questions for both informationals and interviews.

Competitors 

  • LSEG Workspace – Get industry reports with information on companies in your space including profiles, R&D expenses, business segments, and SWOT analyses. 
  • Capital IQ – Use the powerful screening and charting features to create a list of competing firms or sizing your potential market. Pull financials on firms, deals, and markets.

Venture Capital Research 

  • PitchBook – Explore who is being funded, what types of technologies there are, news on the topics, as well as research reports. Includes investor and funds screening, market maps, emerging spaces, market analysis with analyst curated verticals. Official source of data for the National Venture Capital Association. Use your Cornell email address with the Log in with SSO option.
  • Note: Downloads are capped at 10 a day or 25 a month. Whichever is less. Accounts are purged each year on May 30th. Eligible users need to create a new account to regain access.

Associations

Professional and industry associations can be valuable sources of information. For example, when you need to find participants for customer discovery interviews, or to build a sales list or competitors list. Associations also publish reports and articles on topics of interest to their members, and these are sometimes available for free. 

Smarter Search Tips

Advanced Search in Google

  • Limit the site search to government and non-profit organizations using the keywords site:.gov or site:.org. 
  • Use the keyword filetype:pdf to restrict your results to PDFs only. This often helps surface high-quality sources like whitepapers and reports. 
  • Combine these tips to help you understand what associations, non-profits in the space, and researchers think about the space.

Google Scholar Results in the Cornell Library

In Google Scholar, go to Settings > Library Links and add Cornell University to your search. This will bring up links to the articles you have access to as a Cornell user. Install Access Anywhere to more easily connect to resources when you're away from the Tech campus. 

Entrepreneurship at Cornell List Serve

Link to join the email list: https://eship.cornell.edu/listserv/

Books to explore

Book Delivery

Did you know you can get books delivered to you at Tech? 

You can request print books from the Cornell University Library catalog by selecting “Request” in the book record. Select “Cornell Tech” for the campus delivery location. When the book arrives, it can be picked up at the Bloomberg Center security desk. Your book may also be returned at the Bloomberg Center security desk.