How To Find Companies With Pitchbookl

Everyone knows about Google or Apple. But, if you are a freshman, sophomore, or just don’t have a lot in the experience department, these big companies might be out of reach.  We want to provide a method to find other companies that offer just as great of experiences and are far more accessible.

Pitchbook is a software used by business professionals for research. It has the financials of millions of private companies. And, it is the key to finding companies to work at. What companies work best for you is discussed in The 4 Year Plan. If you go to Berkeley you get access to the software for free!!! If you don’t go to Berkeley, check to see if your school gives you access.

7 Steps

TIME OUT, You have created an account and are now using the service, but we want to pause here and give you some suggestions.

• Ownership Status - “Privately Held (Backing)” selects companies that have raised money from venture capital or other investors. These tend to be fast-moving companies that need to go big and either be acquired or IPO. They are a great place to work because you will get lots of hands-on work and interns get a lot of responsibility.

• Location - Interning near home or school can be key to reducing living costs. I highly recommend doing this if you are working at a small company that doesn’t pay a super high hourly rate.

• Deal Size - If you are looking for your first internship entering $1-10 million is a great idea. These will be companies with 10-30 employees and will desperately need an intern. If you have some experience and are looking for a slightly larger company, “$10-100 million” makes sense. These companies may have an actual recruiter but will still have the small startup feel. Finally, if you are looking for a large company that may have decent stock upside when you graduate, “$100-1000 million” can make sense. Remember this is how much money they raised during their last financing raise, not the evaluation of the company.

• Deal Date - Choose a date range in the last 3 years. Otherwise, the company may not still be around.

• Industries - This is totally up to you. What industries excite you?! Common answers can be aerospace, automotive, and bioengineering.

YOU HAVE MADE IT. You now have a list of companies that hit your criteria!!! They will be sorted alphabetically, so the names at the top aren’t necessarily the best. Instead, expand the window and investigate. Also, look them up on the internet and get a running list of companies that excite you. Then follow our LinkedIn Trojan Horse guide to get an interview!