This guide is designed to support the creation of your list of competitors for your biomedical innovation. Below you will find resources and tips to find publicly traded companies as well as startup companies in your space.

To the left you will also find navigation links to further resources on reading annual reports, finding health statistics, and searching the traditional biomedical literature. These won't be covered in the workshop, but you can contact Entrepreneurship Librarian Carey Toane at carey.toane@utoronto.ca if you have any questions about these resources.

Book a 30-minute market research consultation with Carey on Calendly.

Before the workshop, please do the following IN YOUR TEAMS:

1. Review the JPM300 modules on Literature Searching and Market Research on Quercus. I have pulled the most important elements into the "JPM400 Market Research Concepts Refresh" on the Assignments page
2. Download the pre-workshop worksheet and complete steps 1 and 2. We will complete step 3 in class together.
3. Download a Petal Diagram template (ppt format) from http://thefunkstop.com/petal-diagram-template/

Also, please EVERYONE set up a free PitchBook account using your utoronto.ca email address via the link below as we will be using PitchBook during the session.

Because there are no disclosure requirements for private companies, it can be difficult to find any information about them. 

Your best bet is to cast as wide a net as possible, using the following search strategies:

1. Do a news search (using a database like ABI/Inform, Business Source Premier or Factiva) to find mainstream or trade articles about the company.
2. Google - Check the company website, LinkedIn page, press releases, blogs, etc. See the Web Research Tips page
3. Contact us if you're really stuck.

Federal securities laws require public companies to disclose information on an ongoing basis. This means the public can access financial and other information on the open web. Proprietary databases take this information, analyze and repackage it into (sometimes) a more accessible format.

Select from the resources below to find company profiles or annual reports and audited financial statements.

Find out if a company is public or private using Bloomberg's or Yahoo Finance's quote lookup tool.

Get help finding and understanding public company annual reports and filings.

Stuck? Can't find anything in the recommended databases above? Try these options, many of which are also linked in the navigation on this guide.

Review your keywords and re-evaluate based on what you've found.

Industry reports often have lists of companies to get you started.

Make note of industry classification codes on databases like Mergent to find like companies, often at a broad level.

Advanced Google searching can produce leads and confirm assumptions by referring to company press releases, etc..

Find out if a company is public or private using Bloomberg's or Yahoo Finance's quote lookup tool.

Check the regulators (e.g. Health Canada) as they often have lists like this one of companies with approved COVID tests. Government data like large social survey (census) data is typically available online.

Consider searching the traditional biomedical literature or grey literature for researchers who may have spinoffs or sell technologies.

Need a definition of an unfamiliar business term? Try the Investopedia online dictionary.