My Analysis of CrunchBase

What is Crunchbase?

Accurate, deep data with the ability to deliver high-potential, high-quality leads and analysis

Who uses Crunchbase?

• Investors
  • Investigation:
    • new companies
    • new people
    • companies that raised money
    • companies that recently failed
    • companies that hired new people
• Entrepreneurs
  • Investigation:
    • Locate investors that are investing in your specific industry, product, services, location, etc.
• Business Development Teams
  • Investigation:
    • Find connections
    • Find companies
    • Find competitors
    • Find licensed investors

Why Crunchbase?

• Customized Searches
• Data analysis tools to glean the information you are looking for
• Customizable email alerts to keep you in the know and finger to the pulse of the business economy
• Over 1 million users per week and fastest growing of it’s kind

Crunchbase’s Mission in a Nutshell

The definitive business intelligence platform where professional communities document the connections between investors, companies, products and people.

A Global one-stop-shop for data, trends and analysis tools.

Crunchbase’s advantage to the Commercial Real Estate & Crowdfunding

• Quantifying Startups and Founders:
• Integrating Analytics into Investment Thesis
• Quantifying Services
• New Investment Vehicles built on data
• Because the SEC allows open solicitation as of 2012, Crunchbase opens a world of potential investors to one seeking funding from qualified investors
• Evaluate traction
• Evaluate competitors

Crunchbase’s advantage to the Small to Medium Business

• No need for a data analytics team
• Find qualified investors easier
• Global data at your fingertips
• Customizable searches to get to your local level, interest, business size
• Gauge your competition and evaluate their movements, both financially and growth-wise

Crunchbase’s Competition

• Angellist
• F6s
• Owler
• Mattermark
• CB Insights
• Datafox
• Traxen
• Funderbeam
• Sourcinno

 

It’s That Right Place, Right Time Concept

Still think that social media is a waste of time for your CRE business? Newsflash – Social selling is a great way to build rapport, engaging with potential clientele or resources to get you to those people, developing clout and credibility by sharing your market expertise and is a great platform to showcase opportunities within your market area.

When you can catch them during the “still conceptualizing my vision” phase, but they’ve already at least developed their business plan, you are golden. You the commercial real estate professional can guide them through the process now that they have a definitive plan on paper.

Another advantage of social media is that it is non-evasive. By now the one billion Facebook users and 645,750,000 Twitter users are accustomed to minor blurbs of communication injected into their workday. It is S.O.P. (standard operating procedure) at this point. Your interjections, if executed well, are seen as both a pleasant diversion and a necessary function to keep one’s awareness of local markets and business current. You have become a local resource and knowledge-base. It’s not “in-your-face” as some marketing that you’ve experienced that makes you want to hang up, block or take your name off the list, but it does truly have “in-your-face” visibility and notability. If you are congenially interacting and not always “on the sell”, you will build community and hold followers better.

These days everyone with a wi-fi connection seems to prefer “kicking the tires” online and doing as much research on the interweb before making purchases, making decisions, even the ones you are required to make in person.

Pulse your posts – timeliness is crucial. Be relevant and current and professional with a touch of humanness. You are a person, right? You have a life beyond commercial real estate….at least I hope you do. Be personable without getting personal. Develop your own Social Community and allow it to work for you as you do your part. Track your results and you may find the ROI is surprising.

They always say you have to go where the opportunities are…it’s that right place, right time concept.