SJSU Research Guides: BUS5 182: Business Plans for New Ventures: Find an Entrepreneur

Locating an Entrepreneur

Often, this class requires that you locate and interview or shadow an entrepreneur. The library has resources to help you! Review the options below, or reach out to the subject librarian listed in the left nav panel of this page for assistance.

Searching Databases to Locate Entrepreneurs

PrivCo - for private company information (requires a San Jose Public Library card to access)
PrivCo is a database offered not by SJSU but by San Jose Public Library, which is open for all SJSU students. Apply for a card online, then access PrivCo to search private companies by location. Use the filter "Owner" to narrow down to entrepreneurs. PriviCo also has a filter for Ethnicity so you can locate entrepreneurs who have identified themselves as belonging to a particular community.
Reference Solutions Business Directory (formerly ReferenceUSA)
Reference Solutions Business Directory is a database offered not by SJSU but by San Jose Public Library, which is open for all SJSU students. Apply for a card online, then access Reference Solutions to search for all companies by location. Use the filter "Owner" to narrow down to entrepreneurs. See below for sample search screenshots.

Business Market Research Collection This link opens in a new window
Also known as Hoover's, you can use this database to locate company by location, size, industry, and other criteria to help you locate entrepreneurs.

Large, comprehensive business databases may take more time to search, but you may find local entrepreneurs by entering keywords such as entrepreneur and a particular city, market, or industry. Narrow to news articles for recent information and potential contacts.

ABI/INFORM This link opens in a new window
The ABI/INFORM Collection is comprised of ABI/INFORM Global, ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry, and ABI/INFORM Dateline. The collection features thousands of full-text journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals such as The Economist and Sloan Management Review, country-and industry-focused reports, and major news sources like the Wall Street Journal. Its international coverage gives researchers a complete picture of companies and business trends around the world. Also provides valuable historical perspective, with journals and other material dating back to the early 1900s.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
This database contains monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses, detailed author profiles and more. Indexing and abstracts for scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 are included.

Additional Resources for Locating Entrepreneurs

Other places to look for potential interview subjects:

SJSU Alumni Center
The SJSU Alumni Center regularly publishes online news stories of the achievements of Spartans, and also offers an extensive alumni network.
SJSU Career Center
The Career Center has a wide variety of resources to put you in touch with SJSU entrepreneurs!
EO - Entrepreneur Organization Silicon Valley
EO Silicon Valley is an organization for local entrepreneurs.
Desis of Silicon Valley Speak
Desis of Silicon Valley Speak is an oral history project created by Dr. Mantra Roy of the King Library. Five local entrepreneurs were interviewed for this project and have agreed to work with SJSU students if schedules permit. Students may reach out directly to them from this website.
Meet the San Jose man empowering immigrant businesses.
Hanson, N. (2022, June 29). Meet the San Jose man empowering immigrant businesses. San José Spotlight.

Preparing to Interview Your Entrepreneur

Before you reach out to a entrepreneur, you will want to be prepared so that you can conduct an informed interview. Here are some resources to access:

Industry background. Be current on your entrepreneur's industry by reading an industry report. This will give you important background on an industry's fluctuations, major players, supply chain, and forecasts. Here are two databases that can help you with that. Search on the industry by name or by NAICS code.

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
IBISWorld provides in-depth reports on over 700 industries. Each report consists of 30 to 40 pages of key statistics and analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, market size, market share of competitors, and industry growth rates. U.S. Specialized Industry Reports cover niche and emerging industries. Global Industry Reports provide world industry analysis. Subscription includes:

US Industry NAICS Reports
US Specialized Industry Reports
Global Industry Reports
California State Industry & Economic Reports
iExpert Report Summaries x2
Business Environment Reports.

ibis
Statista This link opens in a new window
Provides access to over 1 million statistics for these topics: industries; consumer goods; internet; media & advertising; retail & trade; sports & recreation; technology & telecommunications; transportation & logistics; and travel, tourism & hospitality. Also available are government statistics, such as unemployment rates, births, and deaths. For business research, outlook reports, market research reports, country reports, dossiers, surveys, and industry reports are available.

Enter your entrepreneur's name and company name in news sources to see what current announcements may be available. Is their company launching a new product? Acquiring another company? Has the entrepreneur won an award recently? You can find out by searching some news sources, such as:

Regional Business News This link opens in a new window
Business news from local English-language business journals, newspapers and newswires covering many metropolitan and rural areas within the United States and Canada.
San Jose Mercury News This link opens in a new window
This is the major newspaper in Silicon Valley. The link above provides free access to some current articles. Subscription access is available from Newsbank Mercury News Historical and Current (1884 to present). Access is also available from ProQuest Newsstand (2010 to 2016) and ProQuest Newsstream (2016-2019)
Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition) This link opens in a new window
detailed news and commentary on political, economic, and social issues worldwide affecting the world of business. Other editions available in the OneSearch Journals Index

Browse other sources to learn more about your entrepreneur. Look for biographical or current information from these sources:

OneSearch This link opens in a new window
OneSearch, the SJSU library catalog, lets you search for books, articles, media, journals, and more from across the CSU libraries, all in one unified search engine.

"About Us" or "Executive Team" on company website
The company's annual report
ReferenceUSA
This is a directory offered by San Jose Public Library. You can conduct an advanced search for owner/founders with many other filters, such as industry, zip code, size of company, etc.

Obtaining a card for the San Jose Public Library

All San Jose State community members are eligible to join the San Jose Public Library. After graduation, you can maintain your SJPL card as long as you have an address in the state of California.

To obtain an SJPL card, please refer to these steps and follow the instructions on the SJPL page, as their policies may change.

Go to sjpl.org at www.sjpl.org
Click on Get a Library Card.
Complete the online application for a library card.
At some point, you will need to show identification such as a passport or a driver's license at one of the SJPL locations. You can complete this at any SJPL branch or on the first floor of King Library.
Once you have your card, you will create a PIN and then be able to access all of SJPL's online resources.