Research Guides: ESBM 3700 Entrepreneurial Environment: Local Business Research

Ask A Business Librarian

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Looking for Competitors

IBISWorld will answer the majority of your competitor questions such as:

How difficult is it to enter this market?
Is competitive rivalry intense?
What are typical costs associated with doing business in this industry?

If you are looking more data on some of your competitors or need very local data (eg. restaurants, retail shops, etc.), try the sources below.

Large Companies

Mergent Online
If you have a large competitor in mind, look at the Company Financials tab within that company's page to see that company's financials and ratios.
PrivCo
If your competitors are privately held or have VC funding, use PrivCo. Must have a valid user@colorado.edu email to access content at site (create a free account to do so).

Local Companies

Reference Solutions
If you have a target location in mind, use the US Businesses portion of this database to view all the competitors in the area. This video explains how.

Boulder Business

Considering Boulder for your venture? The Boulder Economic Council has lots of facts about doing business in Boulder.

Find a snapshot of Boulder's demographic makeup, or download the BEC Market Profile for more detail.

Be sure to look at the business section of the Daily Camera, the Denver Business Journal and BizWest for news and research about local businesses and businesspeople.

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by Business Librarians Last Updated Feb 12, 2025 559 views this year

Image Credits

A strip mall section in the 29th Street retail center by Hustvedt CC BY-SA 3.0