Best practice

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March 14, 2023

by a searcher from California State University, Long Beach in Las Vegas, NV, USA

Best practices/resources for researching an industry you know nothing about?! Thanks

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Reply by a searcher
from The University of Michigan in Rapid City, SD, USA
It would probably be best to start organized and have an outline/roadmap of what you need to understand about the industry (biz model canvas, a checklist of key characteristics you want to learn about, etc). Day one, I'll start pretty high level and review whatever industry reports are available to understand the big blue arrows and speak somewhat intelligently about the industry. Then, start networking. Reach out to operators, employees, and advisors in the space and just set up calls. You could look up people here on Searchfunder, LinkedIn, industry organizations, and authors/teachers. Example, one time I was trying to learn about credit scoring/loan underwriting and found a technical manual on how to build lending models. I reached out to the author on LinkedIn and he became an incredibly valuable resource on the entire industry.

You'll learn something in each of those calls. Keep yourself organized and prioritize what you need to pull the string on next. Just keep pulling the string until you're satisfied with your understanding.
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Reply by a professional
from Villanova University in West Chester, PA, USA
I would work with advisors that are familiar with the industry, as well as doing your own research. That way you are becoming more and more informed over time, but you limit your exposure due to what you don't know.
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