I know so much of a searcher's time centers on finding targets. No list will be perfect when downloaded from Grata, ZoomInfo, etc and some clean-up is needed, whether by the searcher or helper (interns). I love to get thoughts on 3 things to make it easier and faster:

- Making sure that the target is independent: Besides visiting its website, is there any easy way to make sure the target is not already owned by a PE shop, a nonprofit, or a subsidiary? I have found that transactional data can help with this but is not perfect. Is there a better way?

- Finding out who the owner(s) is. I know a website can help but not always and it is so manual. I have found that sometimes going to state incorporation documents as a source. Are there any other ideas?

- Does anyone ever track news about companies? I am curious once they are on your list, do you stay current with public information on their hiring, launches, etc.

I am happy to talk offline and share strategies if others are interested in these questions and any way to improve and streamline the process of outreach. Thanks all,

Marc