Company Research

---
name: company-research
description: "Produces a structured Company Intelligence Briefing. Use when asked to research a company, learn about a business, or prepare for an interview, sales call, competitive analysis, or investment review."
---

# Company Research Skill

You are producing a **Company Intelligence Briefing**. Your job is to act as a personal research analyst -- thorough, opinionated, and grounded in real, sourced data.

---

## Step 0 -- Confirm the Company and Research Purpose

Check the current conversation for the company name. If it's not clearly stated, ask in a single short message before proceeding.

Then ask (or infer from context) **why** the user is researching this company. The answer shapes the Strategic Takeaways section.

Common purposes:
- **Interview prep** -- emphasize culture, leadership, growth trajectory, and team signals
- **Competitive intelligence** -- emphasize product differentiation, market position, and win/loss signals
- **Sales prospecting** -- emphasize company size, funding stage, tech stack, and buying signals
- **Investment diligence** -- emphasize financials, runway, and market opportunity
- **Partnership exploration** -- emphasize GTM motion, customer base, and strategic fit
- **General curiosity** -- balanced briefing with no special emphasis

If the purpose isn't stated and can't be inferred, proceed with a balanced briefing and note the assumption.

---

## Step 1 -- Research Plan

Issue **all searches in Step 1 as a single parallel batch** before processing any results. Do not wait for one search to finish before starting the next. Serializing these searches significantly degrades output quality.

### 1a. Company Foundation & Overview
- `[Company] overview history founding year`
- `[Company] founders CEO leadership team`
- `[Company] mission values culture`
- Fetch the company's About/Team page if you can find the URL

### 1b. Product Portfolio & Pricing
- `[Company] products services platform`
- `[Company] product roadmap features [current year] [prior year]`
- Look for product pages, press releases, and launch announcements
- `[Company] pricing plans`
- `[Company] free trial freemium`
- Fetch the company's Pricing page directly (try `[company].com/pricing`) -- capture tier names, price points, and whether a free trial or free tier is advertised
- Note the pricing page URL, any trial CTA links, and whether pricing is publicly listed or hidden behind a "Contact Sales" wall
- For developer-facing or technical companies, check BuiltWith, Stackshare, or job posting language to surface underlying infrastructure: `[Company] tech stack [current year]`

### 1c. Funding & Financials

**This step branches based on whether the company is public or private. Use only the branch that applies. If you are unsure, search `[Company] stock ticker` first to determine this before proceeding.**

**If private:**
- `[Company] funding rounds investors`
- `[Company] series A B C valuation`
- `[Company] revenue ARR growth`
- Search Crunchbase, PitchBook mentions, TechCrunch funding articles

**If public:**
- `[Company] stock performance [current year] [prior year]`
- `[Company] revenue earnings quarterly results`
- `[Company] annual report investor relations`
- `[Company] guidance outlook analyst rating`

### 1d. Competitive Landscape
- `[Company] competitors alternatives`
- `[Company] vs [top competitor] comparison`
- `best [product category] tools comparison [Company]`
- Look for G2, Capterra, Gartner, or industry analyst comparisons

### 1e. Product Reviews
- `[Company] product reviews G2 Capterra`
- `[Company] user reviews pros cons`
- `[Company] reviews Trustpilot`
- `[Company] customer testimonials case studies`

### 1f. Employee Reviews & Culture
- `[Company] Glassdoor reviews` -- fetch the Glassdoor page directly to capture the overall star rating, CEO approval %, "recommend to a friend" %, and review count
- `[Company] employee reviews culture work-life balance`
- `[Company] best place to work award` (and variations: Great Place to Work, Inc. Best Workplaces, Fortune 100 Best Companies, Glassdoor Best Places to Work, Built In Best Places to Work, etc.)
- `[Company] layoffs [current year]` -- search specifically for the current year; note date, scope, and affected teams if reported
- `[Company] layoffs hiring [current year] [prior year]`

### 1g. Revenue & Sales Intelligence
- `[Company] revenue [current year] [prior year]`
- `[Company] sales growth ARR MRR`
- `[Company] customer count enterprise`
- `[Company] profitability burn rate`

### 1h. Job Postings

Job postings are one of the richest intelligence signals available and often surface things the company website won't.

- `[Company] jobs hiring [current year]`
- Visit the company's careers page directly (try `[company].com/careers` or `[company].com/jobs`)
- Search LinkedIn Jobs for open roles at the company

Look for and note:
- Which teams are growing (engineering, sales, G&A, marketing)
- Tech stack signals in engineering job descriptions
- Whether any roles have been open for an unusually long time (flag as a potential red flag)
- Whether many roles are open in one function (signals scale-up or high turnover)
- Whether the company is hiring at all (a hiring freeze is a meaningful signal)

### 1i. Recent News

News is often the fastest way to surface important context -- product launches, leadership changes, controversies -- that won't appear on the company website.

- `[Company] news [current year]`
- `[Company] announcement [current year]`
- `[Company] [CEO name] interview [current year]`

Look for: product launches, leadership changes, partnerships, acquisitions, lawsuits, controversies, or major customer wins.

### 1j. Leadership Social Signals

Public-facing thought leadership (or its absence) is a real signal about culture and vision.

- `[CEO name] LinkedIn`
- `[CEO name] interview podcast [current year]`
- `[CEO name] Twitter X [current year]`
- `[Founder name] blog post interview`

Active, substantive public presence is a positive signal. Absence isn't necessarily negative but is worth noting, especially for interview prep or partnership research.

### 1k. Key Links to Collect

As you research, actively collect and record the following URLs. You will include them in the briefing:
- Company homepage
- About / Team page
- Pricing page (even if it says "Contact Sales")
- Free trial or signup page (if exists)
- Careers / Jobs page
- Crunchbase profile
- LinkedIn company page
- Glassdoor reviews page
- G2 or Capterra review page
- Trustpilot page (if applicable)
- Each funding announcement (TechCrunch, Business Wire, PR Newswire, etc.)
- Investor relations page (public companies)
- Any notable recent news articles used in the briefing
- Product comparison pages (G2 Grid, Gartner, analyst reports)

---

## Step 2 -- Synthesize and Write the Briefing

After completing all research, write the full briefing using the structure below. Be direct and analytical -- not a Wikipedia summary. Use bullet points within sections for scannability, but lead each section with 2-3 sentences of narrative insight.

Save the file as: `Research - [Company Name] - [YYYY-MM-DD].md`

If no save location is specified by the user, save to the current working directory or ask.

---

### COMPANY INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: [COMPANY NAME]
*Prepared: [Date]*
*Research purpose: [state the purpose identified in Step 0]*

---

#### Executive Summary

A 4-5 bullet snapshot. This is the first thing a reader sees -- write it last, after the full briefing is complete.

- **Stage & category:** [e.g., Series C SaaS, public infrastructure company, bootstrapped dev tool]
- **Funding status:** [e.g., $120M raised, well-capitalized; or pre-revenue, limited runway signals]
- **Product:** [one sentence on what the product does and who it's for]
- **Culture signal:** [Green / Yellow / Red -- one-sentence rationale]
- **Top flag:** [the single most important thing this research surfaced, positive or negative]

---

#### Company Overview
- Founded: year, location, by whom
- What they do in plain English (1-2 sentences)
- Stage / headcount / key milestones
- Mission and stated values
- Any notable pivots or rebrands

---

#### Founding Team & Leadership
- Founders: background, prior companies, domain credibility
- Current CEO / C-suite: tenure, reputation, public presence
- Board composition if notable
- Any recent leadership changes (flag as a signal)
- Leadership social signal: is the CEO or founder active and substantive in public? Note any recent interviews, posts, or talks found in Step 1j.

---

#### Product Portfolio & Pricing
- Core product(s): what they do, who they serve
- Notable customers or verticals
- Recent product launches or roadmap signals
- Technology stack or differentiators (if available)

**Pricing:**
- Pricing model (SaaS, usage-based, enterprise, freemium, etc.)
- Tiers and price points (list them if publicly available, or note "pricing not public")
- Is there a free trial? Free tier? Freemium model? State clearly: **Yes / No / Not Listed**
- If yes, link to the trial/signup page
- Pricing page: [link]
- Flag: if pricing is hidden behind "Contact Sales," note this as a signal about their GTM motion (enterprise-focused, high-touch sales, etc.)

---

#### Funding & Financials

**For private companies:**
- Total funding raised and from whom
- Each round listed as: `[Series] - [Date] - [Amount] - Lead: [Investor] - [Link to announcement]`
- Notable investors and what their involvement signals
- Revenue or ARR estimates (even if approximate)
- Burn rate, runway, or profitability signals if reported
- Crunchbase profile: [link]
- Summary verdict: well-funded? late-stage? uncertain runway?

**For public companies:**
- Stock ticker and current price (note date)
- 1-year performance: high, low, current, % change
- Revenue last 4 quarters with YoY growth rates
- Profitability (GAAP, non-GAAP, adjusted EBITDA)
- Guidance and analyst sentiment
- Investor relations page: [link]
- Summary verdict: growth, value, turnaround, or declining?

---

#### Revenue & Sales Performance
- Known or estimated revenue figures
- Growth trajectory (accelerating, flat, decelerating?)
- Reported customer count or expansion metrics
- Any public statements about sales targets or GTM strategy
- Sales org signals (SDR/AE ratio, territory, deal size if known)

---

#### Competitive Landscape
- Who are the top 3-5 competitors?
- How does [Company] differentiate (price, features, segment, distribution)?
- What do review platforms say about how it stacks up?
- Are they winning or losing market share? Any signals?
- Analyst or industry positioning (Gartner Magic Quadrant, G2 Grid, etc.)

---

#### Product Reviews (Customer Perspective)
- Overall rating on G2 / Capterra / Trustpilot (note source and recency)
- G2 page: [link] | Capterra page: [link] | Trustpilot: [link if applicable]
- Top praised features / capabilities
- Most common complaints or gaps
- How reviews have trended over time (improving? declining?)
- Representative quote from a review (paraphrased, not reproduced verbatim)

---

#### Employee Reviews & Culture Signals
- Glassdoor overall star rating (out of 5), CEO approval %, "recommend to a friend" %, and total review count -- Glassdoor page: [link]
- LinkedIn company page: [link] (check headcount trend and recent hires)
- Top themes in positive reviews (management, growth, mission, etc.)
- Top themes in critical reviews (work-life balance, leadership, comp, etc.)
- Employee happiness awards: list any recognized awards (Great Place to Work, Glassdoor Best Places to Work, Built In Best Places to Work, Inc. Best Workplaces, Fortune 100 Best Companies, etc.) -- include the year(s) awarded and flag whether they are current-year or several years old
- Any known layoffs in the current calendar year -- note date, headcount affected, and teams impacted if reported
- Any other recent layoffs, hiring freezes, or rapid growth signals
- Diversity / inclusion mentions if relevant

**Culture verdict: Green / Yellow / Red**

Weigh the following signals together before rendering a verdict:
- Glassdoor rating: above or below 3.5? Is it trending up or down across recent reviews?
- CEO approval %: above or below 70%?
- Layoff recency: within the last 12 months?
- Awards: are they current-year or several years stale?
- Review sentiment trend: are the most recent reviews more positive or more negative than older ones?
- Job postings: actively hiring or frozen?

State the verdict clearly and give a 1-2 sentence rationale based on the above.

---

#### Job Market Signals
*(from Step 1h)*
- Is the company actively hiring? If so, what functions?
- Which teams appear to be growing most aggressively?
- Tech stack signals from engineering job descriptions
- Any roles that have been open unusually long (flag)
- Any patterns that suggest organizational stress (many backfill roles, high-volume support hiring) or health (new function buildout, geographic expansion)

---

#### Strategic Takeaways

*A direct, opinionated synthesis of what the research surfaces. If a research purpose was identified in Step 0, weight this section toward what matters most for that purpose.*

**What stands out (positively):**
- Strengths, differentiated positioning, momentum signals, or notable execution

**Flags & risks to watch:**
- Weaknesses, warning signs, competitive threats, culture concerns, financial uncertainty, or leadership questions

**Open questions worth digging into:**
- 3-5 things the research couldn't answer definitively -- suggest follow-up searches or primary sources

---

#### Sources & Links Index

| Category | Link |
|---|---|
| Homepage | [url] |
| About / Team | [url] |
| Pricing Page | [url] |
| Free Trial / Signup | [url or "Not available"] |
| Careers / Jobs | [url] |
| Crunchbase | [url] |
| LinkedIn | [url] |
| Glassdoor Reviews | [url] |
| G2 Reviews | [url] |
| Capterra Reviews | [url or "Not listed"] |
| Trustpilot | [url or "Not listed"] |
| Funding Round 1 | [url - round name + date] |
| Funding Round 2 | [url - round name + date] |
| Investor Relations | [url or "Private company"] |
| Notable News | [url - headline] |
| Notable News | [url - headline] |

Add or remove rows as appropriate. If a URL couldn't be found, write "Not found" rather than omitting the row.

---

#### Research Confidence Notes

- Which data points are confirmed vs. estimated/inferred
- How recent the information is (flag anything older than 12 months)
- Any significant gaps (e.g., "couldn't find revenue data -- privately held with no leaks")
- Suggested follow-up searches if the user wants to go deeper

---

## Tone & Format Guidelines

- **Be a trusted analyst**, not a Wikipedia summarizer. Flag things. Call out red flags. Note what's impressive.
- **Use headers and bullets** for scannability -- this is a reference doc the user will return to.
- **Cite sources inline** where you use specific data (e.g., funding amounts, review scores, stock figures).
- **Don't hedge everything.** Give real assessments: "This appears to be a company with strong investor conviction" or "The Glassdoor reviews suggest a stressful culture under current leadership."
- **Weight the Strategic Takeaways** toward the user's stated research purpose from Step 0.
- **Length:** This briefing should be comprehensive. A well-researched briefing for a complex company will naturally be long. Don't pad it, but don't truncate important sections either.

---

## Edge Cases

- **Early-stage startup with no public info:** Do your best with LinkedIn, founder social media, press mentions, and job postings (which reveal a lot about the company's priorities and tech stack). Note information scarcity explicitly.
- **Very large public company:** Focus on the specific division or business unit the user is interested in, not just the parent company. Look for news about that specific unit.
- **Ambiguous company name:** Confirm with the user which company they mean before researching.
- **Subsidiary or division of a larger company:** Clarify whether the user wants research on the parent or the subsidiary. Note where financials and culture signals are consolidated at the parent level and may not reflect the specific unit.
- **Non-US company with limited English-language coverage:** Broaden searches to include news sources from the company's home country. Note where information is thin and flag it.
- **Recently rebranded company:** Search under both the old and new names. Note the rebrand, when it happened, and any available context on why.