Unless you’re a true career hermit, you’ve probably viewed a Crunchbase profile in the past month. Its crisp layout and light-blue color scheme might not have made much of an impression on you, but there’s a good chance you got what you needed from the encounter.
That’s because Crunchbase — one of the most-visited websites in North America, according to recent Alexa rankings — is really good at delivering key facts and figures about business leaders, their companies, and the investment firms that support them.
The next question, of course, is why you count on Crunchbase as a research resource without taking the next step and adding a profile of your own.
In all fairness, you might have a Crunchbase profile already. Just one that you haven’t edited recently or efficiently.
Either way, your current or future Crunchbase profile is too important to neglect. Here’s how you can harness it to your benefit right now.
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Mention Your Charitable Activities (And Other Relevant Extracurriculars Too)
You are more than your 9-to-5. Yes, even if it’s more like a 5-to-9, or even a 24/7.
Prospective investors, employers, and anyone else in a position to advance your career want to see that you’re a well-rounded and well-adjusted person. A diverse array of titles and investments and exits sure looks impressive on paper, but it only gets you part of the way to this ultimately more important end goal.
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Link Out to Your LinkedIn Profile
Crunchbase delivers a near-guaranteed entry on the first SERP for your full name, but its influence and visibility are still dwarfed by a much better-known site: LinkedIn. On which, of course, you almost certainly have a profile as well.
Take inspiration from the Crunchbase profile for Steve Streit, the founder and lead partner of SWS Venture Capital, and link up your Crunchbase and LinkedIn presences. It takes a few seconds of your time and will likely increase traffic to your LinkedIn profile. For good measure, drop a link to your Crunchbase on your LinkedIn too.
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Highlight Your Participation in Funding Rounds
Do this even if you’re not a full-time investor. Even if investing isn’t the most important piece of your public identity.
For better or worse, the mere act of participating in a successful funding round — to say nothing of a successful exit — raises your profile. It makes you seem like a player, whether you fancy yourself one or not. Don’t pass up an opportunity to make it known.
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Coordinate With Other Key Employees in Your Organization (And Allied Business Contacts Elsewhere)
Within some constraints, Crunchbase allows members to edit other members’ profiles. This is a blessing and a curse, as any experienced Wikipedia editor knows, but the good news is that Crunchbase isn’t as competitive as the world’s most popular open-source encyclopedia. Give a small circle of trusted colleagues and external contacts permission to edit your profile and you’ll significantly reduce your Crunchbase maintenance workload.
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Add Positive Media Mentions
Finally, use Crunchbase’s media section to curate and drive traffic to positive media mentions of you and/or your organization. Perhaps more than any other part of your profile, this section demands regular attention and upkeep if you’re a public or semi-public figure.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
Crunchbase is a popular, information-rich website for businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors. It’s the perfect resource for anyone looking to stand out from the crowd. Users appreciate it as a no-nonsense complement to LinkedIn, AngelList, and other high-profile business information platforms.
If you already use Crunchbase, some simple tweaks to your presence could produce welcome results. If you’re new to the platform, get started today. You’ll be glad you did.
