How can I find out what other companies are linked to a company?
September 7, 2018 10:55 AM   Subscribe

If someone owns or works in more than one company and you know the name of one, how can you find out the name of the other one/s?

I know the name of the owner (After having traced the company phone number). But I know for a fact that the company is only a side business. I'd like to know what their other business or businesses are. I don't know if they own other businesses or if they just work elsewhere since the store they have is only a side business. They along with their side business are apparently located in Colorado. Our experience with their side business was so terrible (apparently many others have suffered the same) that we want to be sure we never do business with these people again on any level- whatever they are involved in. For this reason we really want to know what else they are affiliated with.
posted by fantasticness to Work & Money (4 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Google the name (and town if necessary) and follow each of the search results, even the ones that look like dead ends. You can use them to get more search terms. Also, search for the person on Facebook and see what you can find out. Sometimes even if their profile is private, other people will be saying things about them in public.
posted by irisclara at 11:13 AM on September 7, 2018


Start by googling the name and yes, FB. You can also use the Secretary of State site to see if they are agents of any registered businesses. LinkedIn can be helpful
posted by bunderful at 11:42 AM on September 7, 2018 [3 favorites]


Google the address of the business? Typically the owner will register everything to the same mailing address and you might get lucky.

The key is putting the entire address in quotes (e.g. "123 Main St. Somewhere, CO") so Google searches for it as a complete string.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:13 PM on September 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


This is what I do for a living. There are a few extra tricks in addition to what people are sharing.

D&B/DUNS records can be co-located by person or phone number. Not super straightforward for a layman, but a good source overall.
Domain registrations. Trace back the names and numbers of the registering party.
Yes, check with CO SOS, but if needed, possibly also county records [e.g. for d/b/a s]
Other public records - civil actions, deeds, liens, licensing [if applicable], permits

Many other options depending on the circumstances


No one path is best. It is somewhat iterative and exploratory. I've been doing it for nearly 25 years, so if you want to MeMail for free confidential help, I'm game.
posted by Glomar response at 12:39 PM on September 7, 2018 [6 favorites]


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