We’re so thrilled to share the updated platform with you! But before diving into the exciting new data and capabilities, please take a moment to review this article and familiarize yourself with the upcoming updates. Our team will keep testing and improving the platform, allowing us to cover more topics and questions over time.
Summary, Accessibility, User Interface & Support
What is the driving force behind this update?
At Gazelle, we value your feedback and aim to improve your overall experience. We understand that your top priorities are accurate company and contact data and enhanced search capabilities. To meet these goals, we've revamped the platform with a variety of upgrades this week with many more to be rolled out in the months ahead.
This month’s launch is the first step in that process and includes:
Refreshed datasets from proprietary and third party sources, significantly enhancing core company and contact information
Data verification and quality Company websites and personal emails verified for inactivity/invalidity and removed when necessary
Improved data handling, processing and workflows to ensure greater data monitoring, quality assurance, and facilitate the integration of new data
Implementation of stricter business rules to prioritize globally growing businesses poised for expansion
Conversion to the 2022 NAICS system impacting industry and company profiles
Are there any updates that have already been implemented prior to this launch?
Yes. In August 2023, we launched a contact data update that included:
Removing more than 2.8 million outdated contacts
Adding over 1.5 million new and carefully selected and verified contacts
In total, we’ve updated more than 9 million contacts
How can I access the new platform?
The updated platform will be hosted on the following site: gazelle.lightcast.io. As of October 16, you can access the new site with the email and password you’re currently using. We also strongly recommend saving the login link for easy access.
Is the user interface updated?
Yes, the first phase of the new user interface has been implemented with many more improvements to come. We've included a new global navigation bar on the left side of the platform (as pictured below). This will allow you to swiftly navigate between features like:
Trade show lists
VC funded companies
Verified projects
Featured lists
Saved items
Company finder
In addition, the company finder interface looks cleaner and is easier to read (as pictured below).
You may also notice that certain parts of the interface appear different in terms of sizing or other design aspects. This is the result of integrating both the old and new UI elements, and we are actively working on it.
We anticipate rolling out more exciting improvements to the user interface by the end of this year. The team will provide more information when the changes are on the way.
Will I still be able to login to legacy Gazelle?
Yes. You can login to both versions of Gazelle, however we are no longer pushing updates to the legacy version of Gazelle. If you want the latest and greatest data, we strongly encourage you to make the move to the new Gazelle platform as soon as possible. Legacy Gazelle will remain accessible until November 16, 2023.
Will my saved searches and folders from legacy Gazelle transfer to the new platform?
Yes. Your saved information will be waiting for you when you login to the new platform. The saved folders, searches, bookmarks and notes that you will save in legacy Gazelle, by end of day Friday, October 13 (EDT), will migrate to the new platform. Starting October 16, save new items on the new platform.
Please also note that information pertaining to a company that is no longer active in the updated platform will not carry over. While you may notice differences between your legacy Gazelle data and new Gazelle data, these changes reflect an effort to enhance accuracy by removing outdated, inappropriate or duplicate information.
Here are reminders on how to save searches and how to save folders on the platform and how to download searches on your computer.
Will I still receive support from the Customer Success team?
Yes. The Gazelle Customer Success team will continue to offer the same level of support. The team will continue answering your questions using the embedded chat function located in the bottom right corner of Gazelle.
Alternatively, the team can be contacted at gazellehelp@lightcast.io. You can also continue using our Help Center using the embedded support feature.
Company Finder, Industry Finder & NAICS
Why am I seeing fewer companies?
The reduction in the number of companies results from various factors such as:
The removal of out-of-business companies, as indicated by the refreshed datasets obtained from third party providers*
Gazelle’s stricter business rules/thesis which focuses on identifying companies with authentic growth potential on a global level
The removal of companies with faulty websites (indicating they are out of business)
The removal of any company type (HQ, standalones and branches/subsidiaries) with website redirects that do not belong to the same company
*Providers: LexisNexis, Crunchbase, databaseUSA, Acton
Are there any additional factors that play a role in the updating of obsolete company information?
Yes. Companies deemed valid were updated by integrating new data from third-party providers that is less than 3 months old.
Other factors leading to fewer but more accurate results:
HQ, standalones and subsidiaries without a name, city, and country information or without a NAICS code were also removed
Branches without city or country information are removed
Are there specific types of companies that were removed from the platform?
Yes. A significant amount of deleted companies fell under the following categories:
Shell companies (i.e. inactive business used as a vehicle for other financial goals or kept dormant for future use)
Franchises
US nonprofits
Why do some company hierarchies look different?
As a result of both the addition and the deletion of companies in the platform, some company hierarchies may change. There are several reasons why a company may no longer appear in Gazelle, and therefore in a company hierarchy. These include:
Removal of duplicate companies
Business rules exclude the company from the platform (eg. NAICS code is not supported on the platform, or missing business data)
Business closed/out of business
Is there a current count of the newly added companies?
Yes. To better serve you, we've also expanded our company coverage by adding:
300,000 new companies in our five most requested European countries, including over 90,000 headquarters
100 new companies in the Asia-Pacific region
800 more start up companies (defined as businesses that are less than 3 years old and with less than 50 employees)
6 times more companies that received funding in the past 12 months
Are there any changes related to the NAICS codes?
Yes. The new platform is now running using the 2022 NAICS system. Consequently, some company and industry profiles may no longer align with their previous NAICS codes found in legacy Gazelle.
Are there other industries impacted by Gazelle’s stricter business rules?
Yes. A significant number of standalone companies or branches from the following industries were removed to improve the accuracy and quality of our data:
All Other General Merchandise Retailers (e.g.Yankee Candle stores)
Child Care Services
Commercial Banking
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
New Car Dealers
Used Car Dealers
Is the Industry Finder also impacted by these updates?
The data used for industry finder statistics, bar charts and heat maps from Powerlytics has not been updated yet. We expect this update to be ready for year-end or in January 2024. In the meantime, we’re working on updating the export charts.
Contact Changes & Employment Figures
What is your criteria for deleting contacts?
Most removed contacts lacked sufficient information, including:
Those that are missing a job title as well as an email address or a LinkedIn URL
In addition, contacts whose email pinged as ‘spam_trap’, abuse, or ‘do_not_email’ were removed
What are your criteria for updating contacts?
Valid contact information was updated by incorporating new data from third-party providers that is less than 3 months old
Contact information was also compared to LinkedIn status and current employer
Contacts on the new platform have at least a job title, email address or LinkedIn profile
Email addresses that were kept were marked as ‘valid’ or ‘accept_all’ upon verification
How is this update impacting employment data?
Employment figures now reflect global or corporate numbers, meaning branches such as Boeing may show up to 10k+ employees. This differs from legacy Gazelle, which often used a mix of data and estimates for branches, leaning more towards local employment numbers.
Projects, Trade Shows & Featured Lists
How have the verified projects been impacted by this update?
We’ve archived a lot of old projects that past their time frame, resulting in a smaller sample. For example, a project published in 2020 with a 1-2 year timeline will no longer be on the platform. However, a project published in 2020 with a 3-5 year timeline will remain on the platform until that period is fully reached.
Other factors impacting the project count:
Some projects are being rematched with more accurate data and are being reviewed before they are published
The major data clean up that removed inactive or inaccurate companies (see the ‘Why am I seeing fewer companies’ question for details)
How are the Trade Shows and Featured Lists impacted?
Please also be aware that the data clean up has reduced the number of exhibiting companies nested under trade shows and the number of companies associated with our featured lists when compared to legacy Gazelle.
Smaller exhibitor lists and featured lists can be explained by:
The removal of out-of-business companies, as indicated by the updated datasets obtained from third party providers
Gazelle’s stricter business rules/thesis which focuses on identifying companies with authentic growth potential on a global level. Likewise, the following types of companies have been removed:
All Other General Merchandise Retailers (e.g.Yankee Candle stores)
Child Care Services
Commercial Banking
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
New Car Dealers
Used Car Dealers
Other factors impacting the company count associated with trade shows and featured lists:
The removal of companies with faulty websites (indicating they are out of business)
The removal of any company type (HQ, stand-alones and branches/subsidiaries) with website redirects that do not belong to the same company
G-Scores, Keywords, Search Bar & HAT Query
Are the G-Scores updated?
Not yet. The G-Scores are based on data from early 2023, and the AI’s input became reliable in September. We’re actively working on this update and will notify you once it’s ready.
What do I need to know about searching by keywords in the updated platform?
When you select a keyword from the keyword bank, the results displayed will only show the companies that have the selected keyword(s) in the keyword section of the respective profile. This is an improvement from the legacy Gazelle system and will result in more refined and accurate results.
You can also enter as many keywords as needed when conducting your research to expand your results.
Has the search bar function been updated?
Yes. You can use the search bar located at the very top of the platform to look for a word in a company's name, URL, company description, NAICS or affiliated keywords.
Is the HAT function updated?
Yes. The HAT function has been updated to improve the accuracy of results and streamline the search process for you. You will notice that the boolean logic used to build your HAT query is clearly depicted within the search, so you know what exactly is included vs. what is excluded in your results.
Miscellaneous
Are the lead manager and custom feed features impacted by the update?
Yes. For now lead manager and custom feed notifications are still being sent from the legacy system. You will be unable to edit the settings until the feature is fully programmed in the new platform. We'll let you know once this update goes live.
New Company Filter
In the new platform, all companies are currently treated as ‘new companies’ in the company finder filter. The update for this filter will be implemented at a later date.
Similar Companies Feature
The ‘similar companies’ feature prioritizes matches based on shared keywords or NAICS codes, with other criteria considered only if no match is found in these fields. Other criterias include:
Common keywords alone
Common NAICS codes alone
Common employment size
Common revenue size
Companies with a G-score within one point of each other
Legacy Gazelle Browsing History
Your browsing history from the legacy Gazelle system will not migrate to the new platform. As a result, the new platform will only display the profiles you’ve accessed using the new system.
Future Updates
Will the platform be updated more frequently moving forward?
Yes. One of the primary goals of this extensive, multi-phase update is to provide
a more robust platform that benefits from a much higher cadence of data and more automatic updates.