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FIG. 02 · CHAPTER 02
Reading the Public Record
Public companies are required to tell you what keeps them up at night. It is in the 10-K, in plain English, in a section literally called risk factors. Earnings calls go further: every quarter, executives narrate their priorities out loud, and the transcript is free. Almost no candidate reads any of it, which is exactly why you should. You do not need a finance background. You need thirty minutes and a reading order. And private companies leave a public record too: funding announcements, the careers page, the pricing page, what the founders keep repeating on podcasts. These notes are how to read all of it like a candidate hunting for the problem behind the role, not like an analyst pricing the stock.
How do I read a 10-K without a finance background?
Skip the tables. Read two sections: the business overview at the front, which explains what the company sells in plain language, and the risk factors, where the company lists everything that could hurt it. Between those two you have the whole story, what the money is and what threatens it.
The filing is free on the company's investor relations page or at sec.gov. I open it, search for the words "competition" and "growth," and read around the hits. Twenty minutes, not a weekend.
One illustration: a candidate interviewing for an enterprise AE role finds "we depend on expanding within our existing customers" in the risk factors. That is the entire go to market strategy in one sentence. Walk in talking about expansion revenue and you are speaking the same language the VP is using two floors up.
What do I listen for in an earnings call?
Listen for what executives repeat, what they brag about, and what they get defensive about when analysts push. Those three tell you the official priorities, the wins they want amplified, and the wounds they want covered. Your answers can speak to all three.
You do not need to listen live. The transcript sits on the investor relations page, and the useful half is the question and answer section, because the prepared remarks are marketing and the analyst questions are not. When an analyst asks the same thing two quarters in a row, that is the thing the market doubts, and probably the thing your future team is under pressure about.
Write down two phrases the CEO used. Saying "I noticed on the last earnings call you kept coming back to net retention" does more in a sales interview than a dozen rehearsed strengths.
How do I research a private company with no filings?
Use what they cannot hide: the careers page, the pricing page, the funding announcements, and what the founders say in interviews and on podcasts. A private company's open roles are its strategy in list form. Where they are hiring is where they are betting.
Funding news is the closest thing to an earnings call. The announcement almost always names what the money is for, a new market, a new product line, doubling the sales team. That sentence is the company's stated priority, quoted by the founder, sitting in public.
The honest caveat: private company research is inference, not fact, so hold it loosely in the room. Say "it looks like" instead of "I know." Being visibly thoughtful about limited information reads better than being confidently wrong about it.
Questions people ask
Where do I find a company's 10-K and earnings call transcript?
Both live on the company's investor relations page, usually linked in the site footer. The 10-K is also on sec.gov under EDGAR. Read the business overview and risk factors in the filing, then the question and answer half of the newest transcript.
Is reading the 10-K overkill for a first interview?
For a screening call, probably. Save it for the onsite or the final round, where a specific line about the company's own stated risks or priorities carries real weight. For a first call, the twenty minute sprint covers you.
How do I find sales intelligence on a company that doesn't publish public financials?
Uncover a private company's sales priorities by analyzing their executive interviews, tracking employee headcount shi…
How do I read a 10-K and earnings call without getting lost in the numbers?
Scan the company's 10-K Item 1A for risks and the latest earnings call Q&A for executive priorities, rather than read…
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