Prospecting Without a Business Registration Number: All the Guides for Students, Nonprofits, Freelancers, and Job Seekers

You're a student, two days away from sending out thirty unsolicited applications, copy-pasting email addresses one by one from dozens of open browser tabs. Or you're a volunteer at a nonprofit looking for local sponsors and have no idea where to start. Or you're a newly launched freelancer with zero contacts, and every tool you come across asks for a credit card before it will show you anything at all. The common thread: no business registration number, no budget, and no time to do this by hand for hours on end.

This page brings together all our guides for people who need to build a targeted list of companies or contacts without a business registration number, without a subscription, and without buying a database. Students looking for internships or work-study placements, job seekers, nonprofits, solo recruiters, journalists, freelancers — every situation calls for its own approach. We explain which method to follow and point you to the corresponding in-depth guide. The underlying idea is always the same: start from a public source (Google Maps listings), filter, retrieve the contact details you actually need, and export a clean CSV — for free.

Students: internships, work-study placements, unsolicited applications

When you're looking for an internship or a work-study position, volume matters. But sending a hundred applications only makes sense if they're targeted and don't cost you forty hours of copy-pasting. These guides take you from "I'm looking" to "I have a list ready to contact."

• To cast a wide net without losing your nights, follow the method for sending unsolicited applications to 200 companies without spending 40 hours on it, from choosing your targets to the final export.
• Not sure how many companies to target? We answer that question with hard numbers: how many companies to contact to land an internship.
• To identify companies that actually take on work-study trainees, here's how to target companies hiring on apprenticeship contracts and build a clean file.
• Preparing a funded PhD? Find out how, with a CIFRE thesis, to find companies doing R&D in your field using a complete step-by-step method. (CIFRE is a French scheme that funds doctoral research in partnership with a private company.)
• And for entrepreneurial projects, build a list of 100 incubators and schools to approach when validating your MVP.

Job seekers and career changers

Applying to job postings is what everyone does. Sending targeted applications directly to employers in your area is far less common — and that's often where the best opportunities are. These guides help you map the landscape before you dive in.

• First step: map the employers in your area for targeted applications, rather than firing blind.
• Changing careers? Here's how, when switching professions, to target companies in your new sector without starting from scratch.

Nonprofits: sponsors, donors, and partners

A nonprofit runs on its supporters, but identifying the right companies to approach takes forever when done by hand. Whether you're looking for funding, event partners, or backing for a local cause, these guides save you hours.

• Build a clean sponsor file for a nonprofit in 30 minutes, ready to reach out.
• For projects that need more than one-off sponsorship, learn how a nonprofit can find donors and foundations to fund a project.
• Organising an event? Build a file of 500 SME partners for your nonprofit's event.
• And for grassroots mobilisation, here's how to build a list of local businesses in your neighbourhood for a community cause.

Solo and independent recruiters

Sourcing candidates without a software budget often feels like an uphill battle. Yet with the right public sources, a solo recruiter can build a solid pipeline without paying for a premium subscription. These guides show you how.

• The baseline method: sourcing 200 candidates without LinkedIn Recruiter, for solo recruiters.
• To go further and stay the course, here's how a solo recruiter builds a base of 500 candidates without LinkedIn Recruiter.
• Working in a specific sector? Learn how to find the email addresses of HR decision-makers in a targeted sector.
• And to avoid prospecting into the void, here's how to identify employers hiring at scale in your area.
• For specialist recruitment, follow the case of a real estate agency building its candidate base in its area (sales negotiators, independent agents).

Journalists and press relations

Building a relevant press list shouldn't require an expensive subscription. With a targeted approach, you can identify the right contacts yourself, sector by sector.

• To get started, here's how to build a press file of 100 targeted journalists without a Cision subscription.
• And to refine by topic, follow the method for a sector-specific press file to list specialist journalists.

Freelancers and first clients

When you're just starting out, you have no address book — and buying a database is expensive for results that often disappoint. The good news: your first clients are already publicly visible, you just need to know how to gather them.

• The reference guide: how, as a freelancer, to find your first clients without buying a prospect database.
• Need volume fast? Here's how to build a list of 500 targeted companies in one hour, no subscription needed.
• For nearby contacts, learn how to find contact details for tradespeople and local businesses without a paid directory.

Finding emails and the right phone numbers

A list of companies is useless without a way to reach the right people. Here are the guides for retrieving email addresses and useful phone numbers — and above all, knowing which ones to collect based on your goal.

• To reach a specific contact, find out how to find a recruiter's email without LinkedIn Premium or any paid subscription.
• On the phone side, learn how to build a clean, GDPR-compliant phone file for prospecting companies without buying a database.
• Mobile, landline, or business line? We help you decide which type to collect to actually reach a contact.
• And to avoid calling in vain, identify when to reach out based on the best time slots by sector.

Going further

If your needs go beyond individuals, these other pages group our guides by theme:

• Comparing OutSend to a tool you already know? Check out the alternatives to prospecting tools: all OutSend comparisons.
• Working in real estate? See the guides on real estate prospecting compliant with the French law of 11 August 2026.
• Unfamiliar with a term? The prospecting glossary covers all the definitions clearly.
• And to see what the tool actually does, browse the OutSend features.

FAQ

Do I need a business registration number to use OutSend?

No. You don't need to be a registered business. A student, a nonprofit volunteer, a job seeker, or a freelancer just starting out can build their list and export it as a CSV with no proof of business activity required.

Is it really free, or is there a catch?

Access is by application during the alpha phase, and it's free. No public pricing, no credit card required to get started. You build your list, you export it — that's it.

Where do the contacts come from?

From public sources, primarily Google Maps listings. We start from what's already publicly visible, filter by your target criteria, then aggregate the useful contact details (email, phone, social media) into a clean export.

I'm a complete beginner — is this too technical for me?

No. You describe what you're looking for (a type of activity, a location), you launch the search, and you get back a list. Each guide above walks you through the process for a specific situation, step by step.

What format do I get my list in?

CSV — the format that every spreadsheet application reads (Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers). You can then sort, filter, and personalise your outreach from that file.