Spotting Talented "New Founders"

Find new investment opportunities at the perfect time.

03/17/25
5 min

Overview

Sometimes the best way to find new investment opportunities is to find companies right at the moment of inception.

This recipe demonstrates how you can use PDL’s Person Search API and Company Search API endpoints to identify individuals who recently assumed founder roles and cross-reference their startups for indicators of early-stage activity.

Data Ingredients

PDL Products

• Person Dataset
• Company Dataset
• Person Search API
• Company Search API

Key Fields

Person:

• job title
• start date
• skills
• education history
• work experience

Company:

• name
• founded
• tags
• linkedin_id

Directions

Step 1: Identify newly reported founder roles
Use the Person Search endpoint to find profiles with titles such as “Founder,” “Co-founder,” or “CEO” in their current roles. Filter by start_date within the last 6–12 months to ensure the roles are recent.

Step 2: Cross-reference with new companies
For the individuals identified in Step 1, use the Company Search endpoint to find their associated companies. Filter for startups with recent founding dates (e.g. within the last 12 months) and small employee counts (e.g. fewer than 5).

Step 3: (Optional) Validate background and track record
Optionally, evaluate founder profiles to confirm relevant skills, past roles, or entrepreneurial experience. Use the fields available from the person records returned in step 1 (like skills and previous work experience and education history) to assess the individual’s suitability for your sourcing goals.

Step 4: Surface early-stage startups
Combine the insights from Person Search and Company Search to build a list of founders and startups that exhibit strong early-stage potential.

Step 5: Integrate into sourcing strategies
Incorporate the ranked list of founders and their startups into your startup sourcing strategy. Focus on high-promise candidates or ventures aligned with your goals, such as specific industries or geographies.

Chef's Recommendations

👨‍🍳 Chef’s Recommendation

To uncover stealth or unannounced startups, search for profiles mentioning keywords like “stealth startup” or “building something new.” Additionally, enrich founder profiles to validate their entrepreneurial track record, such as past successful exits or notable roles.

💡 Alternate Approach

If your focus is on identifying stealth projects, rely on person-level keywords and signals like their skills or industries of interest. Pair this with company-level insights, such as minimal online presence or placeholder websites, to identify startups still in their formative stages.

Still need help?

• Check out our detailed code examples
• Check out our Help Center
• Reach out to your customer success representative (enterprise customers)

Find new investment opportunities at the perfect time. Recipe | People Data Labs