How to Source Startup Deals Before They Appear on Crunchbase

Crunchbase is a lagging indicator – companies appear after rounds close. Three approaches find startups earlier: GitHub engineering signals (6-12 weeks lead time, the earliest public signal), community sourcing from Hacker News, Product Hunt, and Indie Hackers (variable lead time, wide coverage), and hiring signals from job boards (4-8 weeks). The most effective workflow combines all three: GitHub signals for timing, community signals for context, hiring data for confirmation, and Crunchbase for verification. The full process takes 15-20 minutes per company.