How to Build a Startup Watchlist

A practical guide to building and maintaining a startup watchlist using GitHub signals.

Why a watchlist

A watchlist forces discipline. Instead of reactive deal flow, you systematically track companies meeting your thesis before they raise.

Building the list

Define your thesis (sectors, stages, tech), source from GitHub orgs and rankings, apply momentum filters, and score candidates.

Maintaining it

Weekly review of activity changes, monthly re-ranking, quarterly thesis refinement, and annual watchlist refresh.

Converting to deals

Engage early via open-source contribution, use warm intros through mutual connections, track engagement signals, and time outreach to momentum inflection points.

How GitDealFlow Signals helps

Live startup momentum dataset. The platform operationalizes the concepts above into a working startup momentum API workflow.