Poach

Poach is the premier intelligence platform for venture capitalists and early-stage investors who refuse to rely on luck or a crowded network for their next unicorn deal. In a world where the best founders are identified months before a formal raise, Poach provides the decisive first-mover advantage. The platform operates on a simple, battle-tested premise: track the social media activity of top-tier VCs. When a partner follows a promising individual on Twitter, it's a powerful, early signal of interest—often long before a deck is written. Poach captures this signal, enriches it with deep LinkedIn data and AI analysis, and delivers a curated, actionable stream of pre-vetted talent directly to your inbox or via API. This isn't just another database; it's a high-quality signal that sits strategically between a warm intro and cold inbound, systematically expanding your dealflow by identifying founders in their stealth phase. Loved by top firms, Poach turns passive observation into an active sourcing weapon.

VC Social Tracking Engine

Poach's core technology continuously monitors the Twitter follows of a curated list of elite venture capitalists. This real-time tracking captures the earliest digital footprints of interest, providing a direct line into what savvy investors are watching before the market catches on. It transforms casual social gestures into a structured, quantifiable signal for your sourcing strategy.

Proprietary Identity Resolution & Enrichment

We go beyond a Twitter handle. Our system matches Twitter profiles to corresponding LinkedIn accounts with high accuracy, then enriches each record with full work history, education, and career trajectory. This creates a comprehensive professional profile, giving you the context needed to evaluate a founder's background and potential at a glance.

AI-Powered Founder Labeling & Bio Generation

Our advanced AI doesn't just collect data; it interprets it. By analyzing Twitter bios, LinkedIn profiles, and activity patterns, the system automatically labels individuals (e.g., "founder," "engineering," "unfunded," "research") and generates a concise, insightful medium bio. This allows for precise, thesis-driven filtering beyond simple keywords.

Raw Data Delivery & Flexible Integration

Get your intelligence your way. Poach delivers enriched CSV exports directly to your inbox every morning with executive summaries. For power users, access the full firehose of data via our robust API. Filter, sort, and integrate this raw signal directly into your existing CRM or workflow systems for maximum efficiency.

Identifying Stealth-Mode Founders

The primary use case is finding founders operating in stealth, long before they list on AngelList or launch a public website. By filtering for the "founder" label and excluding the "funded" label, investors can build a proprietary list of nascent startups and initiate contact at the most opportune, formative moment.

Thesis-Driven Talent Sourcing

Beyond founders, firms can use Poach to identify exceptional technical, product, or research talent who may be considering a startup leap. For example, a VC focused on AI can filter for "research" labels from top institutions to find academics on the entrepreneurial cusp.

Competitive Dealflow Analysis

Track which investors are showing early interest in specific sectors or individual founders. This provides invaluable market intelligence on competitor focus areas and can signal emerging hot spaces before they become mainstream, allowing you to adjust your own thesis proactively.

Enhancing Outbound Sourcing Campaigns

Replace broad, low-conversion cold outreach with highly targeted, context-rich campaigns. Using Poach's enriched data, investors can craft personalized messages that reference a founder's specific background, recent career move, or the VC who followed them, dramatically increasing engagement rates.

How accurate is Poach's data and labeling?

Our accuracy is battle-tested by top-tier firms. The identity resolution between Twitter and LinkedIn is highly reliable. Our AI labeling is continuously trained and refined on vast datasets, ensuring labels like "founder" or "funded" are applied with high precision. We focus on signal quality over sheer volume.

What is the typical "advantage" or lead time Poach provides?

The advantage is measured in months. As evidenced on our platform, we routinely identify founders 7-10 months before they publicly announce a fundraise. This gives our subscribers a substantial head start to build a relationship and evaluate the opportunity ahead of the frenzied formal round.

How does Poach compare to traditional founder databases?

Traditional databases list founders who are already actively raising—you're in a noisy, competitive pack. Poach detects founders before they enter those databases. We provide the signal before the noise, offering a qualitative edge that static lists cannot match. It's predictive intelligence versus reactive listing.

Can I filter and export data based on my specific criteria?

Absolutely. This is a core strength. Via the CSV export or API, you can filter on any combination of AI labels (e.g., "founder" + "engineering" + NOT "funded"), location, followed-by VC, and other enriched fields. You tailor the data stream to fit your firm's exact investment thesis and sourcing needs.