Investors and VC scouts: Find what is building before the round
Turn thousands of early companies into a short list worth a first call, using attention that people generate on their own.
When does this come up?
Before a sourcing meeting, or when a deal team asks "who is moving in our space this month?"
What is the mental model?
Rising, real and still building: look. A spike from one article that is already fading: skip.
- Signal: Brand searches, intent and visits
- Filter: Up 50% or more, from a real base, near the peak, site not falling
- Decision: Worth a first call?
- Action: Short list, then watch monthly
How does this work in DawnTrend?
- Start from the breakouts: Open the Dawn Index, pick Y Combinator, and read the Breaking out list: brand searches up 50% or more from a real base, still near their peak, with site visits not falling.
- Check what kind of attention it is: On the brand page, look at the intent mix (are people evaluating and buying, or only looking the name up) and how many visits arrive direct. A name people type in is a stronger sign than a spike from one article.
- Rank it against its peers: Every brand shows its rank in its category, its batch and its market, so you can tell a leader from a passenger in a hot sector.
- Keep the short list: Save the names to your list, and pull the same data as JSON into a sheet or your own model each month.
Breaking out among Y Combinator companies right now
| Brand | Dawn score | Searches / month | 12-month growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | 82 | 673K | +769% |
| Supabase | 81 | 1.5M | +108% |
| Resend | 78 | 301K | +173% |
| Facio | 77 | 201K | +123% |
| Substack | 75 | 1.5M | +61% |
What does this cost to run?
A free account has 2,000 API calls and 250 search credits a day. Reads from the index use no search credits.
| Step | Call | Calls | Search credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| List the YC breakouts | GET /dawn/list?group=u:yc&flag=breakout | 1 | 0 |
| Open each finalist | GET /brand?slug=kalshi | 5 | 0 |
| Whole workflow | 6 | 0 |
What does this not tell you?
- Attention is not revenue, users or quality. It tells you where to look, not what to buy.
- Google reports volume in buckets, so small names move in steps.
- Not investment advice.
How do I get the same data as JSON?
GET /api/v1/dawn/list?group=u:yc&flag=breakout. Free accounts get an API key.