# 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.](https://dawntrend.com/dawn-index?group=u:yc)
- [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.](https://dawntrend.com/brand/supabase)
- [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.](https://dawntrend.com/markets)
- [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.](https://dawntrend.com/api-docs)

## Breaking out among Y Combinator companies right now

| Brand | Dawn score | Searches / month | 12-month growth |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Kalshi](https://dawntrend.com/brand/kalshi) | 82 | 673K | +769% |
| [Supabase](https://dawntrend.com/brand/supabase) | 81 | 1.5M | +108% |
| [Resend](https://dawntrend.com/brand/resend) | 78 | 301K | +173% |
| [Facio](https://dawntrend.com/brand/facio) | 77 | 201K | +123% |
| [Substack](https://dawntrend.com/brand/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.