Startup Data Sources and Research Lists for Founders
The other half of the reference. These are the databases, trackers, benchmark reports and document templates that answer a question without costing you an introduction. Each entry says what it covers, what it costs, and where it is weak.
No entry matches that filter. Try a shorter word, or clear the filter.
Some lists get you to people. This one gets you to information.
Every question a founder asks early on - what do funds in my stage actually pay, who led the last three rounds in my category, what is a normal churn number - has a published answer somewhere. The problem is knowing which source is credible, which is a paywall with a marketing blog attached, and which is quietly out of date.
Below is what we use. Where a source has a real free tier, we say so, because most of these pages do not.
Investor databases
The core tools for building a target list. All of them are incomplete in Europe and better in the US.
| Source | Coverage | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenVC | 5,000+ funds, global | Free, paid tiers | The best free investor search. Filters by stage, cheque and thesis |
| Dealroom | Europe-first | Paid, partial free | The strongest European dataset. Many city portals run on it free |
| Crunchbase | Global | Freemium | Broad, shallow. Good for a first pass, weak on European seed |
| PitchBook | Global | Enterprise only | The deepest data. Priced for funds, not founders |
| CB Insights | Global | Enterprise | Strong on market maps and thematic research |
| Tracxn | Global, strong in Asia | Paid | Best coverage of India and Southeast Asia |
| NFX Signal | Global | Free | Ranks investors and shows warm-intro paths |
| VC Sheet | Global | Free | Curated fund lists by stage and theme |
| Visible Connect | Global | Free | Investor search built for founders, filters on cheque size |
| Foundersuite | Global | Paid | Database plus a CRM for running the raise |
German and DACH data
Germany is where the global databases are weakest, so local sources matter more.
| Source | Coverage | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| startupdetector | Germany | Free reports, paid data | Built from commercial register filings, so it catches rounds before the press |
| deutsche-startups | Germany | Free | Daily German startup news and deal coverage |
| Gruenderszene | Germany | Freemium | Long-running German startup publication |
| German Startup Monitor | Germany | Free | Annual survey of 1,800+ German startups, published by Startup Verband |
| HTGF | Germany | Free | Its portfolio page doubles as a map of active German deep tech |
Funding news and trackers
For tracking who raised what, and who led it.
| Source | Coverage | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sifted | Europe | Freemium | The best European startup journalism. Paywalled in part |
| Tech.eu | Europe | Freemium | Deal data and a weekly European funding roundup |
| EU-Startups | Europe | Free | Daily funding posts plus a searchable company database |
| TechCrunch | Global, US-heavy | Free | Still the fastest on large US rounds |
| Product Hunt | Global | Free | Launch tracking and early competitor scouting |
| Hacker News | Global | Free | Launch threads and hiring posts, monthly |
Benchmarks and annual reports
Use these when you need a number to compare yourself against.
| Report | Covers | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| State of European Tech | European tech, annual | Free | Atomico’s report. The reference for European market sizing |
| Startup Genome | Global ecosystems | Free | Ranks and compares startup cities |
| SaaS Capital | Private B2B SaaS | Free | Annual survey on growth, churn and retention for private companies |
| ChartMogul SaaS Benchmarks | SaaS metrics | Free | Real subscription data rather than a survey |
| Carta data reports | US cap tables | Free | Valuations, dilution and down-round rates from real cap tables |
| Lenny’s Newsletter | Product and growth | Freemium | Benchmarks and operator interviews |
Legal and financing documents
Standard paperwork, published by people who write it for a living. Using a standard set saves legal fees and speeds up a round.
| Source | Jurisdiction | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Y Combinator SAFE | US | Free | The post-money SAFE, plus the standard series seed documents |
| German Standards Setting Institute | Germany | Free | Standard German convertible loan and seed term sheets |
| Cooley GO | US, UK | Free | Document generators and plain-English explanations |
| BAFA INVEST | Germany | Free | The rules for the 20% angel subsidy, straight from the agency |
Hiring and talent
| Source | Coverage | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellfound | Global | Free to post | Formerly AngelList Talent. Still the default startup job board |
| EU-Startups Jobs | Europe | Paid to post | European startup roles |
| Hacker News “Who is hiring” | Global | Free | Monthly thread, strong signal for senior engineers |
Our own lists
We keep two reference pages of our own, both updated by hand rather than scraped.
- The Startup Investor List for European Founders - 190+ VCs, angel networks, accelerators and government programmes across DACH and Europe
- Founder Networks by Country and State - the communities, chat groups and calendars that get you to people rather than to capital
What this list is not
It is not a directory of every tool with a startup landing page. Everything here answers a question we have actually had to answer while running a company.
If a source charges enterprise pricing, we say so rather than sending you into a sales call to find out.
Help us keep this list current
Pricing changes, databases get acquired, and free tiers disappear. If something here is out of date, or you use a source we missed, tell us and we will update the page.