platform · startup database

startup database for early-stage vcs finding pre-round founders

a startup database is for early-stage vcs finding pre-round founders. the same query shows up as startup company database and database startup. crunchbase, pitchbook, harmonic, and tracxn catalog companies that already exist. frontrun finds founders and startups first. the ai deal flow agent for venture investors.

what is a startup database?

a startup database is a catalog of companies with data on funding, founders, sector, and traction, used to research and diligence deals. crunchbase is broad and accessible; pitchbook is the enterprise system of record; harmonic indexes nearly every company that incorporates; tracxn and others map specific markets. all of them are retrospective by design - a company enters the database once it's web-visible or has announced a round. frontrun is not a database of announced companies; it's a signal layer that flags companies pre-round, before they'd appear in one.

how the databases differ

coverage vs price vs freshness is the real tradeoff. harmonic maximizes coverage of formed companies; pitchbook maximizes depth and record-keeping at enterprise price; crunchbase maximizes accessibility; tracxn and dealroom map thematic markets. pick by whether you need totality, depth, or affordability - they're diligence tools, and all of them are retrospective.

the layer before the database

no database can list a company that isn't visible yet. frontrun fills that gap with pre-round founder signals, surfacing companies at double-digit followers, months before they'd hit any catalog. run it on top of whatever database you use for diligence. earliness first, records second.

tool	strength	type
Harmonic	coverage of formed companies	retrospective database
PitchBook	depth, records, fund data	retrospective database
Crunchbase	accessible, broad	retrospective database
Frontrun	pre-round signal, earliest	behavioral signal layer

which is right for you

you need to diligence visible companies

use a database - harmonic for coverage, pitchbook for depth, crunchbase for accessibility.

you need to find companies first

a database can't list what isn't visible. frontrun surfaces pre-round companies before they'd enter one.

you want both

run frontrun on top of a database - earliness from behavioral signal, records and diligence from the catalog. many funds do.

the receipts

frontrun's flags carry dated provenance, so "we saw it early" is checkable per company:

@techdollarhq - flagged at 13 followers, $3M pre-seed 123 days later
@orthogonal_sh - flagged 184 days before a $4.3M round led by Pantera
@rialto_xyz - flagged at 18 followers, 26 days before its Robinhood partner announcement

frequently asked

what is the best startup database in 2026?

it depends on the job: harmonic for coverage, pitchbook for depth and fund data, crunchbase for accessible breadth. all are retrospective - for finding companies pre-round, pair one with frontrun's signal layer from $49/mo.

what's the difference between a startup database and frontrun?

a database catalogs companies once they're visible; frontrun flags them before the round. one is for diligence, the other for earliest sourcing. they are complementary.

is there a free startup database?

crunchbase has a limited free tier for basic lookups. for pre-round sourcing rather than lookups, frontrun starts at $49/mo with a 7-day trial; api + mcp access is on pro at $99/mo.

see the signal before the round

7-day free trial · from $49/mo · API + MCP on Pro at $99/mo

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sourcescrub comparison · pitchbook alternatives · crunchbase alternatives · all of frontrun · comparisons · tool roundup · trending startups