If you are new to early-stage investing, the vocabulary can feel like a wall: deal flow, pre-seed, SAFEs, valuation caps, signal versus noise. The guides below explain the fundamentals in plain language — and show where engineering momentum data fits into a modern evaluation process.
Every guide on this page builds on the same observation that powers GitDealFlow: public GitHub activity is a leading indicator. Before a startup raises, before it hires a banker, before the round hits the press, its engineering team usually starts moving faster. GitDealFlow reads the public GitHub activity of 4,200+ startups and tracks commit velocity, contributor growth, and repository expansion to spot that acceleration early.
Deal flow is the stream of investment opportunities a fund or investor evaluates — and its quality determines portfolio quality. This guide explains how VCs source, evaluate, and track opportunities, and where new signal sources like engineering momentum fit into a modern sourcing workflow alongside networks and inbound referrals.
The pre-seed stage sits before the first institutional round, when startups have the least data and the most risk. This guide covers the stage's definitions, typical deal structures, and how to evaluate opportunities when revenue is thin or nonexistent — including non-financial signals such as commit velocity, contributor growth, and repository expansion.
The fastest way to learn is to watch real signals. GitDealFlow's method is published on SSRN under a CC BY 4.0 license with an open dataset, and it was validated on a research panel of 219 documented fundraises — with signals typically appearing 21-47 days before the round hits the press.
Subscribe to the free weekly digest and you will receive five names every Sunday by email, selected for accelerating engineering activity. It is free, unsubscribes in one click, and works as a live case study: each week, pick one name, open its GitHub organization, and compare what you see with what the signal described. Paid tiers (Dashboard and Insider) add deeper tracking once you are ready.