Why people prospecting beats perfect timing

Early-stage sourcing is often framed as a game of timing: the goal is to spot breakout companies as close to formation as possible. But Sorenson Capital takes a longer view. The firm’s founder-first approach brings a unique advantage in competitive markets. By the time others discover a stealth company, Sorenson Capital may have already built trust, offered support, and earned a seat at the table. “Some of our best opportunities come from founders we’ve known for a long time,” explains Suril. 

Harmonic plays a critical role in powering this motion, helping the team stay aware of subtle inflection points in a founder’s journey. “We’ve tried other providers,” PJ says, “but Harmonic is the only one that consistently surfaces the right profiles early, whether it’s someone who’s just gone stealth, or someone who left an acquirer six months ago and might be thinking about what’s next.”

With saved searches integrated into Slack, the team is able to triage leads in real time, segment outreach based on founder relevance, and act fast when the signals are right. “We don’t just look for companies,” PJ says. “We monitor people. That’s where everything starts.”

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A bifurcated sourcing engine that scales

One of the advantages (and complexities) of Sorenson Capital’s model is its dual strategy. The Ventures and Growth teams operate separately but share distinct stage mandates, but they share infrastructure, workflows, and institutional knowledge. That shared foundation means sourcing looks different depending on who’s using the data; but the underlying system is the same.

“At the growth stage, it’s all about signal,” explains Suril. “Is headcount growing? Has the company raised less than $50 million? If it hits our filters, an associate reaches out. If there’s traction, a partner steps in.” But at the venture stage, sourcing is more fluid and thesis-driven. Geography, sector focus, and personal networks play a bigger role, and outreach is often more personalized. The team uses a clear prioritization model: top-tier leads—those aligned with active themes—are reviewed in tandem with a partner; others are initially explored by junior team members.

“It’s really about knowing where to spend time,” explains PJ. “Some of our partners are focused on two or three specific sectors. If something fits, we dig in right away. If not, we nurture or bucket it for later.” And sometimes it’s not just thematic fit; it’s intellectual curiosity. “If a founder’s taking a novel approach or it’s a space we haven’t explored yet, that might be exactly why we prioritize it.” Deals can also move up the queue if they come through a VC the team knows and respects, or if the founder has a uniquely compelling background.

Across both teams, Harmonic provides a common backbone for managing inbound deal flow. Triggered search alerts tailored to each team’s criteria push relevant profiles into Slack. From there, PJ and the team triage daily, reviewing for fit, context, and timing. “That triage process—who reviews what, who reaches out, when a partner gets looped in—happens every day,” Suril explains.

As the team scales its sourcing capacity, systemization becomes even more important. From filters and theses to follow-up ownership, Sorenson Capital is focused on building a repeatable engine: one that flexes across stages, sectors, and founder journeys.

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Surfacing stealth: catching founders before they build

While many firms wait for stealth companies to become legible, Sorenson Capital uses Harmonic to catch the earliest possible signals of intent. Their approach blends proactive founder tracking with in-market pattern recognition, powered by employment and acquisition data. “We’re not just looking for stealth startups,” says Suril. “We’re looking for the people who might start them.”

Rather than relying solely on company-level signals, Sorenson Capital monitors individual operators—especially in sectors where they have deep expertise and strong networks. “In a space like identity security, we may already know a dozen or more repeat founders,” PJ says. “If we’ve heard great things about a few of them, we’ll double-down there. The question is: have we spent time in this space? Is this someone we can really support?”

That proactive lens is complemented by Harmonic’s stealth-tagging capabilities. If a founder quietly updates their title or leaves a role without listing a new company, Harmonic flags the shift. “That’s been huge,” says PJ. “Those aren’t people with a website or public footprint yet. But with Harmonic, we can find them anyway… and we don’t waste time chasing ghosts.”

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Building a repeatable system (powered by Harmonic)

Sorenson Capital’s sourcing workflows run on Harmonic, from first signal to final handoff. The team uses Saved Searches and real-time Slack alerts to surface the right profiles early, then triages directly into CRM and outreach workflows. Each lead is tagged with ownership, stage, and context, so team members can take action quickly and confidently. “We can instantly see who’s engaged, what stage a company is at, and who should follow up,” says Suril.

Saved Searches remain the backbone of discovery, especially for focused verticals. For broader spaces like cybersecurity or early-stage AI, PJ will often scan the full Harmonic interface to spot-check for hidden gems. “The data fidelity is just better,” he explains. “Even when a company has no website or public footprint, Harmonic can still flag the right profiles.”

The team leans heavily on Harmonic’s Chrome extension during review. “Anytime I’m looking at a new company, I’m clicking that extension,” PJ adds. “I get the full picture in fifteen seconds.” That view includes founder backgrounds, headcount trends, funding history, investor networks, and founding dates: everything the team needs to contextualize a company and decide whether to reach out or nurture.

Scout, Harmonic’s natural language search, adds another layer of precision. “I’ll ask for early-stage B2B companies in Seattle or Austin that fit our thesis,” says Suril. “It’s especially helpful when I need to go hyper-targeted.”

The team’s outreach is tiered by signal strength. High-priority leads are reviewed with a partner. Mid-tier prospects go into automated campaigns. Others are tracked over time and re-engaged when the moment’s right. “We’ve tried AI tools to prep Slack data for CRM uploads,” PJ says. “But the real unlock is integrating context across the workflow. That’s what enables a system that scales.”

As Sorenson Capital continues to expand its sourcing capacity, the firm is focused on maintaining what makes the system work: high-quality data, clear prioritization, and enough flexibility to follow the thread when something interesting surfaces.

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Why Harmonic gives Sorenson Capital an edge

For Sorenson Capital, Harmonic isn’t just a sourcing tool; it’s their upstream edge in a highly competitive market. “The data coverage at the early stage is just wildly better than anything else we’ve seen,” says Suril. “We find profiles with two-person teams, no funding history… and Harmonic still has a verified email.”

That kind of fidelity gives Sorenson Capital a jumpstart, especially as the firm expands its thematic coverage and builds conviction earlier in the funnel. “We’re seeing more competition in these spaces,” Suril notes. “Firms we never expected to show up in pre-revenue rounds are now writing small checks. We have to be there before that… and we need infrastructure that keeps us ahead.”

That combination—a long-view sourcing philosophy backed by best-in-class infrastructure—is what sets Sorenson Capital apart. The firm isn’t just chasing signals; it’s building a system that sees around corners. With Harmonic as its foundation, Sorenson Capital can operate both personally and programmatically, identifying the right founders early and showing up with the right context when it matters most. In a market where speed and trust are equally critical, that edge compounds.