Services
Expert Sourcing
Expert Sourcing is GlassDollar’s done-for-you alternative to self-serve search: our PhD analysts scope your need, screen the market, and deliver a curated, ranked shortlist — with results presented directly to your team.
What it is
A human-curated sourcing engagement run by GlassDollar’s analyst team. It combines the platform’s AI matching (20M+ company database) with expert judgment: analysts define the scope with you, screen and evaluate startups against your specific criteria, benchmark the finalists against each other, and hand over a ready-to-use shortlist.
Expert Sourcing vs. SourceAI
| SourceAI | Expert Sourcing | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | You, self-serve | GlassDollar’s analyst team |
| Speed | Seconds | 7 business days |
| Cost | Included in your subscription | Requires sourcing credits |
| Best for | Quick exploration, well-defined needs, high search volume | Complex or unfamiliar needs, high-stakes decisions, when you want expert-vetted results without doing the legwork |
| Output | Landscape or Benchmark list | Landscape or Benchmark list, curated by an analyst |
When to use it
Reach for Expert Sourcing when the need is ambiguous or high-stakes, when your team doesn’t have bandwidth to screen the market itself, or when you want a second, expert opinion layered on top of (or instead of) your own SourceAI search.
Sourcing credits
Expert Sourcing is commissioned separately from your standard subscription and requires sourcing credits.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Buying credits | Not self-serve — reach out to your account manager to purchase |
| Checking your balance | Visible in Lists → Sourcing orders tab |
| Placing an order | From Lists via Order Sourcing, or directly with your account manager — either way, you define the scope together |
Outcomes: Landscape vs. Benchmark
Every Expert Sourcing engagement is delivered as one of two list formats:
| Format | What it gives you | Use it for | Define criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape | A broad-topic overview across multiple categories — aggregated startup funding, GlassDollar Growth Score, reference customers, and more per category | Exploring an unfamiliar space, briefing stakeholders, understanding what solution types exist | 3 criteria that apply across all categories |
| Benchmark | A ranked, side-by-side comparison of the best-fit startups for a clear use case — Venture Associate recommendations, must-have/nice-to-have feature comparison, stakeholder votes and notes, visit tracking | Selecting a supplier, vendor decisions, narrowing to a shortlist for PoC | Max. 7–10 criteria recommended — enough for quality coverage without losing focus on what matters most |
The sourcing process
Delivered in 7 business days. Ownership shifts from GlassDollar to you partway through:
| Phase | Steps | Owned by |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Contact your account manager → needs assessment interview with the pain point owner → pain point logged in platform, client approves scope | GlassDollar |
| Source | Deep market screening → evaluate startups against your criteria → benchmark finalists against each other → compile curated short/longlist | GlassDollar |
| Present | Market insights presented and explained → top 2–4 solutions presented to your team, with fit and differentiation explained | GlassDollar |
| Handover | You take ownership of the shortlist and next steps | Client |
| Outreach (optional) | Use the outreach feature to request introductions to the top solutions | Client |