name: signal-sourcing-engine
description: "Run a systematic sourcing engine: network loops, signal harvesting, and thesis-driven outbound. Use when you need to generate proprietary dealflow, keep a pipeline current, or expand coverage."
license: Proprietary
compatibility: Requires web access for research and outreach; Salesforce logging is a hard gate.
metadata:
author: evalops
version: "0.2"

Signal sourcing engine

When to use

Use this skill when you need to:
- Generate new at-bats (companies and founders) in a specific thesis area
- Build a repeatable sourcing system (not ad hoc coffee chats)
- Turn weak signals into qualified founder meetings

Inputs you should request (only if missing)

• Thesis wedge (or ask for a short description)
• Stage focus + geography constraints (if any)
• How the firm defines a "qualified" first meeting (traction, team, ICP, etc.)
• Existing CRM rules (Salesforce fields/stages) if available

Outputs you must produce

1) Sourcing loops (3 compounding systems, not ad hoc searches)
2) Signal rubric (what to watch + how to score)
3) Weekly pipeline update (10 new names, 3 meetings, 1 partner-ready candidate)
4) Monthly network refresh (top 50 humans + 10 new additions)
5) Outreach experiments (2 variants with response tracking)

Hard gate: No "qualified" company exists unless there's a Salesforce Account/Lead + next task + owner.

Templates:
- assets/signal-rubric.md
- assets/outreach-templates.md
- assets/weekly-pipeline-update.md

Cadence and metrics (required)

Weekly deliverables

• 10 new names added to pipeline
• 3 meetings scheduled or completed
• 1 partner-ready candidate surfaced
• Salesforce updated with all entries

Monthly deliverables

• Refresh top 50 humans list (remove stale, add emerging)
• Add 10 new humans to network cultivation list
• Review outreach experiments: what's working, what's not
• Update signal rubric based on hit rate

Procedure

Loop A: Earned network loop (highest signal, first-class object)

Goal: become "first call" for a cluster of builders and operators.

Build the system:
1) Identify 2-3 "talent pools" for the wedge:
- ex-employee clusters from relevant companies
- OSS communities (maintainers + power users)
- buyer/operator communities (CISOs, data eng leads, RevOps, etc.)
2) Build a "Top 50 humans" list with columns:
- Name, role, company, thesis relevance
- Last touch date, relationship strength (1-5)
- Value provided to them, value received
- Next action + due date
3) Provide small, concrete value before asking for meetings:
- 1 targeted intro
- a short market map excerpt
- a recruiting assist on a specific role
4) Track compounding metrics:
- Touches -> warm conversations -> referrals -> founder intros
- Target: 20% of Top 50 should generate a referral per quarter

Monthly refresh:
- Review all 50: who's gone stale? Who's risen?
- Add 10 new humans, remove 10 lowest-value
- Log changes in Salesforce (Contacts with "Network" tag)

Loop B: Signal harvesting loop (volume, disciplined)

Goal: produce a weekly list of candidates worth human qualification.

Build the system:
1) Define 8-12 signals tied to the wedge (avoid generic hype).
Examples:
- hiring for "founding AE" or "head of sales" (GTM transition)
- design partners mentioned in job posts
- OSS adoption with maintainer activity and downstream usage
- specific buyer pain appearing in forums where buyers complain
2) Score each signal (1-5) for:
- Relevance to thesis
- Timeliness
- Uniqueness (are competitors seeing this too?)
3) Human qualification pass:
- 10 minutes scan -> 50 names -> 5 worth work -> 1 worth meeting.
4) Log "why" for every pass to improve the rubric.
5) Weekly output: 10 new names with signal scores

Loop C: Thesis-driven outbound loop (precision outreach)

Goal: outreach that feels like "I did the work," not spam.

Build the system:
1) Create 2 outreach variants per thesis:
- Variant A: insight-led ("We mapped this space and noticed...")
- Variant B: value-led ("We can intro you to [specific customer]...")
2) Track response rates per variant (aim for >20% response, >10% meeting)
3) Rules for every message:
- Must include: the wedge you believe is emerging
- Must include: what looks distinct about their approach
- Must include: a concrete offer (customer intro, operator feedback, recruiting, etc.)
- If it could be sent to 20 companies with minimal edits, rewrite it.

Monthly review:
- Which variant is winning?
- What offers get responses? What offers fall flat?
- Update templates based on data.

Qualification checklist (first pass)

A candidate is "qualified for a first meeting" if you can answer:
- Who buys? Who uses?
- What changes the buyer's mind?
- What do they replace?
- What proof of pull exists (even weak)?
- What's the likely wedge expansion path?
- Must be true: one sentence stating what makes this worth partner time
- Fastest falsification test: what's the 1-call test?

Salesforce logging (MANDATORY GATE)

Hard rule: A company does not exist in your pipeline unless it has:
- A Lead (founder contact) or Account (company)
- A next-step Task with owner and due date
- Source field populated (Loop A/B/C)

Minimum fields to capture:
- Source (Loop A/B/C)
- Thesis tag / segment
- Signal score (1-5)
- Must be true (one sentence)
- Next step + due date
- Status (meet / watch / pass)
- Pass reason (if passing) + "what would change our mind"

Use salesforce-crm-ops for API logging patterns.

Examples

• Input: "Source seed-stage AI security posture management."
• Output: Top 50 humans list with refresh schedule, 10 new names this week (all in Salesforce), 5 outreach targets with 2 variants, 2 warm intros, weekly metrics (3 meetings, 1 partner-ready), outreach experiment results.

Edge cases

• If signals are noisy: tighten wedge and require buyer clarity before meetings.
• If outbound response is low: your offer is not concrete enough; fix the offer, not the subject line.
• If you can't log to Salesforce: stop and fix the integration before continuing. No exceptions.