People GraphProfessional discovery
Find the people you need to build and grow.
Discover potential cofounders, founding engineers, early hires, first customers, and partners. Find the connectors whose professional relationships could help you reach them.
Understand who matters to your next stage, who to approach first, and why. Explore documented work and relationships to find relevant people and possible paths to a wider network.
GoalOperations leaders at logistics companies expanding into new markets
Illustrative exampleConnectors
An illustrative example: a startup looking for logistics design partners compares three possible connectors. The people and companies are fictional.
The context
Find the experience behind the profile.
A name and a job title rarely tell you enough. The useful details are scattered across company pages, professional profiles, projects, publications, and your own records.
People Graph brings that context into a connected view of people, organizations, and documented work. Explore who has relevant experience and identify connectors whose relationships could open doors to more of the people you need.
Scattered today
In People Graph
Select a source to see what it adds.
- People
- Organizations
- Documented work
Connectors
Find your best connectors.
Connector
A connector is the first person in a connection path: someone whose professional relationships could help you reach your target people.
Identify who to approach first, understand why they matter, and explore the wider network around them.
Compare potential connectors by how relevant their relationships are to your goal, how direct the paths are, and what the evidence says about each link.
Example
For example, a startup seeking logistics design partners might discover a consultant who has collaborated with operations leaders at several target companies. That person could be a useful first conversation and a possible route to more potential customers. Use the context to ask for advice or a relevant introduction.
You
Connector
Target people
Wider network
How you explore
Discover people with context.
- Who has worked in the market you want to enter?01
Search for relevant experience
Look beyond exact titles. Explore people through expertise, roles, organizations, projects, publications, and other documented contributions. Start with a practical question, such as who has built a particular kind of product or worked in the market you want to enter.
- Person
- Person
- Person
- Organization
Step evidenceProject page · 2021
02Explore documented connections
Follow relationships among people, companies, institutions, and their work. A shared project, coauthored paper, or employment history can reveal additional people worth researching. Where evidence supports it, explore a path across several connections and inspect each step.
- 03
Compare connectors and paths
Look at the people at the start of relevant paths. Compare whom each connector is linked to, how those links relate to your goal, and whether the route involves direct collaboration or several steps. Find a practical starting point for your outreach.
Why this connection
- Source
- Project page
- Relationship type
- Direct collaboration
- Dates
- 2018
- What it shows
- They worked on the same project
Why this connection
- Source
- Company pages
- Relationship type
- Shared affiliation
- Dates
- 2012–2015 and 2019–present
- What it shows
- Same company, different years
04Understand why a result matters
Review the source, relationship type, and relevant dates behind a connection. Distinguish a direct collaboration from a shared affiliation, and understand how each person fits into the wider professional picture. Use that context to decide where to focus your research.
Common searches
Put your search to work.
Build your founding team
Find potential cofounders, founding engineers, and early hires with experience that complements yours. Explore their products, projects, and professional histories. Identify connectors, such as former collaborators, whose relationships could lead you to several relevant builders. Create a shortlist for conversations about skills, working style, and building together.
Example search:
Find your first customers and design partners
Identify people close to the problem your startup solves, including likely users, buyers, and decision-makers. Find connectors with relevant links across your target companies, then compare possible routes to those people. Focus your customer discovery, pilot discussions, and design-partner outreach around informed first conversations.
Example search:
Recruit specialists and early leaders
Discover candidates through demonstrated work and domain experience. Explore relevant projects, research, and professional histories, then follow documented collaborations to find additional specialists. Give recruiters and hiring teams useful context for outreach, screening, and conversations about the role.
Example search:
Research buyers and target accounts
Understand the people around an account before reaching out. Explore relevant roles, leadership backgrounds, and organizational relationships to identify who may influence a decision. Build a clearer view of your target account and prepare outreach around the people and issues most relevant to your offer.
Example search:
Find advisors and strategic partners
Look for operators, experts, and potential partners whose experience fits a specific challenge. Research who has entered a market, built a distribution channel, or contributed to relevant work. Review their background and affiliations before deciding whether an advisory conversation or partnership is worth exploring.
Example search:
Research investors and the people behind companies
For founders, research relevant investors and connectors whose documented work or affiliations could create paths to them. For investors, explore founders, leadership teams, and people connected to their prior work. Understand who could add useful context to fundraising conversations, company research, and due diligence.
Example search:
Four steps
Find the right people and your starting point.
- 01
Start with your goal
Choose the person, company, expertise, or business problem you want to explore. Be specific about the experience that would make someone relevant.
- 02
Review the people and their work
Examine professional backgrounds, documented contributions, and affiliations. Compare the available evidence against your goal rather than relying on a single profile field.
- 03
Find and compare connectors
Trace relevant paths and identify the first person in each one. Compare the connectors, their links to your target people, and the evidence behind those links. Consider which person offers the most relevant starting point.
- 04
Choose who to approach first
Use the professional context to prepare a specific request. That might be a conversation with your target person, advice from a connector, or a possible introduction to someone in their network.
Evidence
Understand what a connection actually means.
-
01
Collaborated on a project
Direct collaborationABShared project, 2018Source · Project page
- A at Northwind Traders, 2014–2021
- B at Contoso, 2012–2024
- Worked together on one project, 2018
-
02
Worked at the same company in different years
Shared affiliationABNo overlapSource · Company pages
- A at Fabrikam, 2011–2015
- B at Fabrikam, 2019–present
- Never there at the same time
-
03
Attended the same institution without meeting
Shared affiliationABSame years, no evidence they metSource · Professional profiles
- A at Bellows College, 2008–2013
- B at Bellows College, 2010–2015
- Nothing shows they met
Our approach keeps source information, relationship types, and dates alongside the connections they support. It also treats identity carefully: similar names alone are not enough to merge two people into one profile.
See the context behind each link so you can distinguish documented work and affiliations from personal familiarity.
- NameSame
- WorkDifferent
- PlaceDifferent
- ResultKept as two people
Private workspace
Bring your team knowledge into the picture.
Your team's authorized information can add context that public professional evidence cannot. The private workspace brings permitted CRM and ATS records, first-party contributions, and other authorized relationship information into your organization's view.
Keep that information within the workspace and access scope your organization authorizes, rather than automatically adding it to a shared network. Use your own records alongside broader professional evidence to understand existing contacts and see how your team's knowledge relates to the people you want to reach.
Your organization's view
Private workspaceAccess scope set by your organization
- CRM records
- ATS records
- First-party contributions
- Other authorized relationship information
Your records stay in your workspace. They are not added to a shared network automatically.
Not added to a shared network automatically
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
People Graph connects people, organizations, documented work, and professional relationships. Find relevant people, understand their context, and identify connectors who could help you reach them.
People Graph connects profiles with projects, publications, employment history, and documented collaborations. Explore why someone is relevant, how people connect, and who might be a useful first conversation on a path toward your goal.
The data foundation combines our own permitted collection of professional information, reusable open datasets, and optional licensed data providers. Separately authorized customer records and first-party contributions can add private context. Use depends on source permissions and applicable data rights.
A connector is the first person in a path toward people you want to reach. Look for relevant professional links, a clear route, and evidence that explains each relationship. A connector may lead toward one person or a wider group of potential collaborators, customers, or investors.
Explore relevant builders and early hires, or people who may use, evaluate, or buy your product. Identify connectors whose relationships could help you start those conversations and reach additional people with relevant experience.
A documented connection can suggest a route worth exploring. An introduction still depends on a contact who knows the person and is willing to help.
Your authorized organizational information stays within its workspace and access scope. Connecting your records does not automatically add them to a shared network.
Pick a time to talk or discuss your use case with us. Tell us who you need to find and what you're trying to achieve, so we can focus the conversation on your workflow.
Tell us who you need to find.
Tell us about the team you're building or the customers, partners, and investors you want to reach. Explore the people who matter and the connectors who could help you take the next step.