How to Find YC Founders by Batch and Shopify Store Owners for B2B Outreach (2026)

Quick Answer: Origami is the fastest way to find YC founders by batch or Shopify store owners. Describe your target in one prompt—"Find founders from YC W24 batch building developer tools" or "Find Shopify stores selling organic skincare"—and Origami's AI searches the live web, enriches contacts, and returns verified emails and phone numbers. Starts free with 1,000 credits, no credit card required.

---

You're an AE selling dev tooling and you know YC's Winter 2026 batch has 40+ infrastructure startups in your sweet spot. You open Apollo, type "YC W26," and get 11,000 generic results—mostly outdated profiles, no batch filtering, and half the founders are already at their next company. You try LinkedIn Sales Navigator, manually clicking through batch announcements, copying names into a spreadsheet, then switching to ZoomInfo to pull emails one by one. Three hours later, you have 18 contacts.

Or you're prospecting Shopify stores in the pet supplement space. Apollo has zero visibility into e-commerce operators unless they're also on LinkedIn with their store listed. You resort to scraping Shopify app review pages, Googling "powered by Shopify" + your keywords, and manually enriching each domain.

The core problem: traditional B2B databases were built for enterprise software buyers, not niche startup cohorts or e-commerce operators. YC batch data lives on YC's website, founder social profiles, and Crunchbase—not in ZoomInfo's static index. Shopify store owners rarely appear in LinkedIn Sales Navigator unless they run a large DTC brand. Manual research works, but it doesn't scale when your quota depends on reaching 200+ prospects per week.

Why YC Founders and Shopify Store Owners Are Hard to Find with Traditional Tools

Apollo and ZoomInfo index contacts by scraping LinkedIn, company websites, and business registries. YC founders appear in these databases only if they've updated their LinkedIn profile to include their new startup and the database has refreshed since the batch launched. For newly funded startups in the first 90 days post-Demo Day, you're prospecting people who haven't finished their website, haven't updated LinkedIn, and whose company domain might still redirect to a landing page.

Shopify store owners face the opposite problem. Most operators run single-person or small teams—no LinkedIn company pages, no SDRs to cold call, no investor announcements. They exist on Google, Shopify app directories, and niche e-commerce forums, but Apollo's contact-centric architecture doesn't index them. If the owner's email isn't publicly listed on the store's contact page, the database has nothing.

Static databases also refresh on cycles—weekly, monthly, or quarterly. By the time Apollo ingests YC's latest batch or a new Shopify store registers, you've lost weeks of outreach window. Series A buyers are already hearing from five other vendors who got there faster.

How to Find YC Founders by Batch

YC publishes batch rosters at launch (e.g., ycombinat­or.com/companies?batch=W26), but the public directory shows company names and one-line descriptions—no founder names, no emails. Most YC founders do eventually update LinkedIn, but timing varies. Some update the day they get funded; others wait until post-launch.

Here's the manual workflow most sales teams use:

1. Open YC's batch directory and filter by vertical (e.g., developer tools, fintech, healthcare)
2. Click each company to find the founders page or About Us section
3. Copy founder names into a spreadsheet
4. Search each name on LinkedIn to confirm current role
5. Switch to Apollo or ZoomInfo to pull contact data
6. Manually verify emails with Hunter.io or NeverBounce

For a 50-company list, this takes 4-6 hours. For a 200-company batch, it's a multi-day project.

Origami collapses this into one prompt: "Find co-founders from YC Winter 2026 batch building infrastructure and dev tools, include email and LinkedIn." The AI searches YC's directory, crawls each company's website for founder info, cross-references LinkedIn to verify current employment, and enriches contact data from multiple sources. Output: a CSV with names, titles, verified emails, phone numbers, company domains, and batch cohort.

Origami works for any batch filter. Prompt examples that work:

• "Find YC S25 founders in fintech with Series A funding"
• "Find YC W26 AI agent startups with fewer than 10 employees"
• "Find YC alumni from recent batches who pivoted to cybersecurity"

Because Origami searches the live web for every query, it catches founders who updated their profile yesterday, not last quarter when the database refreshed.

How to Find Shopify Store Owners

Shopify powers 4.4 million active stores globally. The challenge isn't finding stores—it's finding the decision-maker's contact info. Most stores list a generic support@domain.com or a contact form, not the owner's direct email.

Traditional approaches:

• Shopify app directories — Browse apps by category, scrape the stores that installed them. Time-consuming and limited to stores that publicly review apps.
• Google searches — "powered by Shopify" + [your niche]. Works for large stores but misses smaller operators who customize their footer.
• E-commerce aggregators — Tools like BuiltWith or SimilarTech identify Shopify sites by tech stack, but they don't provide owner contact data.

Once you have a domain list, you still need to enrich it: Who owns this store? What's their email? Are they the founder or hired management?

Apollo can enrich domains if the owner has a LinkedIn profile tied to that company. But most Shopify operators don't list "Founder at [StoreName]" on LinkedIn—they're running the business, not networking. Clay can chain enrichment steps (domain → owner name → email lookup), but you're building a 6-step waterfall workflow and burning API credits on every failed lookup.

Origami solves this by treating "find Shopify store owners in [niche]" as a single research task. Example prompt: "Find Shopify stores selling organic pet supplements with revenue over $500K/year, include owner name and email." The AI searches Shopify directories, Google, e-commerce review sites, and public business filings to identify stores, then cross-references ownership records, WHOIS data, and LinkedIn to find the decision-maker's contact info.

Origami adapts its research approach to the target. For enterprise SaaS buyers, it searches LinkedIn and company databases. For Shopify store owners, it searches e-commerce platforms, Google Maps, and domain registration records. Same tool, different research path.

How to Find Series A SaaS Founders

Series A SaaS founders are easier than Shopify owners (most are on LinkedIn) but harder than enterprise buyers (they're not sitting in a database waiting for cold emails). The prospecting challenge is identifying which startups just raised, filtering by vertical, and reaching founders before they get buried in vendor pitches.

Most teams use Crunchbase or PitchBook to find recent funding rounds, export company names, then manually research founders. This works but introduces lag—by the time Crunchbase indexes the round, the founder has already heard from 20 sales reps.

Alternative sources:

• AngelList / Wellfound — Good for early-stage startups, but no funding filter unless you pay for Talent.
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator — You can filter by "recently posted about funding," but this only catches founders who announced publicly.
• Twitter / X — Founders often announce funding before press releases go out. Searching "we raised" + "Series A" works but isn't scalable.

Origami handles this with a prompt like: "Find co-founders of Series A SaaS companies in sales enablement that raised funding in the last 6 months, include email and LinkedIn." The AI searches Crunchbase, AngelList, company press releases, and founder social profiles, then enriches contact data.

Why this matters: timing. If you're selling GTM tools to Series A companies, you want to reach them in the 30-60 day window after they raise—when they're hiring sales teams and buying stack. Waiting for ZoomInfo to index the round means you're 90 days late.

How to Find AI Agent Startups

AI agent companies are the hardest niche to prospect because the category is new, definitions vary, and most tools database-tag companies by legacy categories ("SaaS," "developer tools," "automation"). If you search Apollo for "AI agents," you get workflow automation companies from years ago plus every startup that mentioned AI in a blog post.

Real AI agent startups:

• Build autonomous systems that complete multi-step tasks (e.g., research, outreach, data entry)
• Often describe themselves with phrases like "AI SDR," "AI research assistant," "autonomous workflows"
• Funded recently because the technology is new

Manual prospecting workflow:

1. Search Crunchbase for "AI agent" or "autonomous AI" in company descriptions
2. Browse YC batches for AI-related startups
3. Follow AI-focused VCs on Twitter and track portfolio announcements
4. Search GitHub for repos tagged "AI agent" and see who's building
5. Export company names, then manually research founders

Origami prompt: "Find founders of AI agent startups that raised funding in the last 12 months, exclude workflow automation companies, include email and funding stage." The AI searches YC batches, Crunchbase, GitHub trending repos, VC portfolio pages, and founder social profiles to identify companies that match the definition, then enriches contact data.

The key difference: Origami understands intent. If you type "AI agent startups" into Apollo, it keyword-matches company descriptions. Origami interprets your intent (you want autonomous AI systems, not legacy RPA tools) and adjusts its search strategy.

How to Find Fintech Companies by Segment

Fintech is too broad. "Fintech founders" could mean:

• Embedded payments platforms selling to SaaS companies
• Consumer neobanks targeting Gen Z
• B2B spend management tools for mid-market finance teams
• Crypto infrastructure for institutional investors

If you search Apollo for "fintech," you get 40,000 results spanning every sub-category. Manual filtering by keywords ("payments," "banking," "lending") still leaves thousands of irrelevant companies.

Better prospecting approach: define the segment by behavior, not keywords.

Example ICP: "Fintech companies selling spend management tools to mid-market companies, Series A or later, with finance or operations teams as buyers."

Origami prompt: "Find founders of B2B fintech companies building spend management or procurement tools, Series A funded or later, include CFO or VP Finance contact if available."

The AI interprets "spend management" as a use case (Ramp, Brex, Airbase competitors), filters by funding stage, and searches for decision-makers in finance roles. Output: a targeted list of 30-50 prospects instead of 40,000.

Tools for Finding YC Founders and Shopify Store Owners

Origami

Best for: Finding any niche ICP (YC founders, Shopify owners, Series A SaaS, AI agents, fintech segments) with one prompt

How it works: Describe your target in plain English. Origami's AI searches the live web—YC directories, Shopify app pages, Crunchbase, LinkedIn, company websites, Google Maps, domain registries—then enriches contact data (emails, phone numbers, LinkedIn profiles, company details).

Strengths:

• Works for ANY ICP, not just enterprise buyers. Same tool finds YC batch founders and Shopify store owners.
• Live web search means fresher data than static databases. Catches founders who updated LinkedIn yesterday.
• No workflow building. Clay requires chaining 6+ steps for Shopify owner enrichment; Origami does it in one prompt.
• Free plan: 1,000 credits, no credit card required. Paid plans start at $29/month.

Weaknesses:

• Not an outreach tool—Origami builds the list, you handle email campaigns in your existing tool (Outreach, Salesloft, HubSpot, etc.)
• Newer product, so less brand recognition than Apollo or ZoomInfo

Pricing: Free plan with 1,000 credits (no credit card required), then $29/month for 2,000 credits. Pro plans from $129/month.

Try Origami free →

Apollo

Best for: Prospecting LinkedIn-heavy audiences (enterprise buyers, VC-backed founders who keep LinkedIn updated)

How it works: Search by job title, company size, industry, tech stack. Export contacts with emails and phone numbers. Includes basic outreach sequencing.

Strengths:

• Free plan with 900 annual credits
• Large database (275M+ contacts)
• Built-in email sequences

Weaknesses:

• Misses Shopify store owners, local businesses, and founders who don't use LinkedIn
• No batch filtering for YC or other startup accelerators—you get generic "founder" results
• Static database refreshes periodically, so newly funded startups lag by weeks

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $49/month (annual billing).

Clay

Best for: Advanced users who want to build custom enrichment workflows

How it works: Connect data sources (Apollo, Hunter, Clearbit, LinkedIn, etc.) in a spreadsheet interface. Chain lookups: domain → owner name → email → phone.

Strengths:

• Extremely flexible—can build multi-step workflows for niche use cases
• Integrates 50+ data providers
• Free plan with 500 actions/month

Weaknesses:

• Requires technical setup. Finding Shopify store owners means building a 6-8 step waterfall.
• You pay for each enrichment step, so complex workflows burn credits fast
• Not live web search—Clay pulls from databases, which still miss non-LinkedIn targets

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $167/month.

ZoomInfo

Best for: Enterprise sales teams with large budgets prospecting Fortune 500 buyers

How it works: Search by job title, company, tech stack, intent signals. Export contacts with verified emails and direct dials.

Strengths:

• Deep data on large enterprises
• Intent signals (website visits, content downloads)
• Direct dial phone numbers

Weaknesses:

• Pricing starts around $15,000/year—prohibitive for small teams
• Built for enterprise buyers, not startup founders or e-commerce operators
• No coverage of Shopify stores or early-stage YC companies

Pricing: Contact sales (typically $15,000+/year).

Hunter.io

Best for: Finding and verifying individual emails when you already have a company domain

How it works: Enter a domain (e.g., shopify-store.com), Hunter searches for publicly listed emails and suggests the owner's likely pattern.

Strengths:

• Free plan with 50 searches/month
• Good email verification accuracy
• Simple interface

Weaknesses:

• Doesn't find companies or people—you bring the domain, Hunter finds the email
• Manual process: one domain at a time unless you upload a CSV
• Misses contacts whose emails aren't publicly listed

Pricing: Free plan with 50 credits/month. Paid plans start at $34/month.

Step-by-Step: Prospecting YC Founders with Origami

Step 1: Define your ICP

Be specific. "YC founders" is 10,000+ companies. Narrow by:

• Batch (W26, S25, etc.)
• Vertical (fintech, dev tools, healthcare)
• Stage (seed, Series A, post-revenue)
• Geography (U.S.-based, Europe, LATAM)

Step 2: Write your Origami prompt

Example: "Find co-founders from YC Winter 2026 batch building B2B SaaS in sales or marketing, include email, LinkedIn, and funding stage."

Step 3: Review and export

Origami returns a table with:

• Founder name
• Title (Co-founder, CEO, CTO)
• Email (verified)
• Phone number (if available)
• LinkedIn URL
• Company name and domain
• Funding stage
• Batch cohort

Export as CSV.

Step 4: Upload to your outreach tool

Import the CSV into Outreach, Salesloft, HubSpot, or your CRM. Write your sequence. Start outreach.

Time saved: What took 6 hours manually now takes 10 minutes.

Step-by-Step: Prospecting Shopify Store Owners with Origami

Step 1: Define your niche

Shopify has 4.4 million stores. You need filters:

• Product category (apparel, supplements, home goods)
• Revenue or size (e.g., stores doing $500K+/year)
• Geography (U.S., Canada, UK)
• Tech stack (uses Klaviyo, runs on Shopify Plus)

Step 2: Write your Origami prompt

Example: "Find Shopify store owners selling home decor in the U.S. with estimated annual revenue over $1M, include owner name, email, and store URL."

Step 3: Review and export

Origami returns:

• Store name and URL
• Owner name
• Email (verified)
• Phone number (if available)
• Estimated revenue
• Location

Export as CSV.

Step 4: Segment and personalize

Shopify owners respond better to tailored outreach than generic cold emails. Use the data Origami provides (product category, revenue estimate, store theme) to personalize your first line.

Example: "Saw you're doing $1M+ with [StoreName]—most brands at your scale struggle with [pain point]. Here's how we help."

Step 5: Upload to CRM and launch outreach

Import to your CRM or email tool. Launch your sequence.

When to Use Origami vs Apollo vs Clay

Use Origami when:

• You're prospecting a niche ICP (YC founders, Shopify owners, AI agent startups, local businesses)
• You want one tool that works for any target (enterprise buyers, e-commerce operators, funded startups)
• You don't want to build multi-step workflows—you just want the list
• You need live web data, not a static database

Use Apollo when:

• You're prospecting LinkedIn-heavy audiences (enterprise software buyers, VPs at large companies)
• You want outreach sequences built into the same tool as prospecting
• You're okay with a contact-centric database that refreshes periodically

Use Clay when:

• You're a power user who wants full control over data sources and enrichment logic
• You're willing to build and maintain multi-step workflows
• You need to chain 5+ data providers for complex scoring or routing

Real-world example: You're selling payment processing to Shopify stores. Apollo returns zero results because store owners aren't on LinkedIn. Clay can find stores via BuiltWith, then enrich domains via Hunter and Clearbit—but you're building an 8-step workflow and paying per step. Origami prompt: "Find Shopify stores in fashion with $500K+ revenue, include owner email." Done in one step.

Common Mistakes When Prospecting YC Founders and Shopify Owners

Mistake 1: Searching for "founders" generically in Apollo

Apollo has 1.2 million profiles with "Founder" in the title. Most are consultants, agency owners, or outdated profiles. Filter by funding stage, batch, or vertical to narrow the list.

Mistake 2: Assuming Shopify store owners are on LinkedIn

Most aren't. Shopify operators run lean—no VP of Sales, no SDR team, no LinkedIn company page. Search where they actually exist: Shopify app directories, Google, e-commerce forums.

Mistake 3: Using stale data from annual database refreshes

If you're prospecting Series A founders, you want to reach them in the 60 days post-funding. Static databases lag by 30-90 days. By the time ZoomInfo indexes the round, the founder has already picked vendors.

Mistake 4: Over-personalizing cold emails to niche founders

YC founders and Shopify owners get fewer cold emails than enterprise buyers, but that doesn't mean they want a 300-word essay about their product. Keep it short: one pain point, one solution, one CTA.

Mistake 5: Not verifying emails before sending

Shopify store emails are often generic (info@, support@). If you're scraping domains manually, verify emails with Hunter or NeverBounce before uploading to your outreach tool. Origami returns verified emails, so this step is built in.

Summary and Next Steps

Prospecting niche audiences like YC founders by batch or Shopify store owners requires tools that go beyond static databases. Traditional platforms like Apollo and ZoomInfo index LinkedIn profiles and company registries—they miss e-commerce operators, newly funded startups, and decision-makers who don't maintain public profiles.

Origami solves this by searching the live web for every query. Describe your ICP in one prompt—YC batch, Shopify niche, Series A SaaS, AI agent startups, fintech segment—and the AI handles research, enrichment, and verification. Output: a CSV with verified emails, phone numbers, LinkedIn profiles, and company details.

Next step: Start free with 1,000 credits (no credit card required). Test a prompt for YC founders or Shopify owners and see how the AI adapts its search. Try Origami now →