Discover Startups vs Selva

Discover Startups is a vetted directory and matchmaking platform for early-stage, product-based founders. Its free Directory gives startups a profile, visibility to investors, media, buyers and partners, and watchlist notifications. Investors, journalists, retail buyers and brand partners can search using filters such as stage, sector and location, then contact founders directly through their inbox without per-introduction fees. Submissions are reviewed to check that a startup is real, its founder can be reached and its data is honest; revenue and stage are not acceptance gates. The paid Matchmaker plan adds AI-powered matching across press, retail, investor and event opportunities, with curated options founders can pursue or pass on. Founders can edit profiles, pause matching for audiences and add audiences they want to reach. Matchmaker also includes a founder-only WhatsApp community, events and webinars. It is an invite-only beta: applications are reviewed by hand, invitations arrive in small batches, and billing starts only after an invitation. Matchmaker costs £49.99 a month once invited. Service businesses are not accepted.

Selva is a web-based map of Latin American startups, investors, and funding activity, combining public information, source links, and market summaries. Its listed coverage includes 4,374 startups, 4,662 investors, and 21 markets, alongside 4,479 company records. Selva says it uses 37 sources, parses articles in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, and links funding rounds to their source articles. Public access shows identities, descriptions, and rolled-up totals. A free account adds round structure, dates, and portfolio lists, while amounts stay hidden. Premium costs $39 a month and adds exact amounts, valuations, revenue, and check sizes. Selva compares disclosed yearly totals with LAVCA benchmarks and publishes those comparisons and coverage figures. Company corrections go through a domain-verified review limited to company employees. Selva warns that information may be incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate and is provided for information and research, not as investment advice. Its terms prohibit scraping, crawling, harvesting, or bulk downloads, and restrict resale or redistribution except where expressly permitted. Selva says it does not sell personal information and loads Google Analytics only with visitor consent.