What we look for
Businesses leave signals before they buy, change, expand, hire, raise money, launch products or enter new markets.
Most businesses do not struggle with capability. They struggle with timing. Long before a decision is announced, the organisation making it has already changed in ways that can be seen from outside. We look for those changes, and we try to see them first.
What counts as a signal depends on the market. For a B2B supplier it might be a funding round or a new CTO. For a gifting brand it is more likely a contract win, a company anniversary or a new wellbeing programme. For an agency it is a new CMO, a rebrand or ad spend that the in-house team cannot support. The table below brings together the signals watched across the three businesses.
How far ahead a signal appears
TrigR Growth reports a typical head start of six to nine weeks between a signal and demand going public.
- Week 0A signal appears
Funding lands. A leader is appointed. Hiring picks up. Nothing is public yet.
- Weeks 1 to 6We open the conversation
Senior, peer-to-peer and framed around the moment, while nobody else is in the room.
- Weeks 6 to 9Demand goes public
The need becomes visible. The shortlist conversation has usually already happened.
- After thatEveryone else arrives
Competitors compete for published opportunities at compressed margins.
The signals we watch
Grouped by the kind of change they indicate, with the business that watches for each one.
| Signal | Type of change | Watched by |
|---|---|---|
| Funding round | Capital | TrigR Growth · TrigR Gifting · Future Makers |
| IPO filing | Capital | TrigR Growth |
| Acquisition or M&A activity | Capital | TrigR Growth · TrigR Gifting |
| Leadership appointment | People | TrigR Growth · TrigR Gifting |
| Marketing or growth leadership hire | People | Future Makers |
| Headcount surge or rapid recruitment | People | TrigR Growth · TrigR Gifting |
| Marketing hiring surge | People | Future Makers |
| Sales team build-out | People | Future Makers |
| Office opening | Places | TrigR Growth · TrigR Gifting |
| Market expansion | Places | TrigR Growth |
| International expansion | Places | TrigR Gifting |
| Market or category expansion | Places | Future Makers |
| Product launch | Product and brand | TrigR Growth · TrigR Gifting |
| Rebrand or website relaunch | Product and brand | Future Makers |
| Tech-stack or martech change | Product and brand | TrigR Growth · Future Makers |
| Ad spend without in-house capacity | Product and brand | Future Makers |
| Major contract win | Relationships | TrigR Growth · TrigR Gifting |
| Customer appreciation | Relationships | TrigR Gifting |
| Reward, recognition and wellbeing initiatives | Relationships | TrigR Gifting |
| Hospitality initiative | Relationships | TrigR Gifting |
| Agency churn signals | Relationships | Future Makers |
| Company anniversary | Moments | TrigR Gifting |
| Award win | Moments | TrigR Gifting · Future Makers |
| Corporate event | Moments | TrigR Gifting |
| Seasonal campaign | Moments | TrigR Gifting |
| Brand moments and news | Moments | Future Makers |
TrigR Growth monitors 38 signal types in total and TrigR Gifting hundreds of proprietary gifting signals; this table lists the ones each business names publicly.