This page gives no legal advice and describes no securities rule. It sorts activities by what SourceX's published documents say, so a relationship partner can see which conversation they are in before they speak.
Two activities, one LP relationship
Most LPs who could help with a company introduction are also, first, investors in the fund. That shared relationship is exactly why the two activities blur: the same person, the same partner at the fund, often the same meeting. The difference sits in what is being asked.
- A company introduction through an LP. The LP knows a company, usually because they chair it, sit on its board, own it or run it. The question is whether its CEO would want to hear about licensing the company's own operating records. The company's CEO decides. If a license follows, SourceX pays the company, and may separately pay the registered partner who introduced it.
- The fund's capital raising. The fund asks the LP, as an investor, for a commitment. The LP decides. Money moves from the LP to the fund under the fund's own documents. SourceX has no part in it.
A third activity hides between them: asking an LP to introduce other investors to the fund. It looks like an introduction, but it is fundraising help, and nothing in SourceX's program touches it.
The activity scope comparison
| Dimension | Company introduction through an LP | The fund's own capital raising |
|---|---|---|
| Who is asked | The LP, as someone who can reach a company's CEO | The LP, as an investor |
| The question | Would the CEO want a conversation about licensing the company's records? | Will you commit capital to this fund? |
| Who decides | The company's CEO; the LP only forwards, or declines to | The LP |
| What governs it | SourceX's program terms and the Channel Partner Agreement for the partner; the company's own agreements with SourceX | The fund's own documents, and whatever rules apply to the fund as its counsel advises |
| What moves | Nothing between the LP and the fund; any license payment goes from SourceX to the company | Capital, from the LP to the fund |
| Who could be paid, and for what | The registered partner, by SourceX, for a company introduction that leads to a qualifying paid license | Nobody, by SourceX, ever |
| Where it is written | A message of its own, outside fund channels | The fund's investor channels |
Method note. Each row is built from SourceX's terms (Version 2026-10-22.2, since replaced by version 2026-11-04), Schedule A and sections 4.2 and 7.1 of the sample Channel Partner Agreement, and the who-qualifies and how-it-works pages, all read on 2026-10-27. The fundraising column states only that SourceX is absent from it; it does not describe how any fund raises money. The sorting below is this page's judgment, not a SourceX rule.
Twelve asks, sorted
Most real conversations are mixes. Sort each ask before it is sent, and split every mix into its parts.
| # | What the fund does | Sort | Before sending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emails an LP who chairs a company to ask whether its CEO would want to hear about licensing | Company introduction | Send it alone, with the fund's interest disclosed |
| 2 | Adds a line about that company to the quarterly letter | Mix | Cut the line and ask in a separate message |
| 3 | Raises the company with the LP at the annual meeting | Mix | Say nothing there; write days later, on its own |
| 4 | Asks the LP to commit to the next fund | Fundraising | Fund channels only, with no mention of SourceX |
| 5 | Asks the LP to introduce other prospective investors to the fund | Fundraising | A question for the fund's counsel; SourceX pays nothing for it |
| 6 | Offers the LP part of any SourceX reward for making the introduction | Mix | Do not; an LP who wants to introduce registers and becomes the partner |
| 7 | Tells the LP the fund could be paid by SourceX and that the company's payout would not change | Company introduction | Keep it, inside the introduction message |
| 8 | Follows up the introduction request while the LP is deciding on a re-up | Mix | Wait until the LP's decision is made |
| 9 | Presents the company's licensing interest in a fundraising deck as portfolio upside | Mix | Remove it; the company's plans are its own and no license is promised |
| 10 | Hears the company's CEO ask whether the fund would invest | The fund's own investment matter | Answer in a separate conversation; licensing does not depend on it |
| 11 | Hears an LP offer an introduction during a fundraising call | Mix | Finish the fund topic and follow up separately |
| 12 | Shares the company's headcount or systems with the LP to make the case | Neither | Never; use public facts and let the company describe itself |
Row 12 is the one that does lasting harm. What a fund learns through board materials or information rights usually stays confidential, and nobody collects company data for SourceX. The email for row 1 is written out line by line in how to ask an LP for an introduction without making an investment ask.
What a SourceX reward pays for, and what it never pays for
The reward has one base. Section 4 of the terms sets it at the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap. Actual Supplier Payout is the compensation SourceX actually pays the company that was referred; the USD 50,000 floor applies once per company, on its first qualifying transaction, and each further qualifying transaction first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pays 15% of its payout. The same section says: "The reward is not calculated on SourceX’s fees or revenue." It also says: "The referral reward is paid separately by SourceX and is never deducted from the supplier’s agreed compensation." A company receives the same amount with or without a partner.
Nothing in the terms or in Schedule A pays for introducing investors, to a fund or to anyone else. A capital commitment is not a SourceX transaction, so no reward can attach to it.
| Activity (Illustrative) | What SourceX pays the company | What SourceX pays the partner |
|---|---|---|
| A company introduced through an LP licenses a dataset | $250,000 payout | $62,500 reward |
| A different company licenses a larger dataset | $400,000 payout | $70,000 reward |
| An LP commits capital to the fund | Not a SourceX transaction | $0 |
| An LP introduces investors to the fund | Not a SourceX transaction | $0 |
Illustrative figures, not a forecast or a completed deal. Payment also waits for the conditions in section 5 of the terms, and a lead, meeting or signature alone pays nothing.
When the LP is the one who reaches the CEO
The LP plays one of two roles, never both. Either the LP forwards the fund's question and the fund is the partner, or the LP registers, signs the Channel Partner Agreement and submits the introduction themselves. Only one partner can be credited per company, through the first valid introduction within the 90-day window once the company submits a verified application, so settle the role in writing before anyone contacts the CEO. A company that already has an application, lead, account or email correspondence with SourceX is a duplicate and earns no credit for either of you.
Check, too, that the LP's tie runs to the right person. If the LP runs the company, they decide for it. After an acquisition, authority passes to the acquirer's CEO, while a target that has not yet closed is still answered for by its own CEO; and a group counts as one referred company, so the once-per-company floor applies across all its entities together. How to find these ties is covered in the company introduction hidden in an LP's operating network.
Questions for the fund's own counsel
This page cannot answer these, and should not. Take them to the fund's counsel before the first request:
- Whether any conversation with an LP about a portfolio or network company could count as part of the fund's marketing under the rules that apply to the fund.
- Whether the partnership agreement, side letters or the firm's own policy limit the use of LP relationships for purposes other than the fund, or the receipt of outside payments. Some funds forbid rewards outright; when fund policies differ covers routing in that case.
- Whether the firm should tell its LPs that it may receive referral rewards, and how.
- How to respond when an LP offers to bring other investors to the fund.
From the LP's side, the documents that limit contact with portfolio companies are discussed in whether a limited partner can contact portfolio companies. Related pages on LP, board and executive relationships are listed in the guides index.
Where the sorting can go wrong
- Perception outruns intent. An LP can read any request from a manager as connected to the relationship, however cleanly it is sorted. No data on how LPs receive such requests has been published; log replies and stop asking an LP who passes twice.
- The sort is a judgment. Some asks sit between columns. When in doubt, treat the ask as a mix and split it.
- Firm and fund rules outrank this page. A firm's policy on outside compensation, or a term in its fund documents, can forbid what this page treats as a clean company introduction.
- Fit is never settled by the LP or the fund. Rights, records and current demand are assessed only in SourceX's review, and screening criteria change by program.
- A reward is never certain. It depends on a licensed, accepted and paid dataset, and on every payment condition in the terms.
Next step
Refer a company. No cap on rewards. Default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, including the USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
When an ask sorts cleanly as a company introduction, register as a partner and sign before submitting, check the company's public facts against who qualifies, and keep the program terms open when you write the sentence about who could be paid.
Sorting an LP's asks is referral work; a reader who wants to evaluate SourceX itself as an investment can request materials through the SourceX investor overview, entirely apart from any introduction.
This article is for information only and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any offering by SourceX is made only to verified accredited investors through its offering documents.