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Cold Email Tips + Templates

Hustle Fund (Hustle Commons) Free Beginner

Hustle Fund invests at pre-seed and reviews over a thousand companies a month, so their founders team has read (and rejected) more bad cold emails than almost anyone. This post breaks down an actual bad email they received next to what a good one looks like, then gives you fill-in-the-blank templates so you can see the structure in action rather than guessing at it.

  • Lead with the recipient's interests before your product, people warm up when asked about themselves
  • Say more with less, cut every sentence that doesn't earn its place
  • Make the ask a specific block of time, like 15 minutes, not an open-ended 'thoughts?'

The question it answers

  1. How do I write a cold email to an investor without sounding desperate?

Read with it

  1. The most quoted essay on the mechanics of fundraising, distilled from YC Demo Day advice. It reframes fundraising as a sales... paulgraham.com Article · 45 min read How to Raise Money Paul Graham
  2. The YC essay tells you the rules; this shows you real founders following (and bending) them. These are 13 actual cold emails... OpenVC Blog Article · 12 min read 13 Cold Email Examples Sent to VC Investors OpenVC
  3. OpenVC runs the platform millions of these emails pass through, so their rules are drawn from data, not opinion: put a... OpenVC Article · 12 min read How to Cold Email Investors (And Actually Get Replies) OpenVC Team
  4. This nails the discipline behind the highlight reel: with prospects you share momentum factually without handing over what they... Lenny's Newsletter Article · 20 min read Raising a seed round 101 Lenny Rachitsky with First Round
  5. Two Indian founders turned investors on what they actually weigh when funding early founders, including resilience and... The Neon Show Podcast · ~44 min VC Wisdom: Nansi & Siddhartha on Investing, Fundraising, and Growth The Neon Show (Nansi Mishra & Siddhartha Ahluwalia)
  6. The clearest explainer of how VCs actually decide, from term sheets to how partnerships evaluate founders. Understanding the... Andreessen Horowitz Book · 336 pages Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It Scott Kupor
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