Video · 6 min watch

How To Cold Email Investors

Michael Seibel · Y Combinator (YouTube) Free Beginner

How To Cold Email Investors

Michael Seibel runs YC and has read thousands of these, so this is the receiving end talking back: what actually makes an investor open, read, and reply. It is a short, direct talk that pairs well with the written pieces if you would rather hear the reasoning than read it. Useful precisely because it comes from the person you are trying not to annoy.

  • Investors decide in seconds, so the first line has to earn the next one; front-load what is interesting about you.
  • A cold email that respects the reader's time reads as competent, and competence is what removes the desperate tone.
  • You are opening a relationship, not closing a round, so ask for a short conversation rather than a check.
Watch on YouTube ↗

It answers 4 questions

  1. How do I write a cold email that people actually reply to?
  2. Is it legal to cold email people in India, and do I need their consent first?
  3. How do I find someone's email address when it isn't public?
  4. Should I use my personal email and name or a company address for cold outreach?

Read with it

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  2. An Indian founder story where the early demand test was manual, cold emails and direct outreach to find the first customers... Prime Venture Partners Podcast Podcast · ~50 min How Khadim Batti Built Whatfix Into a Global SaaS Leader Prime Venture Partners
  3. The single best thing ever written on customer conversations. It teaches you to ask about the customer's life and past... momtestbook.com Book · ~130 pages The Mom Test Rob Fitzpatrick
  4. A tactical follow-on covering the channels and motions top B2B startups scale after the first ten. Grounds distribution... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~15 min read How to win your first 10 B2B customers Lenny Rachitsky
  5. Once you have a list of people to reach cold, this shows you how to write emails they actually answer. Seven concrete... Y Combinator Startup Library Video · ~33 min How to Convert Customers With Cold Emails Aaron Epstein
  6. Josh Braun teardowns real cold emails line by line and explains exactly why each sentence works or doesn't, which is more... Josh Braun (LinkedIn) Thread This cold email hits all the right notes Josh Braun (LinkedIn)
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