Book

Pitching Hacks: How to Pitch Startups to Investors

Venture Hacks (Naval Ravikant & Babak Nivi) Free Intermediate

This free 83-page book from the founders of AngelList is the original modern text on distilling a startup into a message someone else can act on, including elevator pitches and what to send when someone's willing to introduce you. It's the deepest resource here on the underlying skill your email depends on: saying what you do in a way a stranger immediately gets.

  • A high-concept pitch, one sharp sentence, forces clarity that a long email can't fake
  • What you send an intermediary determines whether they forward it, so make it forwardable
  • Traction speaks louder than adjectives, always let the number make your case
Open on venturehacks.com ↗

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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