How to write a cold email to founders
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The Anatomy of a Cold Email That Founders Actually Reply To
Founders get dozens of pitches a day, so your email has to earn the reply in the first two lines:
1. Subject line: keep it under 6 words and specific (e.g. "Congrats on the Series A")
2. Opening line: reference their funding round, a hire, or a product launch, not yourself
3. The relevance: one sentence connecting their current moment to the problem you solve
4. The ask: a single, low-friction question they can answer in one line
5. Signature: name, company, one credibility marker, nothing more
The best cold emails are 90 words or fewer. If a founder has to scroll, you have already lost.
Why Timing Beats Copywriting
The single biggest lever in founder outreach is when you send, not what you write. A company that raised in the last 30 to 90 days has fresh budget, new headcount targets, and active vendor evaluations. Reaching out in that window can lift reply rates several times over compared to a cold list with no funding signal.
To get the timing right: - Filter by funding date, not just industry - Prioritise companies 2 to 8 weeks post-announcement - Lead with a founder's direct email rather than a generic info@ address, so your message reaches a person
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