Michael Seibel is the CEO of the Y combinator core unit which is an American technology startup accelerator used to launch more than 3,000 companies including AirB&B and Dropbox. He did a talk on how to effectively cold email investors if you are in need of funds and investment. In this talk, he speaks about what exactly a cold email is and the certain things we need to be aware of when trying to grab an investor’s attention. A cold email is a very first email a founder will send an investor explaining his or her idea. When doing this it is very important to know what the investor is looking for and how to capture their attention. This is achieved by being very clear and concise, defining the problem you have identified, and stating how you plan on solving this problem. In Michaels’s talk, he also stated some specific things a founder must and mustn’t do when writing a cold email which I will list below.
Important stuff
Be clear and concise
Make it less than 60 seconds to read.
Define the problem you have identified and how you plan on solving it.
If you attach a pitch deck, make sure it’s in the correct format and expands the investors’ knowledge.
Keep your track open on
Don’t immediately request an in-person meeting.
Don’t send multiple follow-ups quickly
Don’t tell them the history or backstory of your idea.
Don’t forget to describe what your company does.
Don’t use jargon
