How to Cold Email Investors: A Video by Michael Seibel of YC

The video below was originally published in this post on the Y Combinator blog. 

Michael Seibel, CEO of Y Combinators, shares his thoughts on how to successfully cold email investors. The 7 minute video is full of useful information for founders to make sure you’re making the most of your and the potential investors time. Below you can find a quick breakdown of what Michael looks for in a cold email:

• Make it short — Make it so the investor can read the email in 60 seconds or less
• What to include:
  • The problem you’re trying to solve
  • What your solution is
  • Have you launched
  • Do you have growth
  • How big can the market be
  • Do you have cofounders
  • Are you technical
• What not to include:
  • A long history of the idea
  • Jargon — use simple language, an investor may not know the industry

• Send your email from a company email address — make sure it has your name in it
• It is fine to attach a deck but it is not required — make sure it is a standard format
• Track opens — make sure people are actually seeing your email