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

Published October 22, 2018

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

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