Should cold outreach messages be kept short and specific rather than long?
5 recorded positions from 3 people, first said Mar 17, 2023. They do not agree — the readings below are what each one actually argued.
Short sincere specific outreach works at scale for recruiting and learning
Ophelia Brown · Mar 17, 2023
Founders cold-emailing investors should be genuine and specific rather than generic, because the email is a first impression
Most cold emails are obviously copy-paste with the name edited and no thought behind them; you have one email to grab attention, and first impressions matter the same way they do in person
46:26 20VC: Why Growth Investors Ruined the Venture Market, Why Marketing in Venture Has No Substance, Why Follow-On Investing Can Damage Returns and The Mistakes VCs Made in the Last 18 Months with Ophelia Brown, Founder @ Blossom Capital
Zach Perret · Oct 16, 2024
Short, sincere, specific cold outreach — praise the person's work and ask for fifteen minutes — works at scale for both learning and recruiting, including for people who aren't obviously recruitable.
People are shockingly willing to talk if you're genuinely interested; you get ignored and rejected a lot, but done enough times it starts to work, and the same pattern transfers from email to phone to intros.
Scope: requires volume; many will ignore or decline
15:02 20VC: Why Founder Mode is Dangerous & Could Encourage Bad Behaviour | Why Fundraising is a Waste of Time & OKRs are BS | Why Angel Investing is Bad for Founders to Do and the VC Model is on it's Last Legs with Zach Perret @ Plaid
Harry Stebbings · Oct 16, 2024
Outreach should be short and succinct; the four-page messages he receives are far too long.
15:53 20VC: Why Founder Mode is Dangerous & Could Encourage Bad Behaviour | Why Fundraising is a Waste of Time & OKRs are BS | Why Angel Investing is Bad for Founders to Do and the VC Model is on it's Last Legs with Zach Perret @ Plaid
Keep emails under five sentences to get read
Harry Stebbings · Mar 17, 2023
Cold emails to investors should be kept short
Long emails requiring four scrolls lose the reader
46:47 20VC: Why Growth Investors Ruined the Venture Market, Why Marketing in Venture Has No Substance, Why Follow-On Investing Can Damage Returns and The Mistakes VCs Made in the Last 18 Months with Ophelia Brown, Founder @ Blossom Capital
Zach Perret · Oct 16, 2024
Emails longer than five sentences don't get read, so write them in under five sentences.
Scope: a rule they used earlier in the company
16:00 20VC: Why Founder Mode is Dangerous & Could Encourage Bad Behaviour | Why Fundraising is a Waste of Time & OKRs are BS | Why Angel Investing is Bad for Founders to Do and the VC Model is on it's Last Legs with Zach Perret @ Plaid
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