Cold email changed my life. Not metaphorically. Literally.
I cold emailed Farza, the founder of Buildspace, and flew to San Francisco three days later. I cold DM'd my way into buying handwritten Twenty One Pilots lyrics that literally don't exist on any website. I emailed Ohio State to ask for more scholarship money. They said yes and gave me $20k.
None of these happened because I had connections. None happened because I had credentials. They happened because I sent an email that didn't suck.
Here's everything I know.
The Mistakes Everyone Makes
1. Your subject line is invisible
If this sucks, nothing else matters. Your email dies in the inbox, unopened, unread.
Don't: "Quick question" / "Following up" / "Partnership Opportunity"
Do: Make it specific enough that only one person could have received it. The best subject lines feel like you wrote them for exactly that person. Because you did.
2. Your opener is copy-pasted (and they can tell)
"Hope you're doing well" = delete.
You've got one line to make them care. Use it.
Try:
- "I'll keep this short bc you don't care yet."
- "Saw your post on [x] — had to reach out."
- "Built something that might 10x what you're working on."
3. Your email is too long
Walls of text = walls between you and a reply.
The formula:
- Hook
- Why it matters to them
- Your ask
- Low-effort CTA
- Sign off
Five lines. If you can't say it in five, you don't understand your own offer well enough.
4. Your ask feels like homework
"Would love to connect sometime" is the equivalent of "let's hang out soon." Everyone says it, nobody means it, nothing happens.
Don't say: "would love to connect"
Do say: "mind if I send a 2-min demo?" or "got 5 min for a quick yes/no?"
Make it too easy to say yes.
5. You ghost yourself
Most replies don't come from the first email. They come from follow-ups.
No reply ≠ no. People are busy.
Day 3: "bumping this up in case it got buried, no pressure either way" Day 7: "worth a quick look or should I close this out?"
That last one is my favorite. Giving them an easy out somehow makes them more likely to say yes. Just don't overuse the line.
And if you have a real update, use it. The best follow-up isn't a nudge. It's news.
If you're a founder emailing an investor: "following up from last week. we just hit 500 users and crossed $10k MRR. would love to revisit the conversation."
That's not a bump. That's a reason to reply. Traction is the best follow-up you can send.
6. You make it all about you
Don't say: "let me know if there's anything you need help with"
Say: "this might save your team 5 hours a week"
No one cares what you built. They care what it does for them.
7. You're too formal
This is not your thesis. It's a vibe check.
Write like a smart friend, not a desperate applicant. Use contractions. Use fragments. Sign with just your first name. Your tone matters more than your resume.
8. You're treating every platform the same
- Twitter/X DMs → short, casual, to the point
- Cold emails → structured, but still direct
- Investor emails → lead with traction, no fluff
Same rules, different energy. Read the room.
The Thing No One Tells You
You can cold email your way into basically anything. Not just startup stuff.
When I was at Ohio State, I emailed the graduate school and asked if there was any additional scholarship funding available. I didn't have a contact. I didn't have leverage. I just wrote a direct, specific email explaining my situation and asking clearly for more money. They said yes. $20k.
Most people never ask. They assume the answer is no. They assume there's a process. They assume someone like them doesn't get to ask. But the worst that happens is they ignore you, and you're already at zero.
I wanted handwritten Twenty One Pilots lyrics. Not the kind of thing you find on any website. I tracked down their old manager and sent a DM. I followed up about 15 times over four years. And I ended up with Tyler Joseph's handwritten lyrics to Car Radio and more merch than I knew what to do with.
The point isn't the merch. The point is: most people see a closed door and stop. Cold outreach is just knocking.
The Email That Took Me to San Francisco
I cold emailed Farza, the founder of Buildspace.
I didn't know him. I wasn't in his network. I didn't have a warm intro or a mutual connection. I just wrote an email that was specific, direct, and human. Three days later I was on a flight to San Francisco.
That move changed the trajectory of everything.
I'm not telling you this to be inspirational. I'm telling you because the email wasn't magic. It was just good. It followed the rules above. It was short, specific, personal, and had a clear ask.
That's all it takes.
The Template
Here's the actual structure I use. 40%+ reply rate.
Subject: [specific thing they posted/did/said] Hey [First name], [One sentence showing you actually paid attention to them. Their post, their talk, their product, their words.] [One sentence on why you're reaching out, framed around them. Not you. [One sentence on what you're offering, focused on outcome.] [Low-friction ask: "mind if I send a 2-min demo?" / "got 5 min for a quick yes/no?"] - [Your first name]
Five lines. Human. Specific. Easy to say yes to.
The Real Secret
Volume + iteration.
Send 100 emails. Track what gets replies. Kill what doesn't work. Double down on what does.
Your first 50 will suck. That's normal. By email 100 you'll have a system and you'll wonder why you waited so long to start.
The people who win at cold email aren't better writers. They're just more willing to hit send.
Cold outreach changed my life. It got me into rooms I had no business being in. It got me opportunities before I even knew to ask.
You don't need to buy another course. You just need to start writing cold emails that don't suck.
Adrianna Lakatos invests pre-seed checks ($100-$250k) into AI, hardware, and robotics founders atf.inc. Based in San Francisco -@adriannalakatos
