Cold Email Guide - Wiki

Cold email is the magic spell for getting a job at any company you want. Short of a warm intro, it's the best way to get in touch with a great company you'd like to work for.

This is specifically a cold email guide for job seekers who want to work at startups. Not B2B sales.

The Mindset

What NOT to Do

Don't write more than ~200 words. Less is more. Nobody wants to read an unsolicited letter from a stranger.
Don't use fancy words. "Executed on key initiatives" becomes "drove impact" becomes "helped increase ARR by $1M in 3 months." Read it out loud. Sound like a human.
Don't send without an ask. Include one specific, clear thing you want them to do.
Don't be vague. Remove abstraction. Add examples. "I work with early-stage startups (like X and Y)."
Don't be spammy or dishonest. Max 1-2 follow-ups. Don't lie. Don't fake personalization.

The Format

Say three things:

Who you are
Why you are reaching out
Why they should care

Real Examples That Worked

Email to Evan Spiegel (Snapchat CEO):

"Hey, my name's Niraj Pant.

I understand your time is valuable. I'll only write three bullet points.

Programming since 8th grade.

Have most experience working in Java/Obj-C/Android/iOS.

Want to intern for Snapchat this summer as a high school junior.

How?"

Copywriting pitch:

"Hey Ryan - [product] is so good. Used it last week for [reason] and was impressed (especially by how good the notification selection/timing is).

Question: how are you doing on copywriting at the moment?

Asking because I write for startups.

Don't want to blast you with a wall of text so re: work background, that's mostly on the site in my email address. Happy to share a bunch of past work if it would be helpful."

Product/engineering pitch:

"Hey Kevin - heard about Your Company from a friend.

I'm emailing because I saw you just raised a seed round and I'd like to help you build the product. Two things that may be relevant:

- I worked at That Company, where I helped to build Successful Feature (big driver of ARR).
- I built Personal Project, which currently has 100,000 active users.

Can share more about other work, but feel like these two are perhaps the most relevant.

I think I could help you build out [Product] quickly and would like to learn more.

Worth a chat?"

How to Find People

Find interesting companies (Next Play, YC, etc.)
Research what they do. Think about what would actually be helpful to them.
Find the CEO or hiring manager on LinkedIn. When in doubt, email the CEO.
Find email address by guessing (firstname@company.com) or tools like Nymeria, ContactOut, Clay.
Send your email.
Follow up once.

Why They Might Not Reply (Even With a Great Email)

Not a priority for the founder right now
You don't have something valuable enough to offer
Too busy and didn't see your email
Forgot to respond (why you follow up 1-2x)
Didn't like your email for some odd reason
Email went to spam

The reality: You probably need to email more than 1 startup. Do this for 10, 20, or 30 companies. If you follow this advice and email ~30 companies, at least one will respond.