Art of the cold email to VC

Most VC hate cold emails from entrepreneurs. Reasons vary: i) cold pitches are often poorly prepared; ii) skeptical VC will say to themselves “why couldn’t you find a warm relationship to fund this” or “why am I seeing this and not someone else;” iii) some VC insist that you actually go out and find a connection to intro you to them directly; and iv) some VC are self-important pricks that want to feel like they’re top of mind for referrals for the best deals.

Well, at Blossom Street Ventures we love cold emails from entrepreneurs and my email is on our website (sammy@blossomstreetventures.com). You’ve got better things to do than find a mutual connection to make a warm intro, you probably don’t know me directly, and I’m not self-important so please do reach out. Here’s a few things to keep in mind when making your pitch to me or any other VC, cold:

Your opening paragraph is everything. Your email to any VC should be no more than 1 paragraph and include only one attachment. That attachment shouldn’t be anything more than a 10 to 15 page pdf deck. Your paragraph is way more important than the deck because it’s the first thing a VC sees, so take one sentence to say what the business does, one sentence sharing the numbers you’re most proud of (revenue, users, growth, cash efficiency), and one sentence that includes your ask (for instance you’re raising $1mm at a $10mm pre). Based on that one paragraph, a VC will decide whether to move on to the deck.

The deck should be simple. The deck should be concise (you’ve got better things to do than make a 30 page book). Stretch to 15 pages if you must. Your key slides are as follows: i) what the company does; ii) the problem your big market is facing; iii) historical financials/major numbers; iv) team including your email address; v) customers won to date and key metrics of the value you provide them; vi) your ask. As you can see that’s only 6 bullet points, which means 6 slides is adequate.

Remembers the purpose of your email isn’t to get funding — no VC funds a company based on an initial email. Rather, the purpose of your email is to get a conversation. Keep it short, keep it simple, and your cold email will be well on its way to that all important first conversation.

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