What is Cold Email?

Cold email is reaching out directly to people who don't know you yet—typically for B2B sales, partnerships, or customer research. Unlike spam, effective cold email is personalized, provides value upfront, and respects the recipient's time. It's one of the most cost-effective ways for early-stage founders to get their first customers, investors, or partners.

When Should You Use This?

Use cold email when you're selling B2B products, seeking partnerships, doing customer development interviews, reaching out to investors, or recruiting advisors. It works best when you can clearly articulate value and have done research on the recipient. Not ideal for consumer products or when you have warm introduction options available.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• •Sending generic templates without personalization—your first line should prove you researched them
• •Writing emails over 150 words—busy people won't read long emails from strangers
• •Including multiple CTAs—one clear ask per email (book a call, reply with interest, etc.)
• •Not following up—80% of responses come from follow-ups, not the initial email
• •Pitching too early—lead with value or insight, not your product

Real-World Examples

• •B2B founder reaching out to potential customers: "Noticed you're hiring 3 SDRs—we help companies like [competitor] cut onboarding time by 40%"
• •Partnership outreach: "Your customers ask about [problem]—we built [solution] and could be a great integration partner"
• •Customer development: "Building something for [their role]—would love 15min to ask about your workflow"