Investors read cold emails. Many of the best seed deals start with one. What they do not read is a 400-word wall of text with a deck attached and no reason why it landed in their inbox.
The rules that matter
- Keep the first email under 120 words. Follow-ups under 80.
- One specific reason you chose them. A portfolio company, a thesis, something they wrote.
- One line on what you do, one line of proof. Numbers beat adjectives.
- One small ask. Twenty minutes, or "can I send the deck?"
- No attachments in the first email. Offer the deck instead.
- Send from your own email address, on Tuesday to Thursday morning in their time zone.
Template 1: the thesis echo (pre-seed and seed)
Subject: Clinicly x Northwind
Hi Grace,
Your post on clinician burnout is why I'm writing.
Clinicly is AI triage that gives GPs back two hours a day. We're live in 48 clinics, at £38K MRR and growing 14% a month.
We're raising a $2M seed round. Open to a 20-minute call next week?
If this isn't relevant, reply "no" and I won't follow up.
Maya
Template 2: the portfolio bridge (angels)
Subject: From one Medibright fan to another
Hi Sam,
You backed Medibright early. We're solving the step right after theirs: what happens once a patient is triaged.
Three months in, 12 clinics are paying us and two NHS trusts are piloting.
Would you be open to a quick look at our deck?
Template 3: the momentum update (follow-up)
Subject: Re: Clinicly x Northwind
Hi Grace,
Quick update: we closed our lead this week and the round is 60% committed.
Happy to share the deck and data room if helpful before we close.
How many follow-ups?
Two, spaced four to seven days apart, each adding something new: a metric, a customer, a milestone. Stop the moment they reply, even if the reply is "not now". EasyFundraise does this automatically: follow-ups thread under your original email and stop on any reply.
Deliverability: stay out of spam
- Warm up a new mailbox slowly: start at five emails a day and grow over two weeks.
- Never send more than a few emails a day to the same firm.
- Avoid link shorteners, images and spammy words like "guaranteed".
- Always include a simple way to opt out.
Let your agent write the first draft
EasyFundraise writes a three-email sequence for each investor using facts about their thesis and portfolio, flags anything that sounds like spam, and sends from your Gmail in the investor's time zone. You approve every email. Start a free trial or find investors first.