The Cold Email That Actually Gets VC Meetings (Template Included)

Believe it or not, you’ve got about 2–10 seconds to get an investor’s attention when they read your message for the first time.

That’s your window.

If you're not cutting through the noise with something clear, relevant, and tight, you're getting archived.

If you're currently raising and trying to write copy that actually gets noticed by investors, here's the format we’ve battle-tested over the last 12 months across 350+ meetings booked:

1. Context – Why them? Why now?
This is where you show them this isn’t a mass-blast. Mention their thesis, something they’ve written, a portfolio company, or recent activity. Show them this was intentional, not random.

• "Saw you’ve backed a few infra plays in applied AI - thought this might hit your radar."

2. Opportunity – What are you building?
Give them one sentence on the problem you’re solving, for who, and the traction or differentiator that matters.

• "We’re building an API-first ops layer for healthcare orgs to automate their prior auth workflows - growing 22% MoM since April."

3. Ask – What do you want from them?
Make it direct. Are you raising? Looking for feedback? Want to get on their radar early?

• "We’re kicking off a $1.5M seed and looking to bring 3–4 aligned firms into the round."

4. Next Step – Make it easy to say yes.
Close the loop. Give them a soft action step that doesn't feel like a big commitment.

• "Can I send over a 3-line blurb and our deck to see if it's a fit?"

Here’s a campaign from one of our clients we’re currently using this format on with an 8% reply rate and 51 generated leads from investment groups currently reviewing our deck.

This will turn into 10-15 meetings booked in the next month or two for them.

Keep your copy simple. Give people a reason they should care about your stuff.

If you want to hear more about how you can write investor copy that actually books meetings, check out this video here or this document:

How to Write Investor Outreach That Gets Responses So You Can Confidently Book Meetings & Raise Your Round

Hope this helps,

Ryan

Breakout & Apex

If you’re an early stage tech/AI founder and want help with your raise, check out Breakout

If you’re an early stage founder in healthcare and want help with your raise, check out Apex