I recently caught up with an angel investor who shared what made a founder stand out in a cold inbound and what made her want to help after their initial meeting. She defines a “cold inbound” as an email she gets without an intro from someone she knows. She’s open to cold inbound and responds to them, but she doesn’t meet with everyone who emails her. Here’s what she told me:

• Research – The founder read about the angel in an online list. Her email showed she’d done her homework and researched the angel investor’s background before emailing her. She cited what she learned about the angel’s background, why it impressed her, and why she wanted to chat.
• Connection – The founder’s research uncovered a connection the two had. She mentioned that they’d gone to the same university.
• Bought, not sold – The founder was enthusiastic about what she was working on. She demonstrated that she was thoughtful in her responses to challenging questions. By the end of the conversation, the angel had bought into trying to help this founder.
• Follow-up – The founder followed up on action items from their initial meeting quickly and was responsive by email. And she showed that she was acting on items from each meeting and building momentum.

This angel was genuinely excited to work with this founder and is now invested in her success. And it all started with a cold email!