Investor follow-up emails: what to send, and when
A simple three-email plan, six templates for after a cold email, a call or a pass, and a clear point at which to stop.
Why a follow-up is worth sending
An email with no reply is not a no. It may have arrived in a busy week, slipped below newer mail, or been kept to read later and forgotten. A short follow-up costs the reader a few seconds and gives your first email a second chance to be seen.
A follow-up can also do something the first email could not: show that something moved. A new customer, a number that went up or a hire you made between the two emails is evidence the business is changing, and that is worth more than repeating your pitch.
Timing: three emails, then stop
Plan the whole sequence before you send the first email. This is the plan ShunyaSe Outreach uses by default, and it works just as well by hand.
| When | What it adds | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First email | Day one, on a weekday in working hours | Why them, what you do, one proof point and the ask | 60 to 110 words |
| First follow-up | 4 working days later, as a reply in the same thread | One new fact, or your best number, and the same ask said more briefly | 28 to 90 words |
| Last note | 5 working days after the first follow-up, in the same thread | Says it is the last email and makes a quick no easy | 28 to 90 words |
| After any reply | Stop the sequence | Your own answer to what they said | As long as the answer needs |
- Working days are the days you send on. With a Monday to Friday window, an email sent on a Friday gets its first follow-up on the following Thursday.
- Any gap from 2 to 14 working days is reasonable. Outreach lets you set each gap anywhere in that range. Pick one and write it down.
- Three emails in total. Outreach stops at three per investor in a campaign, and so should you. After a last note that invites a no, another email about the same round reads as pressure.
- Reply in the same thread. Send each follow-up as a reply to your first email, so the investor sees the original underneath without searching for it. Outreach sends follow-ups this way.
Six follow-up templates
Everything in square brackets is yours to change. For the follow-ups to a cold email, keep the subject as "Re:" plus your original subject, so the email stays in the thread. Every number you put in must be one you can show.
Hi [First name], A short follow-up on my note about [Company], which [what you do, in one line]. We are at [one real number: monthly revenue, users or growth]. You back [sector] at [stage], so I think it is worth a look. Would 15 minutes next week work? Thanks, [Your name]
Hi [First name], News from [Company], the [what you do, in a few words] I wrote to you about: [the news in one sentence, with the real number]. It matters because [what it proves, in one line]. Given [Fund name]'s focus on [sector], I would still value 15 minutes with you. Does [day] or [day] work? Best, [Your name]
Hi [First name], This is my last email about [Company] for this round. We [what you do, in one line], and we have [one real number]. If it is not a fit for [Fund name], a one-line reply saying so helps me plan, and I will close the thread here. If it is a fit, I can send the deck today or find 15 minutes that suit you. Thanks, [Your name]
Hi [First name], Thank you for your time today, and for the questions on [topic they pressed on]. As promised, here is [what they asked for: the financial model, customer references or the cap table]: [link]. We agreed [point one] and [point two], and you suggested [the next step, e.g. a call with your partner]. Could we fix that for [date]? One update since we spoke: [any number that moved, or delete this line]. Best, [Your name] [Role], [Company]
Hi [First name], Thank you for the clear answer, and for the point about [what they said that helped]. It is useful. We will keep building [Company]; today we are at [one real number]. Would you mind if I sent a short update when we reach [milestone]? If you know an investor who backs [sector] at [stage] and might be a better fit, an introduction would mean a lot, but only if it feels right to you. Best, [Your name]
Hi [First name], You asked in [month] to hear how [Company] is going, so here is the short version. This month: [headline metric, from and to, from your own numbers]. [One win: a customer, a hire or a launch.] [One thing we are working through.] Next month we aim to [goal]. If you would like the full update or a call, reply and I will send it. [Your name] [Role], [Company]
What counts as news
A follow-up earns its place by adding one new fact. Good news is specific, recent and something you can show. Write it with the real number and the month.
- A customer: [customer name or type] signed [a paid pilot, an annual contract or a repeat order].
- A hire: [name], who [relevant past role], joined as [role].
- A launch: we launched [product or feature] on [date], and [number] customers use it.
- A number that moved: [metric] went from [figure] in [month] to [figure] in [month].
- A step in the round: [investor] has committed [amount]. Only if it is signed and they have agreed you can say so.
- Outside recognition: [DPIIT recognition, a grant awarded or an accelerator place], with the date.
When to stop
Stop after the third email, or the moment anyone replies. If the last note brings no answer, treat it as a no for this round and move on to the next name on your list of investors in India.
What Outreach does when an investor writes back
ShunyaSe Outreach reads your mailbox for replies to your campaign emails. It only reads: nothing in your mailbox is moved, flagged or marked as read. Then, by the kind of message:
- A reply stops that investor's emails, and also stops emails to anyone else at the same fund in your campaigns.
- An out-of-office reply holds that investor's next email until the return date it gives, or for a week when it gives none.
- A bounce stops emails to that address.
- An opt-out, by the link in the email footer or by a reply asking to stop, means no one emails that address through ShunyaSe again.
- Your own decision counts too: marking the investor as passed, or moving their card to Closed, stops the sequence.
By hand, do the same: when anyone at a fund replies, stop writing to everyone there and answer the person who wrote.
Tracking replies
You need one place that answers three questions for every investor: what did I last send, when, and what happens next? For a short list, a sheet does this well. Give it these columns:
- Investor and firm
- The date of each email sent
- The next email due, with its date
- Status: no reply, replied, call booked or passed
- Next step, with a date, and one line of notes
On ShunyaSe's investor CRM board, Outreach keeps this up to date for you. When the first email goes, the investor gets a card under Contacted, each email is logged on it, and the next follow-up date becomes the card's next step. When they reply, the reply is logged on the card, the card moves to In conversation, and the next step becomes replying to them. Cards only move forward, and a card you put in a column of your own stays where you put it.
To write the first email, start with our cold email templates. For the tools that help at each step of a raise, free and paid, see fundraising tools for Indian founders.
Where this comes from
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