You're probably sending cold emails that look personalized but aren't. You've got the prospect's name in the subject line. Maybe you mention their product. And you think that's enough. It isn't.
Generic personalization - the kind where you just swap in a name or reference their website - gets deleted. Founders get dozens of these every day. What actually works is personalization that shows you understand their specific situation, their actual problems, and why you're reaching out to them instead of someone else.
The difference isn't subtle. It's the difference between a 2% reply rate and a 12% reply rate.
Start With Research That Actually Matters
Most founders research by looking at a company's homepage. That's surface-level garbage. You need to research the things that matter to their business right now.
Here's what you actually look at:
- Recent funding announcements or news - If they just raised a Series A, they're hiring and scaling. That's context you can use. If they announced a partnership, that's context too.
- Recent product updates - Check their changelog, their blog, their Twitter. If they shipped something in the last 60 days, they're actively building. That tells you they're not in coast mode.
- Team changes - New VP of Sales? New head of marketing? That person has a mandate. They're trying to prove themselves. That's relevant.
- Their actual customer base - Not guessing. Actually look at who's using them. LinkedIn often shows this. Their Twitter mentions show it. This tells you if they're selling to SMBs or enterprises, B2B or B2C.
- What problem they're solving - Not what they claim to solve. What are customers actually saying they use it for? This is usually different from the marketing copy.
This takes 8-12 minutes per prospect. That's the floor. If you're spending 2 minutes on research, you're wasting the time you spend writing the email.
The Personalization Structure That Works
There's a specific structure to cold emails that founders actually respond to. It's not magic. It's just specific enough that it breaks through the noise.
Opening line: Show you've done research. Not