Buyer role: Founder and CEO
Reach the founder and CEO
At a small or fast-growing company the founder still makes most buying calls, and still reads their own inbox. They have no time for a pitch, but they answer a note that shows you know where their company is going.
1,000 free credits that never expire. No card.
What Scout reads
Four signals for the Founder and CEO. Public, sourced and shown next to each person.
- Recent funding
A round in the last 12 months
A seed or Series A round announced recently. Your goal can ask for firms funded within a set number of months, and a fresh round counts in the fit score even when it does not.
- Headcount growth
Team up 20 percent or more
A company whose staff grew by a fifth in a year is changing how it works. That is when a founder is open to a new way of doing things.
- Their own posts
Writing in public
Founders post about hiring, lessons and what is hard right now. A post from the last 60 days gives the email a first line in their own words.
- Web traffic
Web traffic climbing
Rising visits to the company site often come before hiring and spend. It is one more reason to write now rather than next quarter.
An example goal
One sentence in. Three people out, with reasons.
Reach 50 founders of US software startups that raised a Series A in the last 12 months by June.
Verified means 2 sources confirm the work email. Every person and firm here is fictional.
Where they buy
Where the Founder and CEO buys. And why it is worth writing.
The founder decides alone until the company is big enough to hire people to decide. These three settings are where that window is widest.
Startups that just raised a round
Fresh money comes with a plan to hire and build fast. The founder picks the first tools and partners, often in the six months after the round.
Owner-led companies under 200 staff
Family firms and founder-run businesses where no purchase above a few thousand dollars happens without the owner. There is no procurement team to go around.
Fast-growing service businesses
Agencies, clinics and consultancies doubling their team. The founder feels every growing pain personally and wants it fixed this quarter.
A sample email
Short, personal, and waiting for your approval.
Founders read on their phone between calls, so the note is founder to founder, one specific problem and a free checklist.
- Sends at 9:30 am on a weekday, their time
- From your own Gmail or Google Workspace
- Waits for you. Change any word first.
Co-founder and CEO, Ledgerleaf
Hi Maya,
Congratulations on the Series A. Hiring 12 engineers usually means hiring in two or three new states, each with its own payroll and tax setup.
Northgate runs payroll and state registration for startups from 20 to 200 people. Most founders spend less than an hour a month on it after the first run.
If useful, I can send a short checklist for hiring in new states. It is yours either way.
Derek
Writing to the Founder and CEO. Four things that work.
Write as one founder to another
Sign with your own name and keep the tone plain. Founders answer people who sound like they have built something, not sales copy.
Keep it under 100 words
A founder reads email in the gaps between calls. If the point is not clear in the first two lines, the email waits forever.
Write in the months after the round
The weeks right after a funding announcement are full of noise. One to six months later, the founder is buying for the plan the round paid for.
Give something useful first
A checklist, a short teardown or an intro they would value. Founders remember who helped before asking for anything.
Questions, answered.
For anything else, write to hi@reachcrew.app or read all questions.
Do founders really read cold email?
Many do, because at a small company nobody screens their inbox. They read short, specific notes and delete anything generic, which is why each draft is written for one person from what they have said in public.
Can I target founders who raised recently?
Yes. Write it in your goal, such as raised a seed round in the last six months. Each founder found shows the round and when it was announced as the reason they fit.
What if the founder is no longer the CEO?
Each person comes with their current title, so a founder who moved to a product role shows as such. Put the title you want in the goal and check the reason before you approve.
What does reaching 50 founders cost?
About 1,450 credits for 50 people: 10 to find, 6 to check, 10 to write and 1 per send, follow-ups included. Plans start at $17 a month, and every plan has every feature.
Keep reading. Use cases, guides and the crew.
- Meet Writerdrafts one personal email per person
- Meet Scoutfinds the right people at the right companies
More roles
Reach your next Founder and CEO
Write your goal in one sentence. Free to start with 1,000 credits that never expire, no card needed.