Cold Open Craft

Make the first message easier to send — and easier to answer.

Reaching out to someone you don’t know can make even a simple message feel awkward. Tell us who you’re contacting, why you’re reaching out, and what you know about them. Cold Open Craft gives you three ready-to-send ways to begin — each opening differently and asking for something different — plus a follow-up for when nobody replies.

See what Cold Open Craft gives you

Real output from an actual run on the details below — one of three openers it wrote, nothing reworded.

The details

To: A senior engineering manager at Stripe whose Substack on on-call rotations I follow. Why: Open conversation about a Staff Engineer role she posted about last week. What I know: She wrote a thoughtful piece on reducing pager fatigue. Worked at Square before Stripe. Comments occasionally on Twitter about backend reliability — friendly tone. My background: 8 years backend at fintech startups (Plaid, Brex), currently tech-leading a 6-person team. Shipped a real-time risk system handling 50M events/day. By email.

Real run, 2026-10-08 — one of the tool's own built-in examples.

Subject line

Staff Engineer role — reaching out from Plaid/Brex background

Opens with the Substack, then surfaces the role

Hi [Name], I follow your Substack — your piece on reducing pager fatigue was thoughtful. I noticed you posted a Staff Engineer role last week. I've spent eight years on backend systems at Plaid and Brex, and I'm currently tech-leading a six-person team. I shipped a real-time risk system handling 50M events per day. If you have a few minutes to talk, I'd welcome it. [Your name]

Follow-up, if needed

Hi [Name], Just bumping this up in case it got buried. Still interested in the Staff Engineer role if you have a moment to connect. [Your name] — Give the first message some room before following up, and adjust if the role has a posted deadline.

In a Nutshell

When

You need to message a stranger and not sound like spam.

You give

Who they are, and what you want from the connection.

You get

Three ready-to-send messages that open differently, and a follow-up for when nobody replies.

Good to Know

• Specific real details make outreach feel more natural; invented familiarity does the opposite
• Include only the parts of your background that help explain why this connection makes sense
• Choose the version whose voice you could plausibly use yourself, not simply the most polished one
• Before sending, check names, titles, links, dates, and any other detail that would be awkward to get wrong

Questions people ask

How do I write a cold email that gets a reply?

Keep it short, say why you're writing to this person specifically, state the ask in the first lines, and give one or two concrete facts about you that make the ask worth their time. End with an easy question they can say yes to.

Should I mention their work in a cold message?

Yes, if it's genuine and specific — one line about something they wrote or did. Generic flattery ('love your work') reads as a template.

When should I follow up on a cold email?

After about a week, once, briefly. If a role or event has a deadline, follow up before it.

Will it invent things about me?

No. The openers use only the background you give it, so every claim in the message is one you can stand behind.