Hi everyone! My name is Tejas Chakrapani, and I’m the founder of Hack United. In this blog post:

Discover how real-life cold emails have helped students get internships and jobs, eventually leading to millions of dollars in career success. This guide offers proven methods, practical advice, and inspiring examples of people who used cold emailing to enter the startup world.

If you're a high school or college student interested in tech, Hack United is here for you! We are a 501c3 nonprofit that helps youth develop essential soft skills through hands-on experiences. Build your resume and connect with many industry professionals who are hiring. We've helped over 5,000 students in 21 countries! Join our community today—it's free!

I’ve had the opportunity to direct multiple ventures across different industries, managing teams including highschoolers/college students on payroll. To give you an idea of the range of candidates I’ve worked with: I ran Feared Media, a post-production content agency that hired various growth/marketing roles, video editors, and graphic designers. I’ve also led funded startups that recruited technical positions such as software engineers, as well as other stealth projects requiring administrative roles. Through these experiences, I’ve received countless cold emails and LinkedIn connection requests from people seeking opportunities. However, I’ve rarely hired directly from cold emails—mainly because most of them weren’t executed effectively.

In addition to hiring for various roles, I’ve also had the opportunity to land summer internship offers as a high school student with several startups, including some backed by Y Combinator and others at the post-Series A or Series B stage. These experiences include both technical and growth positions. To be transparent, many of these opportunities didn’t come from true cold emails but rather from using my network to send targeted emails about potential opportunities (which I’ll discuss later in this blog post).

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🚀 Table of Contents

1. Real-Life Success Stories

   • Tristan Walker at FourSquare

   • Landing an Internship at Eight Sleep

   • Niraj Pant's Path to Snapchat

   • Alessa Massa's Journey to Morning Brew

2. Essential Cold Email Tips

3. FAQs About Cold Emailing

4. Resources to Get Started

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🧑‍🍳Real-Life Success Stories

1. Tristan Walker at FourSquare

Tristan Walker, an MBA student at Stanford with no startup experience, landed a role at FourSquare through cold emailing.

Here’s the email that started it all:

Subject: Excited About FourSquare

Hi Dennis and Naveen,

My name is Tristan Walker, and I’m a first-year MBA student at Stanford Business School (originally from New York). I’m a huge fan of what you’ve built with FourSquare and excited about its future.

I’d love to chat about FourSquare and explore ways I can help. I bring a background in oil trading on Wall Street and, more recently, an internship at Twitter that solidified my commitment to startups.

I know you receive many internship inquiries, but I’m humble, hungry, and ready to work hard. Let me know if you’re interested in connecting.

Best,
Tristan Walker
@tristanwalker

Tristan followed up eight times before getting a response. He started by signing up merchants for FourSquare and eventually became VP of Business Development.

2. Intern at Eight Sleep

This student emailed an investor in Eight Sleep who forwarded it to the Founder. She landed the internship.

3. Niraj Pant at Snapchat

This one's super short and effective. Overly long messages are less likely to get read.

Alessa Massa at Morning Brew

Alessa created a unique resume styled like a Morning Brew newsletter and tweeted at the founders. Though she had no media experience, her creative approach landed her the role. 4 hours of work turned into becoming the 13th employee at Morning Brew. Shoot your shot.

Lesson: Going the extra mile to personalize your approach makes a difference.

I really like the line “And yes, I put this much effort into everything I do.” As someone who regularly receives cold emails for candidates seeking intern positions, I always appreciate someone who clearly has put in extra effort rather than a generic message.

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🧯Essential Cold Email Tips

1. Target the Right Person
   Don’t always email the Founder/CEO (unless it’s a small company). It’s important to target the right person with your email, such as a hiring manager or team lead.

   

2. Show Passion
   Demonstrate enthusiasm for their product or mission. Research thoroughly and reference specific details.

3. Offer Value
   Highlight how you can help solve their problems. If possible, include examples of work you’ve done or ideas tailored to their company.

4. Keep It Short
   Busy people appreciate brevity. Aim for 3–5 sentences that clearly convey your message.

5. Follow Up
   Persistence pays off. Send a polite follow-up if you don’t hear back after a week or two.

6. Be Unique
   Avoid generic templates. Write like a real person and let your personality shine.

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🫡FAQ’s About Cold Emailing

Q: How do I find the right email address?

A: Use tools like LinkedIn to find professional email addresses. Alternatively, check company websites and press releases.

Q: What should I include in the subject line?

A: Use something attention-grabbing yet professional. Don’t come off as spammy - using generic subjects such as “Excited to help [Company Name] Grow” come off as you selling a service on behalf of a b2b company.

Q: How many follow-ups are appropriate?

A: Two to three follow-ups are typically acceptable. Space them out by 5–7 days.

Q: What if I don’t have experience?

A: Highlight transferable skills, enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn. Offer to work on a project for free to prove your value.

📚Conclusion

Cold emailing is a powerful tool for breaking into startups. By targeting the right people, showcasing passion, and offering value, you can turn an email into a life-changing opportunity. Ultimately, cold emailing is a numbers game—most people you reach out to will not reply, or, quite frankly, even see your email.

The best way to get results is to network before sending an email. If I’m interested in interning at a company, I often connect with hiring managers or technical team leads on LinkedIn. When sending a connection request, I add a note explaining my intentions and ask if they can provide an email address where I can send more information about myself.

If they give you a personal email to reach out to, include more details such as your resume and focus less on brevity. However, if it’s a true cold email, keep it brief—if they’re interested based on your 3–5 personalized sentences tailored to the role or company, they’ll ask for more information. That’s when you can dive deeper into your background and skills!

Shoot your shot—your dream internship or job might be just one email away.