A company that just raised money has cash, a plan from the investors and a list of things to buy or hire in the next 90 days. If you sell design, development, recruiting, legal, accounting or marketing to startups, that is the best moment to write. You can find these companies for free: press releases, the founders' own posts, and a public filing most people overlook, the SEC's Form D. Here is where to look and what to say.
Three free places the news appears
- The founder's own announcement. Search LinkedIn and X for "we raised", "seed round" or "Series A" posted in the last two weeks. Founders almost always post.
- Trade and local press. Business journals and startup newsletters list rounds by city and industry. Set a news alert for "raises" plus your region or industry.
- SEC Form D filings. Many US private companies selling shares under an exemption must file a Form D with the SEC within 15 days after the first sale. The filings are public on the SEC's EDGAR site. They list the company, its state, the type of offering, the date and the amount, along with named executives and directors. Not every raise appears, and some companies file late, so treat it as one source, not the full list.
Form D is useful because it shows rounds that never reach the press. A filing naming a $2.5 million raise by a ten person logistics company is a lead that nobody else in your inbox has seen. Use EDGAR's company search by state and filing type, filter to the last 30 days, and write the company names in a sheet.
Read the signal before you write
- Amount: a $500,000 round buys a freelancer and a few tools. A $10 million round buys a team and an agency.
- Stage: seed companies need a first of everything (website, brand, accounting). Series A companies need to scale what works (recruiting, sales, systems).
- Investor note: if the announcement names what the money is for, such as "to hire 12 engineers," use that exact line.
Who to write to
At a seed company, the founder or CEO. At a Series A company, the head of the function you serve: the head of marketing for a marketing agency, the head of people for a recruiter. For how to find their address, see how to find emails from a website.
A short email that fits the moment
Subject: Congratulations on the seed round, a quick idea for hiring
Hi Amara, I saw the announcement this week that you raised $3 million to hire in engineering. Congratulations. I run a small recruiting firm that places backend engineers for seed and Series A companies, and I charge only when someone starts. If it helps, I can send three profiles for the roles you posted, no commitment.
Tomas Ferreira, tomas@ferreirasearch.example
3300 Elm St, Dallas, TX 75226. Reply "stop" and I won't write again.
It is short, refers to the real news, and offers something specific. Do not say you will "take the load off." Say the exact thing you will send and when.
Timing and follow-up
Write within two weeks of the announcement. Follow up once after four days and once more after ten. After that, add the company to a list to check again in six months, when the money is partly spent and priorities have shifted. US commercial email requires your real name, a mailing address and a working way to opt out, and you have 10 business days to honor a request under CAN-SPAM.
Be careful with what you claim to know
A filing tells you a raise happened, not that the founders want your service. Never reference private details you cannot see, and never imply you know their finances. Stay with what was public: the date, the amount, the stated purpose.
For a close relative of this idea, what is intent data lists other public signals, and how to cold email a CEO covers tone for the top of a small company. Once you have your list of companies, Rocketship can find the founders or department heads by name, email them from your own Gmail and follow up. Start the 7-day trial, card required.