Follow up email VC template, first nudge (day 4)
Follow up email VC template for the day-4 nudge. Two sentences that add a new data point, not 'just bumping this up'. Copy, fill three variables, send.
follow-up-first-nudge.txt
Subject: re: {{ORIGINAL_SUBJECT}}
Hi {{FIRST_NAME}},
Quick update since my last note: {{NEW_DATA_POINT}}. Wanted to flag it in case it changes the picture, original thread below.
{{YOUR_NAME}}
Variables · fill before sending
- FIRST_NAMEPartner's first name, lowercase only if they sign that way.
- ORIGINAL_SUBJECTThe exact subject line from your day-0 email, verbatim, so it threads.
- NEW_DATA_POINTOne concrete signal since day 0: a customer signed, a metric hit, a peer investor committed, a hire closed. Never a feature update.
- YOUR_NAMEYour first name. No title, no signature block.
How to use it
- Send on day 4, not day 3 or day 7: Under 72 hours reads as anxious, past a week the original email is dead in the inbox.
- The data point must be new since day 0: A customer you closed yesterday works. A feature you shipped does not.
- Never re-pitch: Two sentences, maximum. The original thread is right below; trust the partner to scroll.
- Reply to your own thread, don't start a new one: Keep the subject prefixed with "re:" so Gmail threads it.
- No exclamation points, no "just": Both correlate with lower reply rates in investor follow-ups.