The $2M Cold DM Strategy

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📍 San Francisco, California

In 2017, Rahul Vohra was building Superhuman-a lightning-fast, invite-only email app for power users.

The product was slick, but Vohra’s bank account was anything but Superhuman. Vohra needed capital to keep building. But he wasn’t a Valley insider and Superhuman was still in stealth mode.

Instead of waiting for intros, he engineered his own luck-using a cold DM strategy on LinkedIn that turned strangers into investors and led to a $2M seed round.

Here’s how Vohra flipped the odds into his favor:

The Move: Do The Unscalable at Scale

While most founders wait for warm introductions, Vohra went direct.

He built a hit-list of strategic angels and micro-VCs-operators, founders, and investors who would “get” Superhuman’s vision. Then he crafted hyper-personalized LinkedIn messages that cut through the noise.

Cold outreach is nothing new, but it was Vohra’s rifle shot approach and highly personalized messaging that made Superhuman stand out in a sea of LinkedIn spam.

The Formula:

1. Reference a recent tweet, podcast, or product launch from the investor.

2. Explain (in one line) why Superhuman was different: “Blazingly fast, keyboard-driven, and built for people who live in email.”

3. Ask for advice, not money. (“Would love your feedback on our approach to product-market fit.”)

The Results:

• 🚀 60% response rate

• 🚀 20 investor calls booked

• 🚀 $2M seed round closed with investors like First Round Capital and other top angels

Why This Worked for Superhuman:

• Personalization at Scale: Each DM showed real research-no copy-paste spam. Investors felt seen, not sold to.

• Ask for Advice, Get Investment: By seeking feedback, Vohra triggered investors’ curiosity and turned “no” into “let’s talk.”

• Proof of Hustle: Investors want founders who can sell. If you can’t cold DM for your own company, you won’t sell to customers.

• Built-in Scarcity: Superhuman was invite-only, so every meeting felt exclusive. Investors wanted in before the crowd.

💡 How to Steal the Superhuman’s DM Playbook:

1. Build a Strategic Target List: Don’t spray and pray. Focus on investors who are a great fit, focused on your space and stage.

2. Hyper-Personalize Your Outreach: Reference something unique about each investor. Prove you did your homework. Go deep.

3. Lead with Value, Not the Ask: Ask for advice, feedback, or a quick take - not a check. Curiosity opens more doors than a pitch.

4. Use Scarcity to Your Advantage: If you’re invite-only or in stealth, let them know. Make access feel earned. Note, this only works if you have something groundbreaking.

5. Follow Up Relentlessly: Most responses come after the second, third, or fourth touch point. Don’t quit after one message. Get that FU money - ‘follow up” money

Key Takeaways from Levels’ Seed Round Success:

• 🐇 Unknown doesn’t mean unfunded: Just because you are an unknown in the Valley doesn’t mean your doomed. You just have to be more creative.​

• 🐇 Cold Outreach Still Works: Cold outreach is still a tried and true system that works, but success comes when you follow up consistently.​

• 🐇 Make it Personal: Do deep, manual research on your targets. Drop those breadcrumbs in your messaging so they know you did your homework​.

• 🐇 Rifle Not a Shotgun: Take time to curate your ideal investors. Make sure that there’s a strategic fit with their investment stage, size, and industry focus. The more targeted the better.​

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Will one of our 30,000+ founders become the the next success story?

Tome (USA): An AI-powered storytelling and presentation platform enabling users to quickly build visually compelling decks and narratives.
🔗 tome.app
📄 Pitch Deck
💰 Raising: $43M (Series B, 2023) | Committed: $43M (fully raised, TechCrunch)

Vested (USA): Fintech platform helping employees exercise and manage stock options, offering loans and guidance to maximize equity value.
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📄 Pitch Deck
💰 Raising: $12M (2024) | Committed: $8.5M (Crunchbase)

Faircado (Germany): AI-powered browser extension that helps users find second-hand alternatives while shopping online, promoting circular economy and sustainability.
🔗 faircado.com
📄 Pitch Deck
💰 Raising: €3M (2024) | Committed: €2M (EU-Startups)

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