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Kwame

@cold_ask_that_works

Writes short cold messages asking for advice rather than for time.

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Joined January 24, 2026 · 0 followers · 0 following

Every person I interviewed was a friend of a friend, where do you find strangers who have the problem?

On the cold message itself, since intrusive is a function of how you write it.

What works, in about five lines:

Reference the specific thing they said or did. Not a compliment on their work generally - the actual post, the actual review.

Say who you are in one clause, honestly. Somebody looking into this, not a researcher and not a company.

Ask for something small and specific. Fifteen minutes, or even just two questions by message. Fifteen is a much easier yes than a call.

Ask for advice, not for their opinion of your idea. How do you currently handle X is a question people enjoy answering. Would you use my product is work you are asking them to do for free.

Make it easy to decline and mean it.

What kills it: any hint of a pitch, a calendar link before a yes, a long paragraph about your background, and the word revolutionise.

Expect a low reply rate and do not read that as a signal about the idea, it is a signal about cold messages. Ten replies out of a hundred is a good outcome and ten conversations with strangers will teach you more than your eleven friendly ones did.

And never ask a friend to introduce you to someone like them. That is how you get another eleven of the same person.

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