HubSpotOpen with something they made
A HubSpot rep opened a cold email to Jason Fried by talking about his TED talk before mentioning her product.
Updated · By Blake Emal
Kristen at HubSpot emailed Basecamp's Jason Fried. She opened with his TED talk on remote work and her own commute, then mentioned HubSpot was a Basecamp customer and asked if a conversation was timely. Josh Braun published it with permission as an email that got a response.
The first lines are about the reader's own work, so they read like a note from a fan, not a pitch. Being a customer of his product adds a second reason to keep reading.
- Find one thing the prospect made, said or shipped
- Open with a sincere, specific reaction to it
- Mention any real connection, such as being their customer
- Keep the pitch to one or two lines
- Close with a short yes or no question
Quoted from joshbraun.com, captured Oct 21, 2026 CT · HubSpot
