How to Find Any Investor's Email Address (The Methods That Actually Work)
The best cold email in the world is useless if you can't find the address to send it to.
Most guides on investor cold email skip this step entirely. They assume you already have the address. You often don't.
Here are the methods founders have actually used — including the ones used to reach Mark Cuban, Jason Lemkin, and other high-profile investors who don't publish their contact details.
Method 1: The Pattern Guess + Verification
Most company email addresses follow a small set of patterns:
Liz Wessel (WayUp founder) used this method to reach Roelof Botha at Sequoia. She guessed possible patterns ([email protected], [email protected], etc.) and verified each one using Rapportive — a Gmail extension that showed a contact's photo and LinkedIn profile when you hovered over an email address.
If a photo appeared: correct address.
Rapportive has since been replaced by other tools, but the method still works with:
- Hunter.io — find and verify email addresses by domain + name
- Voila Norbert — email finder with verification
- Apollo.io — large database of professional email addresses
- RocketReach — investor and executive email lookup
Method 2: Mark Cuban's Email Is Public
This is not a secret. Mark Cuban has publicly shared his email address in interviews, articles, and on social media. It is searchable.
Multiple founders confirmed this is how they reached him: Aaron Levie, Tim Hwang, Dhruv Ghulati, Tim Ellis, and Adam Joseph all found the address through a simple search.
Cuban has explicitly said he reads his email. The barrier is not finding the address. The barrier is writing something worth reading.
For other angels and investors who are active on social media, a similar search often produces the address. Many publish it in their Twitter bios, newsletter footers, or personal websites.
Method 3: The VC Firm Pattern
Most VC firms use a consistent email format across all partners. Find one partner's confirmed address (often published for LP communications or media inquiries) and apply the same pattern to the partner you want to reach.
To find the confirmed format:
- Check the firm's website for a listed contact (often the COO or communications team has a listed address)
- Look at the firm's press releases for quoted partners (sometimes the email is listed in the release)
- Check Crunchbase or LinkedIn for confirmed contact details
- Hunter.io can surface the domain's email pattern from known addresses
Method 4: OpenVC and Investor Directories That List Direct Addresses
OpenVC is a free directory where hundreds of VCs have opted in to cold email contact. The platform provides direct contact information for investors who have explicitly said they want cold outreach.
This is the most direct and least adversarial method available. The investor has self-selected into the directory because they want to hear from founders.
Other directories:
- AngelList — many angels list contact preferences
- Crunchbase — some investors list contact details
- The Funded — founder-maintained database with investor contact notes
- Signal by NFX — investor connection platform
Method 5: Find the Email in Published Content
Many investors write blogs, newsletters, or Substacks. Some list their email address directly in the footer or about page.
Before trying any lookup tool, search:
- "[Investor name] email" on Google
- The investor's personal website (separate from their firm's site)
- Their Substack or newsletter footer
- Their Twitter/LinkedIn bio
Jason Lemkin's email address has appeared in SaaStr content. Several YC partners have published theirs. Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures) has his email accessible through AVC.com.
Method 6: LinkedIn's 'Email' Field
On LinkedIn, many professionals list their contact email in the "Contact Info" section of their profile. This is often a personal or professional address they check regularly.
Access it by: viewing the profile → clicking "Contact Info" → checking for an email address.
Not all investors list this. But a meaningful percentage do, and it's always worth checking before using a lookup tool.
Method 7: The Conference and Event Approach
Many investors speak at events and conferences. Speaker bios often include contact information. Event programs sometimes list speaker emails for attendee follow-up.
Post-event cold emails have a structural advantage: you can reference the event and something specific the investor said. "I heard your talk at [Conference] last week on [topic] and it directly relates to what we're building" is both personalized and verifiable.
The One Rule That Applies to All Methods
However you find the address: make sure the email is worth finding it for.
A bad cold email is worse than no cold email. It uses the address, gets the investor's attention, and then wastes it. Most investors give each address one shot — if the first email is generic or unclear, subsequent emails from that address go to the folder.
Find the address. Then write the email that's worth sending to it.