Title: "Friends of the Company: Scaling Relationships Without Losing Your Sanity"
#### Why This Matters to Me (and Probably You) I remember the early days of juggling a dozen coffee chats, follow-up emails, and ?quick check-ins? with people who could help move the needle. It felt personal, sure, but it didn?t scale. By the time I hit 50 meaningful connections?angels, advisors, potential team members?I was toast. That?s when I started experimenting with group updates. Not just mass emails, mind you, but intentional, structured messages that keep everyone in the loop without making me look desperate or spammy. Done wrong, these emails can tank your credibility. Done right, they?re a lifeline. So, let?s unpack what works?and what flops.
#### The Failure Modes I?ve Seen (and Made) Look, I?ve messed this up plenty. Sent emails that oversold progress and got eye-rolls from investors who could smell the hype a mile away. Buried critical asks at the bottom of a wall of text?surprise, nobody helped. Used generic formats that made my startup sound like every other pitch deck out there. Worst of all, I?ve sent updates without a clear summary up top, and I could practically hear the ?I?ll read this later? thoughts from the other side. Eyes glaze over fast. Key observation: if your email isn?t scannable in 10 seconds, you?ve lost half your audience.
Here?s what those mistakes look like in practice:
#### What ?Right? Looks Like After a few rounds of cringe-worthy emails, I started to figure it out. Here?s the structure that?s worked for me?and for the founders I?ve shared this with:
Reflections for the day: It?s not just about what you say?it?s about respecting the reader?s time. If they can?t skim and act in under a minute, you?re doing it wrong.
#### Why Industry and Stage Matter I?ve seen founders copy-paste the same update style across wildly different startups. Big mistake. A fintech at seed stage needs to scream regulatory progress or early customer trust. A developer tools company should geek out on integrations or open-source traction. In-person services? Highlight local wins or partnerships. I?ve got templates for SaaS, fintech, developer tools, consumer social, and in-person services that I?ve been sharing privately for years?they?re just sitting in my Google Drive. Comment or DM me if you want access, and I?ll hook you up.
#### Quick FAQ (Stuff I Get Asked All the Time)
#### A Personal Note on Templates I?ve been collecting and refining these anonymized email examples for a while now. They?re not one-size-fits-all, but they?re a starting point. I?ve shared them with founders who?ve used them to land intros, hires, even small checks from angels who ?didn?t realize you were moving so fast.? If you?re curious, hit me up?I?m happy to pass them along.
#### Wrapping Up