The intro request that actually gets forwarded

Why "would you be open to an intro?" dies in the drafts folder

A warm intro is a transfer of trust. The connector lends you a slice of their relationship with the investor, and that slice is expensive, because a bad intro costs them more than it costs you. If you waste Jen's time, Jen remembers that Mark sent you. So before Mark forwards anything, he runs a quiet calculation: is this worth my credibility, and how much work is it for me to do safely? Your "any chance you'd be open to an intro?" answers neither question. It tells him you want something. It doesn't tell him what to say, why Jen specifically, or how to forward it without exposing himself.

So Mark is left to generate all of it. He has to reconstruct what your company does from memory, which means he'll get it slightly wrong or, more likely, won't try. He has to judge the fit, which is your job, not his. He has to write the actual forwardable pitch, which is the single hardest sentence in your entire raise, and he has to write it about a company he understands a tenth as well as you do. Faced with that, the rational move for a busy person is to defer it, and deferred intros don't come back. The thread doesn't get a "no." It gets silence, which is worse, because you can't tell whether to wait, re-ask, or route around him.

The trap is that the polite, low-pressure ask feels considerate. You didn't want to presume, so you left it open: "if you're open to it," "whatever's easiest," "no rush." But open-ended is not low-effort. It's the opposite. By refusing to specify, you maximized the work you handed over. The considerate move and the effective move point in opposite directions here, and founders almost always pick considerate, then wonder why their warmest paths go cold.

The fix: write the intro, don't request it

Reframe what you're sending. You are not requesting an intro. You are writing the intro and asking permission to send it. The connector's entire job should collapse to one decision and one action: decide yes or no, and if yes, hit forward with maybe one line of their own on top. Everything else, you do for them, in advance, in the message.

That means every intro request has two parts that do two different jobs:

The first part is a short cover note to the connector. It states the ask in one line, says the forwardable blurb is below and they should feel free to send it as-is, and gives them a graceful out so saying no costs them nothing. This part is private. It never gets forwarded.

The second part is the forwardable blurb: a self-contained paragraph, written in your voice but ready for the connector to paste or forward with zero editing, that does the actual pitching. This is the part that reaches the investor. If the connector has to rewrite it, you failed. The test for the whole message is brutal and simple: could the connector forward it adding nothing but "↑ you two should talk"? If yes, you wrote an intro. If forwarding requires them to compose anything, you wrote a request, and requests sit.

The anatomy of a forwardable blurb

The blurb is the hardest object in your raise to write well, because it has to do six jobs in about five sentences. Strip any one and you push work back onto the connector or the investor. Here's what it has to carry:

Notice what's not on the list: your life story, the full deck, the market-size slide, three proof points when one would do. The blurb is not the pitch. It's the thing that earns the meeting where you pitch. Every sentence you add past the six jobs lowers the odds the investor reads to the end and lowers the odds the connector forwards it without trimming.

Before / after: the Altitude intro

BEFORE (the homework assignment)
To: Mark
"Hey Mark, hope you're well! I noticed you're connected to Jen at
Altitude. We're raising our seed and I think we'd be a great fit.
Any chance you'd be open to an intro? Would mean a lot."
-> connector's job: figure out what you do, judge the fit, write the
   pitch from scratch, stake his credibility on his own wording
-> what reaches Jen: nothing, for nine days, then nothing
-> the out: none — saying no feels like letting you down

AFTER (the written-for-him intro)
To: Mark
"Mark — would you be up for intro'ing me to Jen at Altitude? She led
the [comparable] round and has written about freight pricing, so I
think it's a real fit, not a spray.

I've written a blurb below you can forward as-is (or edit however you
like). And total no worries if it's not a fit or you'd rather not —
won't be offended in the slightest.

---- forward from here ----
Hi Jen — wanted to introduce [Name], founder of [Co]. They help freight
brokers quote loads in seconds instead of hours. They're at $40K MRR
growing 22% MoM with three top-20 brokers signed, and opening a $2M seed
this month. Given your [comparable] investment and your freight pricing
piece, [Name] thought it was worth 20 minutes of your time. One-pager:
[link]. I'll let you two take it from here."
-> connector's job: read it, decide yes/no, hit forward
-> what reaches Jen: a complete, qualified, self-contained pitch
-> the out: explicit and easy, so a yes is a real yes

Same connector, same investor, same underlying company. One version asks Mark to do thirty minutes of work and stake his credibility on his own phrasing. The other asks him to make one decision and one click. The second one gets forwarded, because forwarding it is genuinely easy and the credibility risk is yours, not his. The difference isn't enthusiasm or relationship strength. It's whether you did the connector's work before asking him to act.

Four templates, by who's connecting you

The forwardable blurb stays roughly constant. What changes is the cover note, because your standing with the connector changes how much context you owe them and how you frame the out. Here are the four most common connectors, written out.

1. The friend or peer founder

They know you, not necessarily your latest numbers. Refresh their memory fast, make the out painless, keep it casual.

[Name] — random ask. You're connected to [Investor] at [Fund], right?
I'm raising our seed and they're high on my list — [one specific reason
it's them]. Wrote a blurb below you can just forward (edit as you like).
Zero pressure, and obviously skip it if you'd rather not vouch yet.

---- forward from here ----
Hi [Investor] — introducing [Name], founder of [Co]. [One-line what].
[One proof: metric / logo / milestone]. [Why this investor specifically].
Opening a [size] round [timing]. They'd love [the exact ask, time-boxed].
[Link]. Leaving you two to it.

2. The advisor or existing investor

They have skin in the game and want you to raise well. Give them the strategic reason, not just the name. They'll often improve the blurb, so make it easy to.

[Name] — building the intro list and [Investor] at [Fund] is a top
target: [specific thesis fit]. Could you make the intro? Blurb below,
forward as-is or sharpen it however you'd pitch me — you know what lands
with them. If you'd rather wait until [milestone], say so and I'll hold.

---- forward from here ----
[Investor] — want to introduce [Name] at [Co], one of [my portfolio
companies / a founder I advise]. [One-line what]. [Strongest proof].
[Why this fund's thesis fits]. Raising [size], [timing]. Worth [the ask]?
[Link].

3. The investor introducing you to another investor

This is a co-investor or a passed investor sending you onward. Their credibility is highest and their time is shortest. The blurb must be flawless and short, because they will forward exactly what you give them or nothing.

[Name] — thanks again for the time. You mentioned [Investor] at [Fund]
might be a better stage/thesis fit. If you're comfortable, an intro would
be huge — blurb below, ready to forward. Completely understand if you'd
rather not, no hard feelings either way.

---- forward from here ----
[Investor] — sending over [Name] at [Co]. [One-line what]. [Proof].
I'm not investing [this round / at this stage] but thought they were
strong and a better fit for you because [specific reason]. Raising [size].
Worth a look: [link].

4. The founder whose investor you want

A portfolio founder introducing you to their own investor. The connector's reputation with that investor is on the line every time, so make the fit obvious and the out generous.

[Name] — you raised from [Investor] at [Fund], and they look like a real
fit for us: [reason]. Would you be open to an intro? Blurb's below to
forward. And genuinely no worries if you'd rather not put your name on it
right now — I know those intros aren't free.

---- forward from here ----
[Investor] — introducing [Name] at [Co] — fellow founder, [how you know
them / why you rate them]. [One-line what]. [Proof]. Reminds me of [the
fit reason]. They're raising [size], [timing]. [Link]. Thought you'd want
first look.

The forwardable-request checklist

Run this on every intro request before you send it. If any box fails, you're handing the connector work, and the request will sit.

THE FORWARDABLE-REQUEST CHECKLIST

COVER NOTE (to the connector — never forwarded)
[ ] States the ask in one sentence
[ ] Names the specific reason this investor, not a generic "great fit"
[ ] Says the blurb is below and they can forward it as-is
[ ] Gives an explicit, painless out ("no worries if not")
[ ] Matches their standing: peer = casual, advisor = strategic,
    investor = short + flawless

FORWARDABLE BLURB (the part that reaches the investor)
[ ] One-line "what we do" in plain words, no category jargon
[ ] Exactly ONE proof point — the strongest, not all of them
[ ] Named reason it's THIS investor (a deal, a thesis, a post)
[ ] The exact ask, time-boxed (e.g. "20 minutes")
[ ] A reason it's timely (round opening, milestone, deadline)
[ ] One link the investor can open to self-qualify
[ ] Short enough to read in 15 seconds
[ ] Written so the connector adds nothing but "you two should talk"

THE TEST
  Could the connector forward this adding zero original words?
  YES  -> you wrote an intro. Send it.
  NO   -> you wrote a request. The connector will do your homework,
          or more likely won't. Rewrite until forwarding is one click.

Where RoundOS fits

You can run this entirely by hand, and you should start there. Pick your warmest connector, name the one specific reason for the investor, and write the two-part message: a short cover note and a forwardable blurb that passes the checklist. That alone will change your intro hit rate, because most founders never write the blurb at all. They send the homework assignment and hope.

Where the manual version gets heavy is at volume and at specificity. The forwardable blurb is only as good as its two custom lines: the named reason it's this investor, and the proof that matters to them. Writing those well means knowing, per investor, what they've recently funded, what they've written, what thesis they hold, and which of your proof points maps to it. Across forty targets and a dozen connectors, that research is the actual work, and it's exactly the work founders skip, which is why the blurb collapses back into "we'd be a great fit." The other quiet failure is not knowing your strongest warm path to each investor in the first place: who on your side actually knows them well enough to vouch.

RoundOS reads your investor targets and the people around you from the sources where the round already lives, your email, calendar, LinkedIn exports, and investor spreadsheet, and enriches each investor with what they've recently funded and the thesis they hold. It maps the warm paths, so for a given fund it can tell you which connector has the real relationship rather than a stale LinkedIn link. Then it drafts the forwardable request from that enriched context: the named reason it's this investor, the proof point that matches their thesis, and a cover note tuned to whether the connector is a peer, an advisor, or a co-investor. What you review is not a blank "ask for intro" box but a two-part message already built to pass the checklist, with the one custom reason filled from real context. The job is one thing: turn a vague "do you know anyone at Altitude?" into a written intro the connector can forward in one click.

Do this today

List your five highest-priority investors. For each, write down the one specific, named reason it's them, a deal they led, a post they wrote, a thesis they hold, not "great fit." Then identify your warmest connector to each, and for the top one, write the full two-part request: cover note plus forwardable blurb, run against the checklist above. Send that one today. The rule that fixes warm intros: never ask a connector for an intro. Always hand them one, written so the only thing left for them to do is decide yes and hit forward.

When you want each target paired with your warmest path and a forwardable request drafted from what the investor actually funds, connect the sources that hold your round and let RoundOS build them.

Forwardable intro request

TWO PARTS, TWO JOBS
 1. COVER NOTE   — to the connector. The ask + "forward the blurb
                   below as-is" + a painless out. Never forwarded.
 2. FORWARDABLE  — the self-contained pitch the investor reads.
    BLURB          Written so the connector adds nothing but
                   "you two should talk."

THE BLURB CARRIES SIX THINGS (≈5 sentences, 15-second read)
 - One-line what we do, plain words, no jargon
 - ONE proof point (the strongest, not all)
 - The named reason it's THIS investor (a deal / thesis / post)
 - The exact ask, time-boxed ("20 minutes")
 - Why now (round opening / milestone / deadline)
 - One link to self-qualify

MATCH THE COVER NOTE TO THE CONNECTOR
 - Friend / peer    -> casual, refresh their memory, easy out
 - Advisor / VC     -> strategic reason, invite them to sharpen it
 - Investor->investor -> short + flawless; they forward exactly as given
 - Founder->their VC -> obvious fit, generous out (their rep is at stake)

THE TEST (before every send)
 Could the connector forward this adding zero original words?
 YES -> you wrote an intro. Send it.
 NO  -> you wrote homework. It will sit. Rewrite.

THE RULE: never ask for an intro. Hand them one, ready to forward.