

Basic Email Etiquette for Entrepreneurs - techhacker
http://www.pluggd.in/email-etiquette-for-entrepreneurs-297/

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thrill
What's next? VC's demanding I eat arugula and like it?

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Jun8
I'd rather eat arugula than deal with VCs with ad hoc rules who may turn down
a good idea because it's coming from a GMail address.

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redorb
If a VC trashes my idea cause it came from my gmail; thats his loss.

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mikeryan
Um and yours? It seems like you both have something each other wants...

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jacquesm
That depends. A VC that has arbitrary and non-nonsensical rules on their
'input queue' will probably have arbitrary and nonsensical rules further down
the line.

They may have something you want (money, network, experience, maybe even a
mix) but the price of dealing with them could be too high. Startups that are
solid enough to attract funding from one party are possibly strong enough to
make their case to a party that sees these things the way they do.

If it is 'just' the email policy you could ask them what their motivation is,
and if it is good enough then you might be able to get past it, if there is no
reason (and what reason could there be?) then you may be better off looking at
a VC with a more up-to-date view of the way the internet is organized these
days. Gmail is _everywhere_ even in places where it really shouldn't be.

Now, to make it a bit more interesting, how would you feel if a VC would
disqualify someone mailing from a hotmail or mailinator address?

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gte910h
Yeah, google apps for your domain takes about 15-25 minutes to set up.

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edw519
_There are two kind of emails. One that converts into actionable point , and
the other that goes nowhere._

I have found that the best way to get action is to give the reader a choice...

Poor: Let me know when you want to get together.

Good: What time on Friday should I stop by?

Best: I can be in your neighborhood at either 11 am or 2 pm on Friday. Which
is better?

I'm not sure why this works so much better, but I have a theory. This infers
that my schedule is filling up. If one time is better than the other (which is
almost always the case), then the reader would want his preferred time slot
before it's gone. Scarcity and choice and 2 good motivators.

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jacquesm
The reason it works is because it moves right past giving the customer the 3rd
option, no meeting.

So by giving two choices that are good for you most people will pick either
one, not even realize there are other options. People like 'multiple choice'
and don't do well on 'open questions', this is probably related somehow.

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oconnor0
The other is that it's simpler and less stressful to pick one of two times
instead of trying to figure out some random time that will hopefully work for
both parties.

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Dylanfm
Feel unsure of whether your emails seems professional? Maybe you should read
this really brief article...

Most of you probably don't need to read this, but seeing as it's so short and
sweet; it probably won't do any harm. It seems as someone is having some sort
of obviously worthwhile vent.

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tjmaxal
Amen to the don't use gmail point. But it is a nearly heroic act to find a
good url these days. Not to mention trying to find a .com. It's getting pretty
ridiculous.

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potatolicious
You're going to need one for your website anyways...

