Just a few highlights from the judge call with Warmly’s CEO, maximus greenwald, who joined us as a judge at the last GTM Hackathon! He dropped some seriously practical wisdom on pattern-breaking outreach!
Q: What are the best cold outreach hacks for startups?
A: Cold outreach hacks are creative ways to get more replies in LinkedIn DMs and emails. According to Warmly’s CEO Maximus Greenwald, the key is to break patterns, send more messages than you think, and give buyers bragging rights.
Q: How can founders break patterns in outreach?
- Always Break Convention (ABC): Start a LinkedIn group chat with the buyer, your co-founder, or a teammate.
- This feels different and unexpected, making prospects more likely to reply.
Q: How many cold messages should you send?
- Most founders underestimate volume.
- Warmly sends 50,000 cold emails a month.
- Maximus personally tested hundreds of LinkedIn notes and emails for a year.
- Lesson: The real unlock comes from creative testing + consistent volume.
Q: How do you use bragging rights in outreach?
- Launch a “Top 20 Startups in [your niche]” list.
- Partner with VCs for nominations.
- Give winners a badge to share.
- As Maximus says: “Before you get the award, we need to talk to the CEO.”
- Giving people a platform to promote themselves is already an exchange of value.
Q: How do you turn replies into long-term relationships?
- Add positive responders to a newsletter (even a simple monthly update).
- Share progress, wins, and lessons learned.
- Over time, these authentic updates build trust and future customers.
Q: How can you write LinkedIn DMs that get replies?
- The first five words matter — they show in preview.
- Put your question at the end with a visible question mark.
- Avoid the em dash (—), which screams “AI-generated.”
- Keep it short, unique, with numbers or lowercase if it helps you stand out.
