This draft belongs to the VC platform team introduction email templates, which hold the longer templates and the pre-send field check. This page is the one email for the moment just after a portfolio operations review.
Before you open the draft: two facts from the founder
The email has no reason to exist unless both facts are true, and both must come from the founder rather than from a database or a LinkedIn count.
LinkedIn- Peak full-time headcount of 50 or more. A company that has shrunk can pass: 120 full-time staff in 2022 and 80 today counts. A team of 30 employees and 40 contractors does not, because contractors are excluded.
- Years of records in operating systems. This is the one platform teams most often misread. Finance records are kept because tax rules require them; the IRS says the period to assess tax is generally three years from filing, and employment tax records should be kept for at least four years after the tax is due or paid. Those rules say nothing about the help desk, CRM, project tracker or ticketing system where operating history actually sits. A company can be fully compliant on tax retention and still hold only a year of support history.
If either fact is unconfirmed, the email waits. The email preparation worksheet is a good place to record both.
The draft
Subject: Following up on the operations review: [Company]'s records
Hi [Founder first name],
(1) Thanks for the time in last week's operations review. You mentioned that [Company] peaked at about [peak full-time staff] full-time employees and has kept [main systems] records since [earliest record year].
(2) A company called SourceX licenses approved business data directly from companies for AI training and evaluation, and handles the agreement, rights review, data preparation, delivery and payout. Records like yours are the kind they assess. Whether to talk to them is your decision alone, and the fund has no role in any agreement.
(3) To be transparent: I am a SourceX referral partner. If a license completes and SourceX pays [Company], SourceX may pay me a referral reward. It is paid by SourceX separately and never comes out of what [Company] receives.
Would you like an introduction for yourself or [authorized contact]? If so, a one-line description of the systems is all SourceX needs to start. No files, exports or samples.
[Your name], [Fund] platform team
Line-by-line annotation
| Line | Why it is there | Never put in it |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Ties the email to a meeting the founder remembers, so it is not mistaken for a pitch | The word "reward", a dollar amount or "AI" alone |
| (1) Review reference | Restates the two facts in the founder's own words, so they can correct either | Numbers from payroll, board decks or third-party data the founder did not confirm |
| (1) Main systems | Shows which history you mean, at the level of a system name | Screenshots, record counts you were not given, customer names |
| (2) What SourceX does | One accurate sentence on the business, using the program's own description | Claims about buyers, named AI labs, likely prices or promised interest |
| (2) Founder's decision | Separates the fund's influence from the founder's choice | Any hint that the fund expects participation |
| (3) Disclosure | Discloses the connection before the founder decides; the FTC Endorsement Guides call for clear disclosure of a material connection the audience would not expect | A promised amount, or language implying the company pays the reward |
| Ask | A yes-or-no question with a named authorized contact and a description-only scope | Requests for logins, exports, sample records or admin access |
| Signature | Identifies you and your role on the platform team | A fund partner's name if they were not part of the review |
Three variations by situation
- The founder has since stepped back. Address the CEO who now runs the company, keep paragraph (1) about the company's history, and copy the founder only if the founder asked to be included.
- The company peaked above 50 but is now below. Keep the peak number in paragraph (1). Peak, not current, headcount is the test.
- The company sits outside the U.S. State geography in full if the founder asks: Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 70% of the data is in English.
After the founder replies
A yes means you introduce the founder or the named authorized contact to SourceX, and nothing more: no files move through you. Sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting. Attribution goes to the first valid introduction within the 90-day window, credited when the company submits a verified application, with one partner per company. A no, or no reply after one gentle follow-up, closes the item.
The two facts open the door; SourceX also needs a documented operating history, rights to license the records and an authorized contact, so confirm those before you submit.
What nobody knows at this point: whether the records are licensable, whether customer contracts restrict them, whether there is demand and what the company would be paid. SourceX assesses those with the company. For how fund operating teams divide this kind of work, see the portfolio operations team explainer, the VC platform team page and the growth equity portfolio operations page; the independent sponsor introduction email shows a parallel draft for a different sender.
Next step
Refer a company. No cap on rewards. Default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, including the USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
Once a founder has confirmed both facts and said yes, register as a partner, check the company on who qualifies, and attach the terms and the rewards page to your introduction.