Email template: search fund investor to portfolio CEOs about data licensing
A search fund investor email to portfolio CEOs should be short, opt-in and factual: explain that some companies license operational records to AI developers for a one-time payment, name the basic fit criteria, link the company fit checker, disclose your referral interest, and ask for a yes or no reply, with no confidential detail or payout promises.
When to send this email
Send it once you have registered as a SourceX partner and want to give the CEOs you back one low-pressure, opt-in look at data licensing. Search fund investors are well placed for this: you already hold a trusted line to each searcher-turned-CEO through board meetings, annual investor meetings and the occasional late-night operating question. The email works because it asks for nothing more than a one-word reply.
Good moments are right after a board cycle, ahead of an annual investor or CEO gathering, or when you know a portfolio company is about to migrate systems. Hold it during a company's sale process or a financing, when the CEO's attention belongs elsewhere.
Before you send, filter the list. Some search-acquired companies are too small for this program, and an email to a CEO who cannot qualify spends goodwill for nothing.
- The company is US-based.
- Its headcount has hit 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded).
- It has several years of documented operations, including the years before the search acquisition.
- Its records are its own, not mainly its clients' data or consumer or patient information.
- You have checked your fund's policies and any professional rules on referral fees; the answer on earning a referral fee from a company you invest in covers the disclosure side.
- You have your referral link ready.
If you are unsure which portfolio companies to include, the guide to industries that hold licensable records helps sort them.
Template 1: the opt-in email
Template 2: a paragraph for your annual letter or CEO newsletter
Template 3: when a CEO says yes
Template 4: when a CEO says not now
How to personalize it
| Placeholder | What to put in | Illustrative example | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| {first_name} | The CEO's first name | Dana | Formal titles; this is a peer note |
| {company} | The operating company's name | Harbor Lane Logistics (fictional) | Holdco or fund entity names |
| {two_or_three_record_types} | Record types the company clearly runs, from what you already know | dispatch logs, customer support tickets and SOPs | Figures or details lifted from board packs |
| {fit_checker_link} | The public company fit checker page | The fit checker link from the partner portal | Any suggestion that a result means approval |
| {referral_link} | Your personal referral link | Your link as issued | Shortened or disguised links |
| {your_name} | How the CEO knows you | Your first name | Firm signatures that read like a mass mailing |
Keep the disclosure paragraph as written. Trimming it to a vague mention is the edit most likely to cause trouble later.
Sending and follow-up timing
| When | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Send each email individually, not as a group email or visible copy list | CEOs answer privately and your portfolio stays confidential |
| About a week later | One short nudge to non-responders, only where the relationship supports it | One reminder is courteous; more feels like pressure |
| Same day as a yes | Send Template 3, then step back | The company works directly with SourceX from here |
| After a not now | Note the date and the reason | Revisit only when a migration, add-on or sale preparation creates a reason |
| Next annual letter | Use Template 2 once | Reaches new CEOs without chasing old ones |
What never goes in the email
- Confidential figures or details from board materials, such as revenue, margins or customer names, in an email that can be forwarded.
- Any reward figure, estimate of license value or guess at a price.
- Names of AI labs or data buyers, or a promise that buyers will respond.
- Any hint that the board expects participation.
- Names of other portfolio companies that are, or are not, taking part.
- A request to send you files, screenshots or exports. Partners introduce; they never handle records.
What happens after a CEO says yes
- The CEO applies through your referral link, or you submit the company with the referral form.
- SourceX confirms the basics: headcount, years of operation, the range of systems and the company's rights to its records.
- The company completes a data inventory of its systems and records.
- Price and terms are agreed before any buyer review.
- AI labs and data buyers review; once a company is deal-ready, buyers typically respond within about two weeks.
- The deal closes, data is delivered under the agreed redaction rules, and the company receives a one-time payment, typically within about 60 days of invoicing once the buyer selects the data.
- Your reward is paid after SourceX receives payment.
Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company, and the reward becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. It never reduces what the CEO's company receives, and rewards are not guaranteed. On the company's side, the answer on who receives license proceeds explains where the payment lands.
Next step
Register as a partner to get your referral link, filter your CEO list against the who qualifies criteria, and send Template 1 individually. For an introduction to a company you do not invest in, the general company introduction email template is the better starting point, and the company fit checker is the link to include in either.
- Step 1Share your linkSend your personal link to a company you know.
- Step 2Company appliesThe company applies itself at /apply.
- Step 3Buyer selects and paysThe buyer selects and pays for the data and SourceX receives its fee.
- Step 4You get your rewardYour share of SourceX fees becomes payable.
Common questions
Should I send one email to all my portfolio CEOs at once?
No. Send it individually, even if the text is identical. A group email or visible copy list exposes your portfolio, invites CEOs to compare notes on a private matter and can read like a board expectation. Individual sends keep each reply easy and private, and let you leave out companies that clearly fall outside the fit criteria.
What if a CEO asks how much the company could earn?
Say you do not know, because nobody can say before qualification and a data inventory. The price depends on the records, their history and breadth, and buyer interest, and the company agrees it with SourceX before buyers review anything. Avoid guessing in writing; any number you give becomes an anchor and an implied promise you cannot keep.
Do I really need the disclosure paragraph?
Yes. Disclosing your referral interest up front is what keeps the email credible and protects the relationship. State that SourceX would pay you a share of its own fee if a deal closed and the buyer paid, and that nothing would come out of the company's proceeds. Check your fund's policies and any professional rules that apply to you before sending.
Can the CEO apply without my referral link?
Yes. Any company can apply directly at sourcex.si/apply. Using your link attaches your referral code so credit is preserved, and credit goes to the first valid referrer whose introduction leads to a verified company application within the attribution window. If the CEO prefers to apply without it, that is their decision, and the relationship matters more than the credit.
Does the company need board approval to explore this?
Exploring commits the company to nothing, since nothing is binding until it agrees a price and terms and signs. Whether signing a license later needs board or investor consent depends on the company's governing documents and investor agreements, so the CEO should check consent rights over material contracts before the agreement stage rather than before the first call.
Related pages
- Referral rewards when you also own equity in the referred company
- Best industries for search funds, and which hold licensable records
- Who receives the proceeds when a portfolio company licenses its data?
- Which US businesses are a fit for a SourceX data licensing introduction
- Company introduction email template
- Check Company Fit for Data Licensing
Free resources
- SDE vs EBITDA calculator — Seller's discretionary earnings next to market-rate EBITDA.
- IRR calculator — Internal rate of return on annual cash flows.
- Business valuation calculator — Enterprise and equity value from EBITDA, your multiple, cash and debt.
- All free tools · MCP resource center
By SourceX Partnerships Team · Published 2026-10-09 · Updated 2026-10-09
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