Cold emailing - how can I get them to look at stock pitch?

I'm currently a sophomore at a target with a pretty average GPA (above 3.5 cutoff, but not great). I've been doing more formal/OCR recruiting over the past couple of weeks or so, mostly applying for Asset Management/hedge fund/investing related roles, but nothing has really panned out with the interviews I did have, and it sort of seems like I've missed the boat on the more structured recruiting. I sent out several cold emails and reached out to alumni during this time, but I'm looking to focus more heavily on this in the next few weeks or so.

I know that the reason that I didn't get as many interviews as I could have is because my GPA isn't great. But I do have great experience from last summer, and something I noticed was that if the job application asked for a stock pitch or I somehow got my pitch in front of someone, I would usually get the interview or at least an enthusiastic response. The quality of the pitch I usually send for these is decent, and I really think it could be a selling point for me to make up for the GPA. But the problem is... if the application doesn't explicitly ask for a stock pitch, how can I get it in front of people?

If I'm cold emailing alums or whoever, attaching a stock pitch in that first email seems a bit aggressive. But at the same time, waiting to hit it off with someone, having an informational interview, and then asking if I could "send them a pitch for feedback" or something along those lines seems like way too long of a timeline. I'm 100% sure that my response rate would be higher if the pitch and not the GPA was the first thing people saw, but how can I make sure of that?

Any advice on how to proceed?

8 Comments
 

The message is fine. But seriously you need to do whatever you can to get referrals. Many VCs won't even listen to a pitch if there is not a mutual connection.

 

Contrary to the above, I know plenty funds that respond just fine to cold emails from startups. Maybe they're not top of the list, but I don't get why you guys don't think a VC wouldn't potentially be interested...

Now if you have a crappy company, that's an entirely different story.

"If you want to succeed in this life, you need to understand that duty comes before rights and that responsibility precedes opportunity."
 

VC Intern here. Cold emails will get very little attention. Your email is perfect but I would suggest trying to meet VCs in person at an event. It is better to wait and find a connection to a VC. No matter how small it is than to cold email. Also understand that you are not really pitching a fund, you are pitching a partner at a fund. Each partner is likely to be specialised in one industry/stage/geography and could be looking or not for new board seats VCs at all stage love actual numbers. If you have any put this in your email. If you want advice on which VCs to send it to. Feel free to pm me.

 

Voluptatum repellendus et omnis libero laborum. Libero culpa consequuntur impedit. Ex minus magni sit sit aut neque dolor. Quia quos molestiae quis incidunt.

Rerum aliquam recusandae nostrum dolore. Ut ad molestiae perspiciatis quasi et maxime. Dolores numquam soluta nulla rem est quis odit. Numquam sed porro sit sapiente consequuntur delectus sed.

Maxime ipsa et necessitatibus hic architecto fuga. Hic qui fugiat repudiandae ex veritatis.

Neque aspernatur sit quidem corrupti qui. Eum sed dolorem non dolor aut necessitatibus praesentium et. Officiis animi qui est non unde aliquam omnis sunt. Hic adipisci ut delectus aliquam. Ut perferendis consequuntur labore consequatur. Rem molestiae doloribus dolor. Molestias debitis ea magni velit soluta.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”