The '3-Sentence' Cold Pitch
by Emilie Gerber • Founder & CEO at Six Eastern
A PR expert and founder of Six Eastern, an agency that has worked with over 100 tech companies including Ramp and Perplexity. Previously led communications at Uber and Box, specializing in turning product launches and corporate milestones into strategic media coverage.
🎙️ Episode Context
Emilie Gerber deconstructs the black box of public relations for startups, moving beyond theory to strictly tactical advice. She outlines how to craft pitches that actually get opened, why "category creation" is a failing narrative strategy for press, and how to differentiate media targets based on business goals (funding vs. product growth). The conversation provides a blueprint for founders and product leaders to generate coverage without needing expensive agencies or warm introductions.
Problem It Solves
Founders and PMs waste time trying to network for intros or writing long essays that reporters delete immediately.
Framework Overview
A high-velocity, high-respect outreach method that prioritizes brevity and relevance over relationships. It assumes the recipient is busy and makes the 'ask' impossible to misunderstand.
🧠 Framework Structure
Sentence 1: The Hook. State exactly w...
Sentence 2: The Value Prop/Data. Prov...
Sentence 3: The Call to Action. Ask a...
Include Context Links: Link to a past...
When to Use
When reaching out to reporters or podcast hosts without a prior relationship.
Common Mistakes
Writing a wall of text, trying to be too friendly/building false rapport before getting to the point, or burying the news at the bottom of the email.
Real World Example
Emilie's pitch to Lenny for a podcast guest used just two bullet points: 1. NuBank's growth is 80-90% organic. 2. They are bigger than Coinbase, Robinhood, and SoFi combined. This immediate, data-backed hook worked instantly.
I'm of the belief that [relationships] do not matter as much as many people think it does... I think cold outreach done well is just as effective.
— Emilie Gerber