Speed Isn’t Just a Strategy—It’s in Your Inbox
Founders love to talk about speed—moving fast, breaking things, iterating quickly, scaling fast. But there’s one signal of speed that almost no one talks about—and it matters more than you think: how fast you reply to emails.
Sounds trivial, right? But hear me out.
At Menlo Ventures, we pay close attention to this. And we’re not the only ones. Episode One Ventures analyzed thousands of founder communications and found that the founders who built the most successful companies replied to emails twice as fast on average.
It’s not because email is some magical growth hack. It’s because your inbox is a proxy.
A proxy for urgency, clarity, and execution. The way you manage communication often mirrors how you run your company. Quick responders tend to make decisions faster, iterate on product faster, close hires faster, respond to customer needs faster—and yes, fundraise faster too.
That innate sense of urgency? It shows up everywhere. And your inbox is often the first sign of it.
No, replying fast won’t guarantee success. But if you’re the kind of founder who gets things done—your inbox probably reflects that.
Would love to hear your take—how much do you read into a quick reply?
– Michelle at Menlo VC
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