Codie SanchezFounder @ Contrarian Thinking

Use This Strategy

26 Jan 2025 · 1 min

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0:46

Codie Sanchez breaks down Brex's "cheap date" campaign: they mailed 300 Bay Area startup founders bottles of VUV champagne with handwritten notes, then asked for demos. The result was a 75% conversion rate that helped drive Brex's $12.3 billion valuation. Personalized mail beats cold DMs.

Questions this video answers

Over $12.3 billion.

About 300 startups (Bay Area, raising).

About 300 bottles of VUV.

75% conversion rate.

Chapters

The totally repeatable strategy that led Brex to be valued at over $12.3 billion today. I call it the cheap date strategy or the most successful outbound campaign I've ever seen. Step one they nailed who they sold to software to startup founders. Step two they found a list of 300 startups raising in the Bay Area, which is in this article right here, and they bought about 300 bottles of VUV. Step 4 they mailed each bottle with a handwritten note saying congrats on your recent fundraise or we know how hard it is to build a startup and we're rooting for you. They sent a follow up, basically asking if they wanted a demo. The result? A 75% conversion rate. What's the lesson here? When the entire world goes for the DMs, you shake hands and clean glasses. In real life, humans for the win.