From DMs To Dream Jobs: Viral Cold Email Stories Spark Trend on X

A new trend has emerged on X where users share screenshots of cold emails that changed their careers, inspiring others to share their stories. For the unverse, cold emails are unsolicited emails sent to potential clients, customers, or business partners with whom there's no prior relationship or contact. They're called "cold" because the recipient doesn't know the sender.

It all started with Eliot, a Stockholm-based techie, whose post about landing a job through a cold email garnered over 2.1 million views, prompting a wave of similar success stories. 

See the tweet here:

the Cold Email that got me into Lovable at 17 - now it's shipped pic.twitter.com/dDgjLHBjoB

— Elliot (@robiot) October 24, 2025

Another 19-year-old student from Bengaluru also made a bold move that unknowingly shaped his career. Disappointed that his Alexa skill, despite gaining traction, didn't win him an Echo device, he sent a cold email straight to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2017. That email didn't just get noticed --it caught the attention of Amazon's top management and sparked a response that ultimately opened professional doors for him within the company.

Similarly, Bengaluru‑based entrepreneur Dilip Kumar revealed how he sent a cold email to Zerodha co‑founder Nithin Kamath, and got a response in just ten minutes. Kumar explained that he was building his startup in 2018, but had no network in the VC or angel ecosystem. Feeling stuck, he sent an email to the Zerodha co‑founder. To his surprise, Kamath replied quickly and within two days he offered investment. 

The cold email that got my first investor and my current boss. Every relationship starts with someone taking the risk to reach out first. You're one good cold email away from changing your trajectory. If you write it like you mean it. https://t.co/yCuQJPPuXz pic.twitter.com/qn08SuKYfp

— Dilip Kumar (@kmr_dilip) October 26, 2025

Power Of Cold Emails

The power of cold emails lies in their ability to initiate connections, generate leads, build networks, and create opportunities. Effective cold emails are personalised, concise, and value-driven, offering benefits or solutions to the recipient. When done right, cold emails can be a powerful tool for career growth, business development, and networking, helping to spark interest, drive conversions, and land jobs, collaborations, or business deals.

What's Working? 

• Short and direct messages referencing something specific to the recipient. 
• Identify a specific issue or opportunity in their company that you can work on
• Offering clear value something like, "Here's a free notion template I built after seeing your tweet" rather than "Can we chat sometime?"
• Following up respectfully, showing you did your homework.

And what's not? 

• Generic subject lines like "Growth opportunity for your company" that feel templated. 
• Blasting thousands with the same message
• Failing to check domain reputation and ending up in spam traps.