Telegram outreach in crypto works when the goal picks the role, and the role picks the first message. NAUT tracks 13,831 live decision-maker contacts across 6,923 projects, 3,360 investors and 158 service firms, and 6,610 of them carry a Telegram handle on file, so the 5 openers below are each written for 1 goal and aimed at the 1 role that owns it.
How this was built: on 27 October 2026 NAUT read its own contact records and counted how many of them carry a Telegram handle, split by the role in each person's title. That is 6,610 of 13,831 contacts with a Telegram handle, 8,430 with an X account, 8,845 with a LinkedIn profile and 708 with an email address. The role counts come from the title text on each contact record, so a person whose title is written in an unusual way sits outside these 4 buckets. Every figure is NAUT's coverage on that date, never the whole market, and 1 round with a close date in the future was left out of the recent-round count below.
Telegram outreach for crypto BD: the 5 goals and the 5 roles
Each row is 1 goal, the role that answers for it, how many of those contacts NAUT tracks, and how many of those carry a Telegram handle. The vendor row covers an audit, legal or market-making pitch, and the post-raise row is the same founder goal timed to the days right after a round closes.
| Goal | Who to message | Tracked | On Telegram |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership | Founder or co-founder | 1,940 | 869 |
| Fundraising | Investor partner | 211 | 46 |
| Vendor pitch | BD or partnerships lead | 86 | 62 |
| Post-raise | Founder at a just-funded team | 1,940 | 869 |
| Growth swap | Growth or marketing lead | 159 | 113 |
The founder row carries both the partnership goal and the post-raise goal, because the same 1,940 contacts serve each one. What changes between those 2 is the timing and the first line, which is the whole point of writing 5 openers instead of 1.
Which role should you message on Telegram for each goal?
Telegram coverage is uneven by role, and that decides where a cold opener is even possible. BD and partnerships leads are the most reachable: 62 of the 86 NAUT tracks carry a Telegram handle, 72% of them. Growth and marketing leads sit close behind at 113 of 159, or 71%. Founders and CEOs are the biggest pool by far, 1,940 contacts, with 869 on Telegram, so 45% of that pool.
Investor partners are the hard case. NAUT tracks 211 of them and 46 carry a Telegram handle, 22% of the group. A founder raising should plan for the other 165 to need X or LinkedIn first, with Telegram as the channel the conversation moves to after the first reply. Across all 13,831 contacts, 8,845 carry a LinkedIn profile and 8,430 carry an X account, both ahead of Telegram's 6,610, and only 708 carry an email address.
So the rule that falls out of the data: Telegram is the first channel for vendors, growth swaps and founder-to-founder pitches, and the second channel for investor conversations.
What are the 5 cold openers, goal by goal?
Each opener is 1 message, under 70 words, with 1 ask. Replace anything in curly brackets, keep the length, and send it on 1 channel only. A telegram message template earns a reply when the first line proves you read something specific about the person, so the bracket in line 1 is the one to spend time on.
1. Partnership or integration pitch, to a founder
Send it to a founder or co-founder. NAUT tracks 1,940 of them with 869 on Telegram. Start on the company page, Polygon or Animoca Brands for a project at that size, and work from the team NAUT holds for it to the 1 person whose title owns the decision, before you write a word.
Hi {name}, {my project} does {1 line, with a number in it}. We want to {the integration} with {their project}, and the build on our side is {scope}, so you would need {the 1 thing you need from them}. Worth 15 minutes next week? If it is the wrong fit, tell me and I will stop there.
2. Fundraising or a warm intro, to an investor partner
Send it to a named partner, never to a fund's general account. NAUT tracks 211 investor-partner contacts and 46 carry a Telegram handle, so check the handle before you plan the message. Read the title on the record and pick the Partner or Managing Partner, the level that can take a meeting into an investment committee, then write to that 1 person.
Hi {name}, raising {amount} for {company}. {1 metric, with the number and the date}. You backed {portfolio company}, the closest thing in your book to what we do. Can I send the deck, or take {length} on a call? A fast no is useful to me too.
3. Service or vendor pitch, to a BD or partnerships lead
This is the most reachable group on Telegram: 62 of 86. Service firms are where the opener lands, and NAUT's 158 service firms include 15 market makers, 8 legal firms and 4 audit firms, Veridise among the 4. A 10-person vendor is a faster read than a large one, because the company page gives you the whole team at once.
Hi {name}, we {the service} for {segment}, and we have shipped {number} of them for teams like {comparable}. Saw {their product or launch} is due {date}. Want the 1-page scope and price, or {length} on a call? Either way I will send the scope.
4. Post-raise outreach, right after a round closes
This opener is timing, so it works on a weekly check rather than on volume. In NAUT's records 6 rounds closed in the 180 days to 27 October 2026, the largest of them Plasma's $50M IDO on Sonar Launchpad, closed on 25 September 2026. Read the round, then write to the founder in the week it is announced.
Hi {name}, congratulations on the {round}. The reason I am writing this week rather than later: {the thing that gets harder once the money is spent}. We do {the thing}, the first step is {something small and cheap}, and {comparable team} did it at the same stage. 15 minutes?
5. Community or growth collaboration
Send it to a growth or marketing lead. 113 of the 159 NAUT tracks carry a Telegram handle, 71%, which makes this the second most reachable role on the channel. A swap is the easiest yes in crypto BD outreach, because nobody has to ask for budget.
Hi {name}, your {campaign} did well with {audience}, and we reach {our audience, with a number} in {region}. Proposing a straight swap: {what you give} for {what you get}, live {date}. I will write the first draft and send it to you before anything ships.
How do you find a Telegram handle on NAUT?
Open the company page, read the people on it, then open the person. Each contact record carries the channels NAUT holds for that person, which is where the 6,610 Telegram handles, 8,430 X accounts and 8,845 LinkedIn profiles sit. A company page is the faster route than searching a name, because it also tells you who else is on the team and whether the person you picked is the one who owns the decision.
3 checks before you send anything:
- Read the title on the record. A Founder, a CEO or a Managing Partner decides. A Head of BD routes. The 4 role buckets in this article come straight from that title text.
- Confirm the handle is current. A Telegram username changes without notice and the old one can be claimed by someone else. If the person's X bio or their company site names a handle, match it against the one on file.
- Pick 1 channel and 1 person. 211 investor-partner contacts and 46 Telegram handles means a lot of investor outreach starts somewhere else, so decide the channel before you write the words.
What makes a Telegram outreach message get a reply?
A first line that could only have been written to that person, and 1 ask sized in minutes. The 5 openers above all follow the same 4 parts: the specific thing you read, what you do in 1 line with a number in it, the ask with a length on it, and an exit line that costs you nothing.
- 1 ask. A message with 2 asks gets neither. Pick the call or the document, never both.
- A number in the second line. Users, volume, a round size, a date. It is the fastest proof that there is something real behind the message.
- An exit line. A sentence that makes a no easy is why people answer at all, and a fast no is a result.
- No follow-up before 72 hours. Telegram shows the read receipt, so a same-day second message reads as pressure.
- 1 person per company. The same opener landing with 2 people at 1 team is visible to both of them.
How to run Telegram outreach as a BD team
Work the goal first, then the role, then the handle. The order matters because the handle is the part that fails: 48% of NAUT's 13,831 contacts carry a Telegram handle, so roughly half of any list you build needs a different channel.
- Pick 1 goal5 goals, 5 roles, 5 openers. A vendor pitch goes to a BD lead, where 62 of the 86 contacts NAUT tracks carry a Telegram handle.
- Shortlist the roleFilter by title, not by company size. A partnership pitch sits with 1 of 1,940 founder and CEO contacts, 869 of them on Telegram.
- Take the handle off the pageOpen the person on NAUT and copy the channel it holds. 6,610 of 13,831 contacts carry a Telegram handle, 8,430 carry an X account.
- Send the matching opener1 goal, 1 role, 1 message, 1 ask. Veridise is the shape of a vendor target: 1 of the 4 audit firms NAUT tracks.
A list of companies is not yet an outreach list, because you cannot message a company. The 158 service firms, 6,923 projects and 3,360 investors on NAUT are the shortlist; the 13,831 contacts are the outreach list.
What this means for a founder raising
Investor outreach is the goal with the worst Telegram coverage and the highest value, so it needs the most preparation per message. 46 Telegram handles across 211 investor-partner contacts means you should expect to open on X or LinkedIn and move to Telegram after the first reply.
- Shortlist the fundsNAUT holds 3,360 live investor companies. Pick the ones whose book already carries a company doing what you do.
- Name the partnerNAUT tracks 211 investor-partner contacts. Open the fund page, read the people it holds, and pick the 1 whose title says Partner or Managing Partner.
- Check the channel46 of those 211 carry a Telegram handle. For the rest, open on X or LinkedIn, where NAUT holds 8,430 and 8,845 records.
- Open with the amountOpener 2 leads with the round size and 1 dated metric, then asks for the deck or a call. 1 ask, 1 partner per firm.
Telegram outreach FAQ
How many crypto contacts have a Telegram handle on NAUT?
6,610 of the 13,831 live decision-maker contacts NAUT tracked on 27 October 2026, so 48%. The same set holds 8,430 X accounts, 8,845 LinkedIn profiles and 708 email addresses.
How to message a founder on Telegram without a warm introduction?
Open with the specific thing you read about their project, say what you do in 1 line with a number in it, then ask for 15 minutes and give them an exit line. NAUT tracked 1,940 founder and CEO contacts on 27 October 2026, 869 of them with a Telegram handle, so the person who answers for a partnership is usually on the company page before you start writing.
Which role is easiest to reach on Telegram for crypto BD?
BD and partnerships leads. NAUT tracked 86 of them on 27 October 2026 and 62 carry a Telegram handle, 72% of the group, ahead of growth and marketing leads at 113 of 159 and founders at 869 of 1,940.
Why do so few crypto investors list a Telegram handle?
NAUT tracked 211 investor-partner contacts on 27 October 2026 and 46 of them carry a Telegram handle, 22%. Fund partners are usually reached on X or LinkedIn first, where NAUT holds 8,430 and 8,845 records across all 13,831 contacts.
When should you send a post-raise cold opener?
In the week the round is announced, while the money is still unspent. NAUT recorded 6 rounds closing in the 180 days to 27 October 2026, the largest Plasma's $50M IDO on Sonar Launchpad on 25 September 2026.
Does a cold opener work for a vendor pitch?
It is the best-covered case on Telegram: 62 of the 86 BD and partnerships contacts NAUT tracked on 27 October 2026 carry a handle. NAUT's 158 service firms include 15 market makers, 8 legal firms and 4 audit firms, Veridise among them.
Sources
- NAUT's own database of crypto companies and decision-maker contacts, read on 27 October 2026: 13,831 live contacts, the channels held against each, the role in each contact's title, the 6,923 projects, 3,360 investors and 158 service firms, the service firms by type, and the rounds with a close date in the 180 days to that date.
- Plasma's $50M IDO on Sonar Launchpad, closed 25 September 2026, is the largest of those 6 rounds in NAUT's round records, read on 27 October 2026. 1 round carrying a close date in 2028 was excluded from that window, and 1 round whose launchpad name is stored with a broken character was left unnamed.
- The role buckets are read from title text, so the 1,940 founder and CEO, 211 investor-partner, 86 BD and partnerships and 159 growth and marketing counts do not add up to the 13,831 total.