« Posts

The Cold Email That Landed Me a Job at Upstox

2022-12-21

The Cold Email That Landed Me My Dream Job at Upstox

Originally published on my LinkedIn.

Two years ago I hit Send on the message below. Subject line: “A hustler who wants to join the rocketship at Upstox.”

From: Saurabh Gandhi <pgp17.saurabhg@spjimr.org>
To: Shrini Viswanath
Date: 16 Sep 2020, 10:33 PM
Subject: An Hustler who wants to join the rocketship at Upstox

Hi Shrini,

I am writing to you to check if I can be a part of the team at Upstox.
But before I start my elevator pitch to sell myself and convince you of how good I am, I want to congratulate you for the amazing product that you have built.
Having been a customer myself I love how Upstox has cut all the clutter and allows its users to focus on what matters most.
(There are a few bugs on the iOS app but I am a promoter if you do a NPS on me.)
No wonder the new WFH millennial Indian is taking greater interest in trading and investing.

To tell you about myself, in short, I am a hustler and problem solver.
Building delightful customer experiences with a mix of technology, design and data is what I love to do.
I started out as a computer-science engineer, joined the only startup that visited my not-so-well-known engineering school, and built the entire backend platform from scratch (microservices, APIs, Django, Python).
After the company was acquired I started an agritech venture that aimed to be an Amazon for farmers.
Before demonetisation we had two crore rupees in GMV in a fully bootstrapped setup.
I learned build-measure-learn, growth hacking, lots of SQL, and most important, customer empathy.

I then completed an MBA at SP Jain Institute of Management with a focus on analytics and product management and took advanced courses at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business.
Now I am at Ola Electric, helping build an electric two-wheeler.
Three months ago I was solving for the energy infrastructure, which taught me that throwing money at problems only hides them for a while.

Fintech for Bharat (I come from a small town) is what I want to do next.
Upstox has delighted me during the six months I have been a customer (I used Nirmal Bang for the past eight years) and I want to board this rocket ship.
Product and growth are the roles I would love to pursue.
I noticed three open positions on your job board.

Please let me know if I could add value to your team.
I have attached my CV.

Regards,
Saurabh Gandhi
+91-9767845670

Attachment: Saurabh_Gandhi.pdf

That email changed everything.

Why I Wrote It

I was working on electric two-wheelers at Ola Electric but craved a role that blended product, growth, and fintech. Upstox ticked every box. Instead of waiting for a job post or a referral I wrote straight to the co-founder.

How I Framed It

  1. Quick hook I opened with genuine praise for the product and flagged a small bug. It showed I was already a power user.
  2. Crisp story Three paragraphs covered my coding roots, a startup I had worked on, and an MBA focused on product.
  3. Clear value I linked my skills to gaps I spotted on their job board and asked for a chance to prove my worth.

Today marks two years at a company that feels like home.

Lessons From the Journey

1. Passion Beats Polish

A heartfelt note beats a template. I wrote in my own voice and it clicked.

2. Own Your Story

Listing roles is dull. A short narrative is memorable. My email showed a clear arc from coding to product to fintech.

3. Ask Boldly and Politely

People are busy yet they read thoughtful messages. A specific ask and respect for their time can open doors.

What Happened After I Joined

Thanks for reading. Questions about cold emails or product roles in fintech? Ping me on LinkedIn and I will be happy to help.