LinkedIn Outreach Campaign for Pre-Seed & Seed Founders in NYC: A Step-by-Step Guide Using Origami's Built-in Sequencer (2026)

Quick answer: A successful LinkedIn campaign targeting NYC pre-seed/seed founders starts with a clean, verified list built with Origami. Then, you launch it directly through Origami’s built-in LinkedIn sequencer — the sequencer itself is free, you only pay for the credits that enrich your leads. Here’s the full 2026 playbook.

You’ve got a list of 200 pre-seed and seed founders in New York City. They’re building, fundraising, and wearing seventeen hats. If you hit them with a generic InMail, your response rate will be a ghost town. I’ve run campaigns for this exact persona in NYC for years. The difference between a 5% and a 35% reply rate is how you prep, what you say, and when you say it.

This guide assumes you’ve already built your prospect list using Origami (or you’re about to). If you haven’t, grab the exact steps from our companion post: how to build a list of Pre-Seed and Seed Founders in New York City. What’s changed in 2026 is that Origami now includes a built-in LinkedIn sequencer on all paid plans. That means after you refine your list, you never have to leave the platform to run a multi-step outreach campaign. The sequencer sends connection requests and follow-ups automatically, tracks opens, clicks, and replies, and even writes personalized messages for you if you want. And the best part: the sequencer itself is free — you only ever pay for the enrichment credits used to qualify the leads. Let’s walk through the entire process, from list to fully tracked campaign, inside Origami.

---

Step 1 — Build the List in Origami

Even if you’re reading this right after building your list, let’s lock in the prompt. Open Origami and type something like this:

“Find pre-seed and seed founders in New York City who have raised less than $2M in total funding. Include their current company, title, verified email address and LinkedIn profile URL. Exclude solo consultants and agencies.”

Origami’s AI agent searches the live web, chains data sources, enriches contacts, and qualifies leads from that single prompt. In a few minutes you get a spreadsheet-style output with:

• First and last name
• Job title (Founder, CEO, Co-founder)
• Company name and website
• Verified email address and often a direct phone number
• LinkedIn profile URL (crucial for the next step)
• Estimated funding range and location

If you’re testing the waters, the free plan gives you 1,000 credits — no credit card required. That’s enough for 200–500 target profiles. Paid plans start at $29/month if you’re scaling.

Now you have a raw list. Don’t copy it into LinkedIn just yet.

---

Step 2 — Refine and Qualify

A raw list of “founders in NYC” has noise. The secret to high reply rates is killing the noise before you send a single connection request. Here’s how I qualify specifically for NYC pre-seed/seed founders.

Remove bad fits

Go through the list and nuke:

• Anyone with a “founder” title at a side-project that hasn’t updated their LinkedIn in two years.
• Founders who are clearly full-time employed at another company (check their current position timeline).
• Companies that are agencies, consultancies, or studios — unless that’s exactly your ICP.
• Founders outside the five boroughs. “New York” in LinkedIn can include Westchester or Jersey. If they aren’t in NYC proper, pause and decide whether the location still matters for your campaign.

Segment by stage and signal

A pre-seed founder pre-revenue behaves differently from a seed founder closing a $2M round. Break your list into rough tiers using the funding data from Origami and LinkedIn signals:

• Pre-seed (no announced round): They’re heads-down building. They’ll respond to scrappy, product-focused language.
• Recently closed seed ($1M–$2M): They’re hiring or scaling go-to-market. Their pain is operational.
• Actively fundraising (LinkedIn posts about pitching, recent “Investor” connections): They’re in the thick of it and may not answer anything that isn’t capital-related. Segment them for a rainy day.

I also scan for signals like “Hiring” tag on the profile, recent posts about customer wins, or event attendance at NY Tech Meetup, Techstars NYC, or ERA.

What “qualified” looks like for this audience

A qualified target is:

• A founder (or co-founder/CEO) at a venture-backed or bootstrapped technology company
• Based in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens)
• Has raised under $2M, or is clearly active (shipping, hiring, fundraising in the last 90 days)
• Not a student side project
• Has a complete LinkedIn profile with a recent activity heartbeat

You don’t need 1,000 names. 100–200 qualified founders with the right context will outperform 500 randoms every time.

---

Step 3 — Create the Sequence (Two Ways)

This is where Origami’s built-in sequencer changes everything. Instead of bouncing between tools, you can now build your entire outreach flow right inside the same dashboard where your list lives. When you’re ready, you’ll have two options: paste your own battle‑tested templates, or let the AI agent write a personalized multi‑day sequence for every lead automatically.

Below is the exact 3‑touch sequence I use. Whether you paste it or use the agent to generate something similar, the structure works for NYC founders.

Option A — Paste Your Own Templates

Open the sequencer, create a new campaign, and you’ll see a simple editor. Write (or copy‑paste) your messages for Touch 1, Touch 2, and Touch 3. Set the delays — Day 1, Day 3, Day 7 (or any cadence you prefer). Hit “Launch” when you’re ready. That’s it. The templates below are ready to go after you replace the brackets:

Touch 1 — Connection Request + Note (Day 1)
What you’re doing: Getting the door open. No selling. A short note that rides their identity and a light NYC nod.

Note: LinkedIn limits connection notes to 300 characters. This fits perfectly.

Copy-paste template:

Hi [First Name], I noticed you’re building [Company] in NYC — congrats on the momentum. I work with early-stage founders who are figuring out their first B2B customers without cold calling. Would love to connect.

• [Your Name]

Why it works: It mentions their company (personalization), acknowledges NYC (shared geography), and hints at a problem they probably have (customer acquisition) without a pitch.

Touch 2 — Follow-Up Message (Day 3)
What you’re doing: Delivering value, not a demo request. Seed founders love frameworks and playbooks.

Send this only after they accept your connection request. Origami’s sequencer handles that logic automatically.

Copy-paste template:

Thanks for connecting, [First Name].

Quick observation: A lot of the seed-stage founders I talk to in NYC struggle to convert warm intros into demos. I put together a 5-step framework on pre-warming leads through events and micro-networking — no outbound tools needed.

Happy to send the PDF over if you’re curious. No pitch.

• [Your Name]

Why it works: It’s about their world (fundraising overlaps with pipeline building), it offers a specific asset, and the “no pitch” lowers skepticism.

Touch 3 — Final Message (Day 7)
What you’re doing: Soft close. This isn’t a breakup email; it’s an invitation to talk shop.

Copy-paste template:

Hey [First Name], circling back once.

If customer acquisition is on your radar this quarter, I’m opening a few free GTM audit slots for NYC founders. We’ll map out 3 high-impact channels to test, personalized to your stage and product.

Worth 20 minutes?

• [Your Name]

Why it works: Time-bound offer, no commitment, and “audit” sounds consultative, not salesy. The NYC founder hears “personalized to your stage” and relates immediately.

Alternative InMail version: If you’re sending InMail instead of after-connection messages, use a subject line like:

• “Your [Company] + NYC pipeline”
• “Seed founders in NYC — a pattern”

InMail body can follow the same structures, but include a one-sentence intro explaining you came across their profile.

Option B — Let the Agent Write It

If you’d rather not tweak brackets or think about wording, open the sequencer and click “Ask the AI agent.” Describe the tone and goal — for example, “Write a 3‑touch LinkedIn sequence for a NYC pre‑seed founder. Tone: friendly, direct, not salesy. Focus on the pain of building pipeline without cold calling.” The agent reads each lead’s profile data (title, company, industry, and any enrichment fields Origami surfaced) and generates unique, personalized messages for every person. Day‑1 connection notes will mention their company and role, Day‑3 follow‑ups might reference their funding stage, and the final touch wraps with a tailored soft ask.

You can review and edit the agent’s output before launching, or let it run as‑is. The result feels custom because it is custom — no two prospects get exactly the same message.

---

Step 4 — Launch and Track from Origami

Now you’ve got a clean list and a ready sequence. Here’s where the built‑in sequencer truly shines.

Launching the campaign
From the list view, select the qualified leads you want to reach (or a segment, like recently closed seed founders). Click “Launch Sequence,” choose the campaign you built (either your template version or the agent‑generated one), and set the action limits. Origami’s sequencer will then:

• Send connection requests with your personalized note to each lead.
• Wait for acceptance, then automatically send Touch 2 and Touch 3 according to the delay schedule.
• Respect LinkedIn’s connection and message limits by using human‑like intervals, so you never have to worry about getting flagged.

Tracking and visibility
Everything stays in the same dashboard where you built the list. You’ll see:

• Opens, clicks, and replies for each touch, updated in real time.
• Prospect context: While viewing an individual’s activity, you can see their enriched profile (company, title, funding stage, email) without toggling tabs.
• Reply handling: The moment a lead replies, Origami un‑enrolls them from the rest of the sequence. No more awkward automated follow‑ups after a human conversation has started.

The entire flow — find → refine → sequence → send → track — runs on one platform. No exporting CSVs, no syncing between tools, and no extra subscription fees. The sequencer itself is free; the only cost is the enrichment credits you used to build and qualify the list initially. Even then, a paid plan with 5,000 monthly credits (about $29) can easily support a campaign of 200–500 highly qualified NYC founders.

---

A Few Extra Tips for NYC Founders

• Timing: NYC founders are allergic to early‑morning inboxes. Launch sequences on Tuesday through Thursday, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern. Avoid Monday mornings and Friday afternoons.
• Follow‑up speed: Founders who accept your connection request are often in a burst of LinkedIn activity. Sending Touch 2 within 36–48 hours keeps you in their mental frame.
• Referrals: If you spot a founder who’s connected to someone you know, ask for a warm intro instead of a cold sequence. Origami’s enrichment often shows mutual connections, so scan for those before launching.
• Multi‑campaign testing: You can clone a sequence, tweak Touch 1 for different segments (pre‑seed vs. seed), and run A/B tests side‑by‑side in the sequencer. Even small wording changes can lift reply rates by 5–10%.

With Origami’s built‑in sequencer, you now have the whole system — from prompt to reply — in one place. Build a great list, let the agent or your templates do the crafting, and then watch the replies roll in without ever toggling to another tool.