How to Run a LinkedIn Outreach Campaign Targeting Y Combinator Founders from W25 and S22 Batches (2026 Guide)

Quick Answer: Origami gives you a built-in LinkedIn sequencer to find, enrich, and message Y Combinator founders from W25 and S22 batches—all from one platform. Below is the exact campaign I run to book meetings with this crowd.

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If you’ve already built your prospect list in Origami (using the parent guide), you can skip straight to refining and sequencing. But if you’re starting fresh, here’s the quick way in—and then we’ll walk through the outreach engine.

Step 1: Build Your YC Founder Prospect List (or Skip Ahead)

Head over to Origami. The free plan gives you 1,000 lead enrichment credits—no credit card required. Paste this prompt into the AI agent:

Find founders of B2B SaaS companies from Y Combinator Winter 2025 and Summer 2022 batches. Include founder name, LinkedIn profile, email, phone, company name, website, funding stage, and tech stack.

Origami’s agent will search the live web, chain data sources, and return a targeted prospect list with verified names, emails, phone numbers, and enriched company details—all from a single prompt. You’ll get founder LinkedIn URLs, which feed directly into the sequencer later.

If you want the full breakdown on lead generation for this audience, read the companion piece: how to build a list of Y Combinator Founders from W25 and S22 Batches.

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Step 2: Refine and Qualify the List for LinkedIn Outreach

A raw YC founder list is a firehose. You need to narrow it to the people who will actually care about what you’re offering. I do this inside Origami’s table view, using filters and manual review.

Remove dead weight

• Domains that are dead or redirect to a parked page (Origami flags these when it enriches).
• Founders who haven’t posted on LinkedIn in 2025/2026—low engagement usually means they’re heads-down building, not buying.

Segment by funding and stage

• Seed/pre-seed (sub‑$2M raised): still in founder‑led sales mode. Perfect if you sell lightweight sales frameworks, fractional SDR, or CRM for early teams.
• Series A ($3–10M): hiring first sales hires, evaluating tools. Ideal if you sell outbound automation or pipeline generation.

For this example, I’ll assume you’re selling something that helps scale outbound without headcount. So I segment for companies with $1M–5M raised and team size 5–30.

Filter by role

• Only include CEO, co-founder, or head of sales. Not CTO or COO—they rarely own the buying decision for sales tooling.

Segment by location (if relevant)

• SF‑based founders might value in‑person networking; distributed teams prefer async value like Loom breakdowns. I’ll note that for messaging later.

What “qualified” looks like: a YC‑backed SaaS startup, 5–30 employees, raised a post‑YC round, actively hiring for sales, and the founder is still involved in outbound. That’s my bullseye.

Once refined, the list is ready for Outreach mode inside Origami.

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Step 3: Create a 3‑Touch LinkedIn Outreach Sequence

Origami’s built‑in LinkedIn sequencer lets you go from list to live campaign without leaving the platform. You have two paths:

1. Paste your own templates – you craft a 3‑touch sequence, set delays (Day 1, Day 3, Day 7), and hit Launch.
2. Let the AI agent write it – Origami’s agent generates personalized messages for each lead based on their enriched profile data (title, company, tools used, etc.), so every message feels custom.

I usually start with my own high‑performing templates, tweak after 50 sends, then switch to agent‑generated versions for the next batch. Below is the exact copy I’ve used to book meetings with YC founders in 2026. Steal it.

The Templates (Option A)

Use these dynamic fields: , . If you’ve enriched extra info (like recent news), you can reference it manually. Set delays as recommended.

Touch 1 – Connection Request (under 300 characters)

Hi , loved seeing ’s post‑demo day momentum. As a fellow founder, I know scaling GTM is tough. Would be great to connect.

Why it works: acknowledges YC journey, shows founder empathy (even if you’re not a YC alum, you can say “fellow founder” if you’re in SaaS).

Touch 2 – Day 1 Message (sent immediately after acceptance)

Hey , thanks for connecting. Quick intro: I help YC‑backed SaaS founders build outbound pipelines that don’t burn cash. After Demo Day, I saw many teams struggle to turn investor enthusiasm into meetings. Happy to share a simple 3‑step framework that doubled pipeline for two YC startups in 30 days—zero hard sell. Worth a quick 15‑min chat?

Touch 3 – Day 3 Follow‑up (different angle)

Hi , one insight to follow up—most early‑stage founders we work with are shocked how much pipeline comes from personal LinkedIn outreach when they swap “pitchy” messages for a genuine curiosity hook. I recorded a 2‑minute Loom breaking down our top‑performing template. Can I send it over?

Touch 4 – Day 7 Final Message (soft close)

Hope things are moving fast at . If now isn’t the right time, no worries. I’ll keep an eye out for your next raise announcement—cheering you on. If you ever want to brainstorm outbound ideas, my inbox is open.

All messages under 100 words, direct, and lead with value. If you’re using the AI agent option, the agent might insert personalized hooks like “I noticed you’re using Segment and HubSpot,” which can lift reply rates another 10–15%.

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Step 4: Send the Sequence Directly from Origami (and Track Everything)

Once the sequence is ready, click Launch inside Origami’s LinkedIn sequencer. No CSV exports, no syncing with a separate tool. The sequencer is built right into the platform, so you send connection requests and follow‑ups directly from the same dashboard where you built your list.

What you get:

• Configurable delays – set Day 1, Day 3, Day 7 (or any cadence).
• Auto‑enrichment context – while viewing a contact’s activity, you can still see their full enriched profile (title, company, funding stage, tech stack). You know exactly why you reached out.
• Automatic un‑enrollment – if someone replies, they leave the sequence instantly. No accidental “breakup” message after they’ve already booked a meeting.
• Full sending & tracking – opens, clicks, replies, all visible in the same dashboard.

The sequencer itself is free on all paid plans. You only pay for the credits used to enrich leads. So after you’ve built and enriched 200 leads, you’re sending that sequence at zero extra cost.

Response rate expectations for this audience

With the templates above and a tightly qualified list of YC W25 and S22 founders:

• Connection acceptance: 30–40% (YC founders are selective but curious about value)
• Positive reply rate (asks for Loom or call): 8–12%

If you’re not hitting those numbers after ~50 sent, focus on the Day 1 message. Try varying the hook (e.g., reference a recent fundraise instead of demo day). If acceptance is low, go back to your list—maybe you’re targeting companies that already raised Series B or are out of the sweet spot.

When to iterate on messaging vs. iterate on the list

• If connections are accepted but replies are missing → tweak value prop in Touch 2/3.
• If connection requests aren’t getting accepted → the list might be too broad or you’re including non‑founder roles. Re‑filter and try again.
• After two rounds of A/B testing with no lift, rebuild the list in Origami with new filters (e.g., only Summer 2022 founders who raised pre‑seed).

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