Mutual connection or shared investor
An account shares an investor, a board member, a former employer, or a close connection with you or your customers.
Shared context turns a cold message into a warm introduction. Portfolio companies of the same investor often buy what their peers recommend.
- Strength
- Good
- Act within
- Ongoing
- Best for
- Companies with investor and customer networks to draw on
How we detect it
Runs on Clay, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and Crunchbase.
- Map your investors’ portfolios and your founders’ networks against your target accounts.
- Rank the paths by strength of connection.
What it triggers
An opening line, to show the angle. It never goes out as written.
We both work with the team at Northzone. They mentioned you are building out outbound this year.
- Email: Ask for an introduction, or name the shared connection up front.
- LinkedIn outreach: A note from the founder referencing the shared connection.
Where it goes wrong
- Naming a connection you have never spoken to.
Stack it with
A second signal on the same account moves it up.
Champion changed jobs
Someone who bought, used, or championed your product moves to a new company that fits your ICP.
Funding round
A target account announces a new round of funding.
More your crm and network signals
Every your crm and network signalClosed-lost, revisited
A deal you lost months ago, at an account where something has since changed.
Lookalike of your best customers
An account that matches the traits of your closed-won customers, modeled from your own deals.
Customer growing a new team
An existing customer hires, expands, or launches a new team that could use your product.
FAQs about this signal
An account shares an investor, a board member, a former employer, or a close connection with you or your customers. Shared context turns a cold message into a warm introduction. Portfolio companies of the same investor often buy what their peers recommend.
Map your investors’ portfolios and your founders’ networks against your target accounts. Rank the paths by strength of connection. Understory Agency runs it on Clay, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and Crunchbase.
The window to act is ongoing. Understory Agency routes it to email and linkedin outreach. Ask for an introduction, or name the shared connection up front. A note from the founder referencing the shared connection.
It works best for companies with investor and customer networks to draw on. It is strongest alongside “Champion changed jobs” and “Funding round”.
Or let us run it for you
Understory Agency's GTM engineers build the detection in Clay, wire it to the play that fits, and sync every touch to your CRM. Tell us who you sell to, and we'll show you where we would start.