So, I’ve been trying to reach this entrepreneur Hewitt Ryan for weeks. Had this urgent partnership idea for my coffee bean project, and nobody responded to my first three emails. Felt like screaming into a void. Finally sat down last Thursday to figure out the best way to actually get a human reply.
First thing I tried? Spamming his public email again – same non-response. Didn’t just send “Hey let’s talk” though. This time I wrote my subject line like bait: Seattle Roasters Data Collab – Urgent. Emailed at 8:32AM his timezone, still nothing by lunch.
Dug around his company’s social media pages next. Found Hewitt actually responds to DMs on LinkedIn sometimes, but only to people he’s connected with. Sent a connection request with a note about coffee sustainability stats. While waiting, I ruthlessly chopped my message until it fit in one mobile screen – no scrolling. LinkedIn showed he saw it 2 hours later… but no reply.
Got annoyed enough to try Twitter. Tagged him and his company account in a public tweet asking where’s the best place to send proposals. Big mistake – got buried under meme replies instantly. Learned he hasn’t tweeted in 18 months anyway.
Finally went old school. Called the head office number listed on his blog. Said “Project coordinator calling for Hewitt regarding urgent Seattle partnership” to the assistant. Left my case number from the ignored emails. This worked. Got an email from his team in 90 minutes asking for a 15-min call slot!
My takeaways if you need to reach a busy person:
- Calling reception is still king – use their formal project naming convention
- Email subjects must look like internal business, not fanmail
- LinkedIn works if they know you OR if your profile matches theirs
- Twitter is dead for this unless they’re active daily
Now drinking victory coffee before that call. Turns out being slightly aggressive and speaking admin language gets you further than being nice.
