Definition
Founders stop cold email spam on sift.mx by sharing a sift handle instead of a personal address, allowlisting known people and domains, and requiring unknown senders to pay a cover before messages reach the real inbox.
Going dark is not the only option
Many founders delete public email, use unguessable aliases, or ignore everything. That also blocks good intros. A cover keeps a public door while making low-intent mail expensive.
Your site email, HN about, and deck contact line are free doors today. Vendors, recruiters, and agent outreach walk through them because interruption costs them nothing.
Reachable, not interruptible by default
Going dark loses deals. An open personal inbox loses days. A sift handle keeps a public path open while making unsolicited access costly.
Press kits, launch days, and demo weeks
Launches and fundraising put your name on lists. That is when cold volume spikes: tools, agencies, “quick intros,” and automated follow-ups. Keep a public contact line for the humans you want. Put a cover in front of everyone else.
Update the press kit and site contact to the sift handle before the spike, not after your personal inbox is already flooded.
Whitelist the relationships that matter
Investors, co-founders, key customers, counsel, and partner domains should never pay. Whitelist your company domain so internal traffic stays frictionless. The cover is for strangers and automated outreach, not for your existing circle.
When a new investor or advisor joins, add them once. Do not make relationship mail compete with vendor spray.
Make spray campaigns pay rent
LLM-written vendor email is cheap to send because your attention is free. A pay-to-deliver challenge flips that: if the pitch is not worth a few dollars, it does not consume your week.
A paid cover is a crude but useful filter: recruiters, vendors, and cold “quick chats” either value the ask enough to pay or they do not belong on your critical path.
Agent outreach is only getting louder
Outbound tools and agents can generate personalized cold mail at scale. Filters will keep playing catch-up. Pricing the door is a simpler rule: unknown automation that will not pay does not get a free interrupt.
What to publish instead of your Gmail
Replace personal email on your site, LinkedIn, and press kit with name@sift.mx. Keep the destination inbox private. Serious strangers can still reach you; bots usually will not.
FAQ
Will investors get blocked?
No. Allowlist people and domains you already work with. The cover applies to strangers, not contacts you trust.
Why not just use a spam filter?
Filters clean an address that is already public. A sift handle changes what you publish, so bots and spray outreach hit a cover before they hit your week.
What should I put on my YC / about / press page?
A sift handle you control, plus an allowlist for people who should stay free. Keep personal Gmail off public pages.