# How do you reach companies that just raised money with lemlist?

> Source: https://www.rodz.io/en/guides/use-cases/funding-rounds-to-lemlist/
> Updated on 2026-10-12 · Peter Cools · Recipe · Funding rounds · lemlist

## Short answer

Create a Fundraising signal in Rodz with persona targeting and email finding on, connect lemlist with its API key, then pick the campaign in the signal’s Integrations tab. Every decision-maker at a company that just raised lands in the campaign with variables such as {{fundingStage}}, {{fundingAmount}} or {{investors}}. A lead costs 2 credits, plus 0.5 credit per email found.

## Key facts

- A funding round costs **2 credits** per lead, plus 0.5 credit per email found, charged on success only.
- The freshness window runs from **24 hours to 12 months** (`announcedPeriod`), 30 days by default.
- Without persona targeting, a round is a company with no contact: lemlist, which expects a person, does not receive it.
- Rodz identifies **400,000+ signals a month** (July to September 2026 average).

Cost: 2 credits per lead (+0.5 credit per email found)

## Before you start

- A Rodz account with credits (the test account includes 100).
- A lemlist account and its API key (in your lemlist account’s integration settings).
- A lemlist campaign with at least one step: Rodz refuses to push into an empty campaign.
- Your target: round types, amount range (in US dollars), headquarters country, decision-maker roles.

## Steps

### 1. Connect lemlist to Rodz

In **Integrations**, choose **lemlist** and paste your API key, or call `PUT /api/v1/integrations/lemlist`. Rodz checks the key with lemlist before storing it.

### 2. Write the campaign with funding variables

For a funding round, Rodz adds round-specific variables: `{{fundingStage}}`, `{{fundingType}}`, `{{fundingAmount}}`, `{{fundingCurrency}}`, `{{fundingAmountUsd}}`, `{{investors}}`, `{{announcementDate}}`, `{{articleSummary}}` and `{{articleUseOfFunds}}`.

Example opener: "Congrats on the {{fundingStage}} with {{investors}}. Your plan mentions: {{articleUseOfFunds}}"

### 3. Create the Fundraising signal with persona targeting

In **My Signals**, click **Activate Signal** and pick **Fund Raising**. Set the round types, the amount (US dollars), the freshness and the headquarters country. Then turn on **persona targeting** and **Get emails**: lemlist only receives people, and a person without an email gets the LinkedIn steps only.

Set `maxLeadsPerCompany` to 1 if you only want to write to one person per company.

`Create it through the API (as a draft)`

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.rodz.io/api/v1/signals/fundraising" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $RODZ_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Seed and Series A, France",
    "dailyLeadLimit": 20,
    "status": "draft",
    "config": {
      "investmentTypes": ["seed", "series_a"],
      "announcedPeriod": "30d",
      "hqLocations": ["France"],
      "enablePersonaTargeting": true,
      "targetPersonas": ["CEO"],
      "maxLeadsPerCompany": 1,
      "getEmails": true
    }
  }'
```

### 4. Pick the lemlist campaign

In the signal’s **Integrations** tab, switch on **lemlist** and select the campaign. Through the API, get the id with `GET /api/v1/integrations/lemlist/campaigns`, then send it in `destinations.lemlist.campaignId`.

`Same setting through the API`

```bash
curl -X PATCH "https://api.rodz.io/api/v1/signals/$SIGNAL_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $RODZ_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"destinations": {"lemlist": {"campaignId": "cam_aBc123XyZ"}}, "status": "active"}'
```

### 5. Review the first leads before sending

Once the signal is **Active**, decision-makers reach the campaign. Review the first ones in lemlist, especially `{{articleUseOfFunds}}`, which can be empty when the announcement does not detail the use of funds.

## Example payload

The lead as Rodz delivers it (webhook format, also returned by `GET /api/v1/signals/{signal_id}/leads`).

```json
{
  "signal": {
    "id": "e5f6a7b8-c9d0-4e1f-a2b3-c4d5e6f7a8b9",
    "name": "Seed and Series A, France",
    "type": "fundraising",
    "last_signal": "Fundraising",
    "last_signal_date": "2026-10-08",
    "funding_type": "venture",
    "funding_stage": "Seed",
    "funding_amount": 2500000,
    "funding_currency": "EUR",
    "funding_amount_usd": 2700000,
    "investors": ["Beta Fund Example"],
    "num_investors": 1,
    "funding_total_usd": 2700000,
    "announcement_date": "2026-10-07",
    "article_summary": "Verdalis Example raised a €2.5M seed round for its fleet management platform.",
    "article_use_of_funds": "Growing the sales team and launching in Belgium.",
    "article_source_url": "https://press.example/verdalis-seed"
  },
  "contact": {
    "lead_id": "d4e5f6a7-b8c9-0123-def0-456789012345",
    "created_at": "2026-10-08T10:15:00+00:00",
    "first_name": "Thomas",
    "last_name": "Leroy",
    "email": "thomas.leroy@verdalis.example",
    "phone": "",
    "title": "CEO & co-founder",
    "location": "Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France",
    "country_code": "FR",
    "city": "Bordeaux",
    "linkedin_profile_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-leroy-example",
    "sales_navigator_profile_url": "",
    "matched_persona": "CEO"
  },
  "company": {
    "name": "Verdalis Example",
    "website": "https://verdalis.example",
    "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/verdalis-example",
    "industry": "Software Development",
    "employee_range": "11-50",
    "hq_country_code": "FR",
    "hq_city": "Bordeaux"
  }
}
```

## Rodz → lemlist variable mapping

| Rodz field (payload)                                       | lemlist variable                              |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `contact.email`, `contact.first_name`, `contact.last_name` | `{{email}}`, `{{firstName}}`, `{{lastName}}`  |
| `contact.title`, `contact.matched_persona`                 | `{{title}}`, `{{matchedPersona}}`             |
| `company.name`, `company.website`                          | `{{companyName}}`, `{{companyWebsite}}`       |
| `signal.funding_stage`, `signal.funding_type`              | `{{fundingStage}}`, `{{fundingType}}`         |
| `signal.funding_amount`, `signal.funding_currency`         | `{{fundingAmount}}`, `{{fundingCurrency}}`    |
| `signal.funding_amount_usd`, `signal.funding_total_usd`    | `{{fundingAmountUsd}}`, `{{fundingTotalUsd}}` |
| `signal.investors`, `signal.num_investors`                 | `{{investors}}`, `{{numInvestors}}`           |
| `signal.announcement_date`                                 | `{{announcementDate}}`                        |
| `signal.article_summary`, `signal.article_use_of_funds`    | `{{articleSummary}}`, `{{articleUseOfFunds}}` |
| `signal.article_source_url`                                | `{{articleSourceUrl}}`                        |

## A message about the plan, not the round

Everybody congratulates a team that just raised. What stands out is linking your offer to what the round will fund: `{{articleUseOfFunds}}` often sums up the plan (hires, new countries, product). An announced sales hiring push calls for a message about tooling the team; a new country, a message about winning that market.

To keep a record in the CRM, switch on HubSpot on the same signal too (see [funding rounds to HubSpot](/en/guides/use-cases/funding-rounds-to-hubspot/)).

## Troubleshooting

- **Rounds visible in Rodz but missing from lemlist**: they have no contact (targeting off or no decision-maker found). A contact without an email enters with its LinkedIn URL only.
- **Campaign refused**: it has no step, or the lemlist API key is no longer valid.
- **Too many contacts per company**: set `maxLeadsPerCompany`.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is persona targeting required here?

Without targeting, Rodz delivers the round as a company with no contact. lemlist adds people with an email: a company alone cannot enter it. Targeting finds the decision-maker, email finding finds their address.

### Which funding variables are available in lemlist?

`{{fundingStage}}`, `{{fundingType}}`, `{{fundingAmount}}`, `{{fundingCurrency}}`, `{{fundingAmountUsd}}`, `{{fundingTotalUsd}}`, `{{numInvestors}}`, `{{investors}}` (comma-separated), `{{announcementDate}}`, `{{articleSummary}}`, `{{articleUseOfFunds}}` and `{{articleSourceUrl}}`, on top of the contact and company variables.

### Can a funding variable be empty?

Yes, a variable is sent only when the announcement contains the information. The amount or the use of funds is sometimes missing. Set a fallback value in lemlist, or a version of the message that does not quote the amount.

### How many decision-makers per company?

By default Rodz delivers the best-ranked contacts, at most 10% of headcount (minimum 1). `maxLeadsPerCompany` sets an exact maximum, for example 1. Each contact delivered counts as one lead at 2 credits.

### Should I write on the day of the round?

Not necessarily. Teams that just raised get a lot of messages in the week of the announcement. A 30-day `announcedPeriod` window and a sequence that quotes the use of funds stand out more than one more congratulation.

## Sources

- [Rodz API reference: Fundraising signal and destinations](https://api.rodz.io/docs)
- [lemlist help center](https://help.lemlist.com/)

## Related guides

- https://www.rodz.io/en/guides/use-cases/funding-rounds-to-hubspot/
- https://www.rodz.io/en/guides/use-cases/funding-rounds-to-n8n/
- https://www.rodz.io/en/guides/use-cases/job-changes-to-lemlist/