How to Find Someone's Email Address (Including a Company Founder)
The quick answer: start with the places people publish their own address: their website, their social profiles and anything they've written. For someone at a company, work out the company's email pattern (such as firstname@company.com) and check the guess with an email verifier before you send.
1. Look where they publish it
- Their website: the Contact, About, Team or Press pages, and the footer. Search the site with
site:company.com emailorsite:company.com "@company.com"in Google. - Social profiles: LinkedIn's Contact info section, X or Instagram bios, and GitHub profiles often list an email.
- Things they've written: blog posts, podcast show notes, conference speaker pages, books and newsletters often include a contact address.
- Press and investor pages: founders are often reachable through a press or media contact.
Got a web page or document with addresses buried in it? Paste it into the email extractor to pull every address out at once.
2. Work out the company's email pattern
Most companies use one format for everyone. If you can find any one employee's address, you can usually guess the rest.
| Pattern | Example for Jane Smith at acme.com |
|---|---|
| first | jane@acme.com |
| first.last | jane.smith@acme.com |
| firstlast | janesmith@acme.com |
| first initial + last | jsmith@acme.com |
| first + last initial | janes@acme.com |
At small startups, founders very often use just their first name. At larger companies, first.last is the most common.
3. Check the guess before you send
- Run the address through the free email verifier to catch typos and confirm the domain receives mail.
- Check the company domain with the MX lookup. No MX records means nobody there receives email at that domain.
- Be aware that many company servers accept mail for any address (catch-all), so no tool can fully confirm a specific mailbox. A short, polite first email is the real test.
4. Use a contact route instead
If you can't find a direct address, a contact form, a LinkedIn message, or hello@ or info@ at the company with a clear subject line often reaches the right person, especially at small companies.
Be respectful and stay legal
Only use addresses for a genuine, relevant reason. Keep cold emails short and personal, say who you are and why you're writing, and stop if they don't reply or ask you to. In the US, commercial email must follow CAN-SPAM, and in Europe the GDPR limits how personal data, including work email addresses, can be used. Never use these methods to track down someone who doesn't want to be found.
Questions people ask
How can I find someone's email address for free?
Check their website's Contact, About and Team pages, their social profiles, and things they have published. For someone at a company, find the company's email pattern and check your guess with a free email verifier.
How do I find a company founder's email?
Look at the company's About, Team and Press pages and the founder's own social profiles. At small startups, founders often use firstname@company.com. Verify the guess before sending, and keep the first message short.
How do I guess a work email address?
Find any one address at the company to learn the pattern, such as first.last@ or first@, then apply it to the person's name and check the result with an email verifier.
Can an email verifier confirm a guessed address?
It can confirm the format and that the domain receives mail. Many company servers accept all addresses (catch-all), so the only full confirmation is a reply.
Is it legal to email someone whose address I found online?
Generally yes for genuine one-to-one contact, but commercial email must follow laws such as CAN-SPAM in the US, and the GDPR applies to personal data in Europe. Stop if the person asks you to.