GrowthStack Advisory / Cold Email Infrastructure Setup
Cold email infrastructure setup, built before a single campaign goes out.
Sending domains, mailboxes, authentication, warm-up, data, reply routing and reporting, set up in your name and handed over as an asset you keep.
GrowthStack sets up the sending estate a cold email programme runs on: separate sending domains, six to eight mailboxes on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, SPF, DKIM and DMARC on every domain, a warm-up period before any campaign volume, verified data and a suppression list, reply routing to one owner, and reporting per mailbox. Everything is registered in your name, and third-party costs run at roughly $250 a month, paid by you. The setup is the first phase of a GTM Growth Sprint, from $2,000 a month on a recommended 90 day engagement, because warm-up takes weeks and the market test needs the rest.
What gets built
- Sending domains. Several, close in spelling to your main domain, so cold email never touches the domain that sends your invoices and contracts.
- Six to eight mailboxes. Across more than one domain, on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. The count comes from the volume you need divided by a conservative per-mailbox rate.
- Authentication. SPF, DKIM and DMARC on every domain, aligned with the From address, as Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook now require. The exact records are in the deliverability checklist.
- Warm-up. Several weeks of gradually increasing sending before a mailbox carries campaign volume.
- Data, verification and suppression. A list built against the agreed ICP, verified before every send, with opt-outs, customers and open opportunities suppressed automatically.
- Segmented motions. Separate lists, messaging and sequences for buyers who have little in common, kept apart by mailbox so each one can be measured.
- Reply routing and reporting. Every reply lands with one owner, answered inside one business hour, and reporting runs per mailbox and per domain so damage shows before a provider acts on it.
The full specification, from domain count to reply routing, is published in cold email infrastructure setup.
Where this has been built
A diagnostics equipment manufacturer entering the United States. The most recent build. The same imaging equipment sells to clinical and veterinary buyers, to industrial inspection labs, and to an installed base of existing customers, so the outbound was split into three motions from the start, each with its own lists, messaging and mailboxes.
NuVista AI, an AWS consulting partner in Atlanta. Domains, mailboxes and authentication were in place before a single sequence went live, and Apollo was set up for campaigns, sequences and activity tracking.
In-house, Shobhit Gupta ran outbound from Lemlist, Klenty and Instantly across teams at Locus, GoComet and Landmark Group. The failure he saw most was a team rewriting subject lines for a month without checking the sending domain was authenticated.
Pricing
| Option | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| GTM Diagnostic | A review of your current sending setup, domains, authentication and list quality, with a prioritised fix list | $750 one-time, credited toward setup if you start within 14 days |
| GTM Growth Sprint | The full infrastructure build, then running the outbound on it: research, sequences, monitoring, reply handling and reporting | From $2,000 a month, 90 day initial engagement |
| GTM Scale Partner | Several markets or motions, multiple ICPs and a larger mailbox estate | From $3,500 a month |
| Third-party tools | Domains, mailbox licences, sequencing tool, data source and verification, in your name | Roughly $250 a month, paid by you |
Implementation and setup may be charged separately depending on the infrastructure required. Full pricing and terms.
Who this is for
- Teams starting cold email for the first time who want it built properly before volume goes out.
- Teams whose reply rates fell for no obvious reason. A deliverability problem reads exactly like a copy problem.
- Companies entering a new market, where a fresh sending estate keeps the new motion separate from the existing one.
Frequently asked questions
How long does cold email setup take?+
Configuration takes days. Warm-up takes several weeks, because mailbox providers build reputation by observing sending over time. That is why the recommended engagement is 90 days: enough to build correctly and then test the market on infrastructure that is ready.
How much does cold email infrastructure cost to run?+
Roughly $250 a month in third-party tools for a build of six to eight mailboxes: domains, mailbox licences, a sequencing tool, a data source and verification. The figure moves with mailbox count and data use, and the accounts are in your name.
Do we keep the domains and mailboxes?+
Yes. Everything is registered and paid for in your name, so the sending reputation you build stays with you when the engagement ends.
Can you fix an existing setup instead of building a new one?+
Yes. The $750 GTM Diagnostic reviews the current domains, authentication, mailbox volumes and list quality and sets out what to fix first.
Which sending tool do you use?+
Whichever fits the motion and your stack, commonly Instantly for email-led outbound or Lemlist and Klenty for multi-channel. The tool matters less than the authentication, warm-up and volume discipline underneath it.
Related reading
Planning a cold email programme?
Thirty minutes on your sending setup and what it would take to run outbound safely at the volume you need.
Written with AI assistance from Shobhit Gupta’s notes and client work, then reviewed and edited by Shobhit Gupta on .