Overview
Sender Settings
Send emails as executives and relationship owners without waiting for them to hit send. Authenticate from the person who matters while your team handles execution.
The partner says send from my email. Then ignores your draft for three days. How do you send without waiting?
The relationship owner’s name gets emails opened. But relationship owners don’t do execution work.
Authorize Once, Execute Anytime
The partner grants permission. Your team controls timing. No bottleneck.
Route Replies to the Right Person
Invites come from the executive. Responses go to the coordinator.
Why This Matters
Section titled “Why This Matters”The partner says “send from my email.” Then ignores your draft for three days. You follow up. He says “looks good.” Then ghosts on actually clicking send.
The event is tomorrow.
You send from marketing@ and it gets ignored. The relationship owner’s name matters. But relationship owners don’t do execution work.
Gatsby lets you authenticate as them while your team controls timing and operations. The partner authorizes once. Your team sends whenever the campaign is ready. No bottleneck.
The results: Higher open rates because recipients recognize the sender. No waiting on busy executives. The work gets done.
Google and Microsoft Integration
Section titled “Google and Microsoft Integration”When your LP gets an invite from events@company.com, they might open it. When they get an invite from Marcus, the partner they’ve known for 15 years, they definitely open it.
That’s the difference between a platform email and a real relationship.
Connect your Google or Microsoft account to send emails directly from your outbox. Recipients see your name, your email address, your signature. Emails show up in your Sent folder. You get the replies.
How It Works
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Create your Gatsby password if you haven’t already.
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Go to Team Settings and find Link Services.
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Sign into Google or Microsoft through Gatsby.
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Grant permission to send on your behalf.
That person now appears as a sender option for anyone on the team.
What the Sender Sees
Emails appear in the sender’s Sent folder automatically. They have a record of every communication sent on their behalf.
They receive replies unless you set a different reply-to address. Out-of-office notifications and bounce reports come back to them regardless of reply-to settings. The sender always sees delivery issues.
Sending Limits
Google and Microsoft limit daily email volume. Roughly 300-500 per day depending on account type.
Gatsby staggers sends over time to avoid looking like a mass emailer. For personal, relationship-driven events, these limits rarely matter. A dinner invitation going to 80 people is well under the threshold.
Best For
- Executive dinners where the host’s name matters
- Investor meetings and LP communications
- Partner-hosted events at portfolio companies
- Any send where personal credibility outweighs volume
SendGrid Sending
Section titled “SendGrid Sending”For high-volume sends or custom sending addresses, connect through SendGrid. Requires DNS configuration but removes per-account sending limits.
How It Works
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Contact support for DNS instructions specific to your domain.
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Add the DNS entries to your domain configuration.
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Gatsby verifies the setup automatically.
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Add display names and email addresses using your authorized domain.
Once configured, send from any address at your domain without individual account connections.
Creating Sending Addresses
Go to Add Account in your sending settings. Enter a display name and email address. The address must use your authorized domain.
If the inbox exists, you receive replies. If it doesn’t exist, replies bounce. Common pattern: events@company.com as an alias shared by the team.
Some addresses work perfectly as SendGrid senders but can’t be integrated as personal accounts. A shared mailbox that nobody logs into directly, for instance. SendGrid handles these cleanly.
Bring Your Own SendGrid Account
You can connect your existing SendGrid account instead of using Gatsby’s shared infrastructure. Useful for teams with established sending reputation or specific compliance needs.
Global BCC for Compliance
Set an address to receive a copy of every email sent through Gatsby. Required by some firms for record-keeping.
All outbound messages get copied to this address automatically. Nothing to configure per campaign.
Best For
- Large conferences with thousands of attendees
- Broad announcement campaigns to your full database
- Notification emails like confirmations and waitlist messages
- Any send over 500 recipients
Choosing the Right Method
Section titled “Choosing the Right Method”Both methods work. The choice depends on volume and who the sender is.
Use Google or Microsoft When
- Send volume under 300-500 per day
- The sender’s personal identity matters
- You want emails in the sender’s Sent folder
- The executive wants visibility into what went out
Examples: Partner invitations to portfolio companies. Executive dinner RSVPs. Investor communications. Board meeting follow-ups.
Use SendGrid When
- Send volume exceeds daily limits
- Using a shared address like events@ or info@
- You need branded notification emails (confirmation, waitlist, decline)
- Conference invitations going to thousands
Examples: Annual meeting invitations. Newsletter sends. Post-event surveys to all attendees.
Deliverability Considerations
Smaller sends often perform better from Google or Microsoft. Personal accounts have established reputation with major email providers.
Large volume performs better from SendGrid. Warmed reputation, no throttling, proper infrastructure for scale.
Either way, content and recipient engagement history matter more than infrastructure. A well-written invitation from a recognized sender beats perfect technical setup every time.
Selecting the Sender
Section titled “Selecting the Sender”Choose who appears as the sender when composing your campaign.
Choosing a Sender
In any campaign, click the dropdown arrow on the left side of the send-from box.
You’ll see all team members who have connected their Google or Microsoft accounts. Plus any SendGrid addresses configured for your team.
Pick the right person for this particular send.
Adding a Sender from the Campaign
Click the + icon on the send-from dropdown. Sign into Google or Microsoft directly, or add a SendGrid account.
No need to leave the campaign composer. Connect and continue.
External Collaborators
Co-hosts and external partners can connect their own email through Google or Microsoft. They can only send as themselves.
They cannot send as you. You cannot send as them. Complete isolation.
This keeps collaborators siloed while enabling their branded sends for the events they’re involved with.
Display Names
Section titled “Display Names”Customize how the sender’s name appears in recipients’ inboxes.
Editing the Display Name
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Click the dropdown arrow next to the sender name (middle of the send-from box).
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Click Edit Display Name.
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Enter your preferred text.
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Save.
Examples:
- “Marcus Chen”
- “Marcus Chen, Partner”
- “Marcus Chen | Keystone Ventures”
When to Customize
Customize when the connected account name doesn’t match how the person should be addressed.
When you want to add title or company context. When the Google or Microsoft account name is informal but the communication should be formal.
A partner might sign up for Gmail as “Marc” but should appear as “Marcus Chen, Managing Partner” on investor communications.
Reply-To Addresses
Section titled “Reply-To Addresses”Route responses to someone other than the sender. The partner sends. The coordinator handles responses.
Setting a Reply-To
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Click the three dots to the left of the subject line.
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Click Set Reply To.
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Choose the person who should receive responses.
Why This Matters
The invite comes from Sarah, Partner. Responses go to Elena, her coordinator.
Sarah’s inbox stays clean. Elena captures RSVPs and questions. Replies don’t get lost in an executive’s overflowing inbox.
This is how professional services firms actually work. The partner is the face. The coordinator is the operator.
What Still Goes to the Sender
Out-of-office notifications always return to the original sender’s inbox. So do bounce reports and automatic system replies.
The sender sees delivery issues even when replies route elsewhere. This is email protocol, not a Gatsby setting.
Permission and Access
Section titled “Permission and Access”Sending as the managing partner is powerful. It requires explicit authorization. No one sends as someone else without permission.
Team members must authorize Gatsby to send on their behalf. This happens through the Link Services page in Team Settings. Once authorized, any team member can select them as a sender.
How Permissions Work
Each person controls their own authorization. When Marcus connects his Google account, he’s granting permission for the team to send as him.
He can revoke this at any time from Team Settings. His decision. His control.
Team Member Sender Access
All team members see all connected senders. If five people have connected their accounts, everyone can send as any of those five.
This requires trust. You’re giving your team the ability to send email as the managing partner. Make sure that’s what you want.
External Collaborator Restrictions
Collaborators invited to a specific event can connect their email and send as themselves. That’s it.
They cannot see other senders. They cannot use your team’s connected accounts. They cannot send as your firm. Complete isolation.
Works well for co-hosts, sponsors, or external partners who need to send their own branded communications for a shared event.
Revoking Access
Disconnect the account from Team Settings > Link Services at any time. That person no longer appears as a sender option.
Useful when someone leaves the firm or changes roles. Clean up your sender list to avoid confusion.
Common Questions
Section titled “Common Questions” Will the sender see emails in their sent folder?
Yes, for Google and Microsoft. Emails appear in their outbox automatically. They have full visibility into what was sent on their behalf.
For SendGrid, no. There’s no personal inbox to write to. SendGrid emails come from your domain but don’t appear in anyone’s sent folder.
Can I send as someone who hasn't connected their account?
No. Each person must authorize Gatsby through Google or Microsoft. You cannot send as someone without their explicit permission.
This is by design. Sending as someone requires their consent.
What are the sending limits?
Google and Microsoft limit to roughly 300-500 emails per day, depending on account type. Gatsby staggers sends to stay under radar.
SendGrid has no practical limits for most events. You can send thousands without throttling.
Can I set multiple reply-to addresses?
Not currently. One reply-to address per campaign.
If you need multiple people to receive replies, use a shared inbox or distribution list as the reply-to address.
Is this compliant with our security policies?
The integration uses OAuth, which is Google and Microsoft’s standard authorization protocol. Gatsby gets permission to send, not to read your inbox.
For strict compliance environments, the global BCC feature ensures your firm has a copy of every sent email.
Security teams often prefer this to staff downloading CSVs and uploading to unauthorized tools. Data stays inside your existing email infrastructure.
What happens if someone leaves the firm?
Their connected account stops working when their Google or Microsoft credentials are revoked by your IT team.
Remove them from Team Settings to clean up your sender list. Old accounts cluttering the dropdown confuse your team.
Does this work for notification emails?
Notification emails require SendGrid, not Google or Microsoft. You cannot send automatic system emails from a personal inbox.
Confirmation emails, waitlist notifications, and decline messages all need SendGrid configured. See the Notification Emails page for setup.
Can I send from someone else's email?
Yes. Anyone on your team can send as any connected account (Gmail, Outlook, SendGrid).
The person needs to connect their email first in Team Settings » Linked Services. Once connected, you can select them as sender from the campaign dropdown.
International email delivery considerations
Different countries, different rules:
- CAN-SPAM (US), GDPR (EU), CASL (Canada) have different opt-out requirements
- Some countries have stricter authentication requirements
- Delivery speeds vary by region
Best practices:
- Always include physical address in footer
- Honor unsubscribes immediately