{"id":364904,"date":"2021-11-10T10:30:14","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T07:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/"},"modified":"2021-11-10T10:30:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T07:30:14","slug":"startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/","title":{"rendered":"#Startups, pitch to journalists like you would to a VC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a368de036192\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a368de036192\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/#1_PR_really_can_make_an_impact\" >1. PR really can make an impact<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/#2_Its_hard_to_stand_out\" >2. It\u2019s hard (to stand out)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/#3_Its_useful_and_fun\" >3. It\u2019s useful and fun<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/#4_The_startup_community_is_cliquey\" >4. The startup community is cliquey<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/#5_The_bulls_and_the_bears_%E2%80%94_timing_matters\" >5. The bulls and the bears \u2014 timing matters<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/#6_Expectations_are_often_as_realistic_as_the_likelihood_of_meeting_a_unicorn_in_real_life\" >6. Expectations are often as realistic as the likelihood of meeting a unicorn in real life<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-you-would-to-a-vc\/#From_getting_turned_down_186_times_to_living_the_startup_dream\" >From getting turned down 186 times to living the startup dream<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Startups, pitch to journalists like you would to a VC<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2021%2F11%2Fstartup-pitch-gq.jpg&amp;signature=4330037a92b870578b0ef89856369411\" \/><\/p>\n<div>Unicorns, rainbows, seed, pre-seed, angel\u2026 my head was spinning as I changed fields a couple of years back. After a decade in PR, comms, and journalism \u2014 having worked mostly for the \u2018big guys\u2019 with their big partners like Sony, P&amp;G, HP, Cisco, Netflix, etc. \u2014 I entered the crazy world of startup PR. I was a total novice here, honestly thinking VC meant \u2018video chat\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>But the switch meant more than learning a few new acronyms. When you say to a journalist \u201cHi, I\u2019m from Google,\u201d\u00a0 well, they probably know that without you needing to introduce yourself. When you say \u201cHi, I\u2019m from [insert startup name, anyone from pre-seed to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> A],\u201d it\u2019s a hard sell.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.net\/embed\/iframe\/gw07z3loxa?videoFoam=true&amp;autoPlay=true\" title=\"\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wistia_embed\" name=\"wistia_embed\" allowfullscreen=\"\" msallowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I swim in the startup waters pretty comfortably now, but it\u2019s been a learning curve. I\u2019ve got to understand the differences between doing PR for big global names, any old SME, and doing it for startups of all sizes. The biggest lesson? Pitch to journalists as you pitch to VCs.<\/p>\n<p>So here\u2019s how I came to that conclusion, along with my observations, humorous learnings, and frank thoughts, which are perfect for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Early startup founders who are not sure what to expect from PR<\/li>\n<li>All startup founders who expect to be on the cover of Financial Times<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let\u2019s dig in!<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_PR_really_can_make_an_impact\"><\/span>1. PR really can make an impact<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you land a great piece of coverage for Sony (hello, my old employer), you fill a row in a coverage tracker, and\u2026 that\u2019s about it. Job done.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong, absolutely, there is a place for PR as a tool for large companies that have been established for years now, but the impact it makes is usually nowhere near to what you can do for a startup at any stage.<\/p>\n<p>After landing a full-blown piece on BBC for a startup, my client told me they had a pipeline of 30 bluechip companies on the back of the coverage.<\/p>\n<p>This has been one of my favorite, most rewarding, startup moments so far \u2014 I actually made an impact for the company, for the individual founder who is trying to change the world through the power of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. I thought that was amazing. So yes, PR can really make it for startups.<\/p>\n<p>Note: this is by no means a sales pitch. I, or any other PR, can\u2019t promise anyone to get them on BBC. Also, if your value proposition isn\u2019t strong or the timing isn\u2019t right, no coverage will make a miracle for you. But that\u2019s for a different article.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Its_hard_to_stand_out\"><\/span>2. It\u2019s hard (to stand out)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Figures provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/technation.io\/report2021\/\">analyzed by Tech Nation<\/a> showed almost 20,000 tech startups were born in the UK in 2020. That means every 30 mins, there was a new entity fighting not only for attention from VCs and customers but also for the journalists you want to write about you. Not to mention your global competition.<\/p>\n<p>The likes of TNW, Sifted, Techcrunch, and UKTN get hundreds if not thousands of PR pitches a day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI receive around 70-80 individual interview pitches in a day, and as far as pressers and op-eds are concerned, the mailbox goes beyond 500 sometimes. It\u2019s just crazy on this end,\u201d Akansha Srivastava, the editor at UKTN, told me.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, this space is crowded like Borough Market on a sunny Saturday. You need more than just your innovative (journalists don\u2019t like that word) idea or solution (or this one, really) to stand out. And please never try to buy them \u2014 just in case you were thinking about it.<\/p>\n<p>Also, remember that nationals often don\u2019t have dedicated startup writers, and technology journalists need to follow editorial rules \u2014 often outlining criteria you should meet to come across credible enough to the reader.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly to the investor mentality, if a journalist does decide to write about an early-stage startup, they would choose one they believe will fly, so in five years time, they can say, \u201cI was the first to write about them when they were a 20-people team and now they are going IPO.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So you need to work hard to persuade them that there is a place for you on the market.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Its_useful_and_fun\"><\/span>3. It\u2019s useful and fun<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>From bone conduction technology and voice recognition to Bitcoin and IoT, I love watching innovation h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en from the front row. And it\u2019s not just about tech. I\u2019ve been lucky to meet some inspirational founders, marketers, writers, and salespeople, mostly full of passion and drive. And some of them are bloody good at telling stories.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned, you often need much more than just a good product to stand out among 100s of competitors\u2019 pitches. On the journey to what we, PR people, call \u2018storytelling,\u2019 startups often also learn a lot about themselves.<\/p>\n<p>They discover new aspects of their product, gaps in brand positioning, and founders meet some great journalists and pick up a few things personally. So PR is a useful exercise that can help shape your pitch to investors and prospects too.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_The_startup_community_is_cliquey\"><\/span>4. The startup community is cliquey<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>, it\u2019s not too big \u2014 <em>yet<\/em>. You can quickly find a way to recognize the best startup journalists, sherpas, VCs, and mentors.<\/p>\n<p>Bad news, everyone knows everyone, and it can feel a bit\u2026 cliquey to an outsider \u2014 more than other groups of journalists I\u2019ve worked with.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s really worth the effort to put some time and energy into building personal relationships with journalists. In regards to my previous point, remember, a top-tier journalist speaks to both your competitors and VCs, so these guys know a lot and there\u2019s a lot of intel you can get from them as well.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_The_bulls_and_the_bears_%E2%80%94_timing_matters\"><\/span>5. The bulls and the bears \u2014 timing matters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The risks and adrenaline involved in raising a startup are not too dissimilar from trading, and in my experience, most founders either fall in the bull or the bear category.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve met startups founders who wanted to go all in\u2026 all the time. It was usually the types who wanted to be interviewed by Forbes after their pre-seed funding of $200K. I\u2019ll let that sink for you.<\/p>\n<p>Some \u2014 not many \u2014 actually don\u2019t want to be on the cover of national newspapers. They want to stay low-key, especially at the beginning, carefully paving their path before giving too much away to the competition.<\/p>\n<p>While consideration of timing when it comes to releasing news is important for a company of any size, in the world where groundbreaking innovations and the fight for investor attention play roles in the same field, it\u2019s paramount.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Expectations_are_often_as_realistic_as_the_likelihood_of_meeting_a_unicorn_in_real_life\"><\/span>6. Expectations are often as realistic as the likelihood of meeting a unicorn in real life<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Your startup is your baby and you want only the best for it (read coverage in FT or \u2018at least\u2019 Techcrunch). And what do you base this expectation on?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You\u2019ve just launched and you want to change the world<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019ve got \u00a310m funding in series A<\/li>\n<li>Or \u00a390m in series D<\/li>\n<li>You are growing 50% year on year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While that\u2019s all great news for your company \u2014 every journalist (and a solid PR person) will ask \u2014 in the nicest possible way, \u2018and what?\u2019 There are thousands of others, what\u2019s the impact you\u2019re making?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"From_getting_turned_down_186_times_to_living_the_startup_dream\"><\/span>From getting turned down 186 times to living the startup dream<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I recently read an insightful and honest article from Pavlo Maherovsky and Sam Gluck, the founders of Honest Health, called \u201cFrom getting turned down by 186 investors, to being acquired by the market leader: Honest Health\u2019s tale of resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/foundersfactory.com\/news\/honest-health-freshman-tale-of-resilience\">the article<\/a>, the Founders Factory alumni entrepreneurs talk about the lessons they learned about fundraising. Here is my take on how the bumps on their journey relate to selling stories to journalists:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>You have to optimize your story \u2014<\/strong> Yes, your company story needs to be clearly thought through, for both investors and journalists.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Understand where you fit in the ecosystem \u2014<\/strong> VC is fractal and so is the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> world, different journalists focus on different parts of the ecosystem. That\u2019s why research is key.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Investors prefer lines to dots \u2014<\/strong> So do journalists, they want to see traction.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Momentum is everything<\/strong> \u2014 Your first cheque is likely to lead to the second one, and the same applies to media coverage.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>That said, you will probably get turned down a few times before getting a buy-in from a journalist, and that\u2019s fine, it\u2019s part of the journey.<\/p>\n<p>But if you spent months fine-tuning your pitch deck and then just sent a few generic emails to the best startup journalists expecting they will know you and love you and write about you\u2026 you will probably end up disappointed.<\/p>\n<p>My advice to founders is to think about journalists as key figures in the startup ecosystem. Don\u2019t expect overnight miracles from your PR team.<\/p>\n<p>I like to believe that (almost) everything is possible, including FT coverage. After all, who would have thought unicorns would become a real thing 20 years ago, right? But always be aware that great coverage takes time, effort, and creativity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/startups-pitch-to-journalists-like-vc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Startups, pitch to journalists like you would to a VC&#8221; Unicorns, rainbows, seed, pre-seed, angel\u2026 my head was spinning as I changed fields a couple of years back. After a decade in PR, comms, and journalism \u2014 having worked mostly for the \u2018big guys\u2019 with their big partners like Sony, P&amp;G, HP, Cisco, Netflix, etc&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":364905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/growth-quarters?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/11\/startup-pitch-gq.jpg&signature=4d70e31fc9f85ccaf63773427de39757","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-364904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}