How to get press for your startup: a tactical guide to PR

Executive overview

Most startup press coverage fails because founders treat media outreach as marketing — dense with jargon, vague on value, and pitched to the wrong outlets. PR's real ROI for B2B companies is third-party validation: logos on websites, links in sales emails, credibility for candidates. Consumer PR can drive direct growth, but only when the product has low friction to try.

Cold outreach done well beats a warm Rolodex. Reporters don't make editorial decisions based on friendships — they make them based on story quality.

A concise, correctly targeted pitch to the right three reporters will outperform a broad blast every time.

Why press matters (and when it doesn't)

• B2B press rarely drives direct signups — its value is validation for buyers, candidates, and partners
• B2C press can drive significant growth when the product is easy to try and instantly demonstrates value (Perplexity is the case study)
• Affiliate product reviews are a separate world from earned media; most consumer companies rely on them heavily
• The logo on your website from a credible outlet does more work than the article itself
• For B2B, the article's angle will be about your journey or company culture — not a product endorsement; that's still useful for recruiting and credibility

Which publications to target and why

• TechCrunch: best for funding announcements and some product news; no paywall means real traffic on launch day; also has Disrupt, the Found podcast, and Equity pod
• Axios: strong for deals with monetary components (funding, acquisitions, partnerships); never pitch product news; growing local editions are useful for region-specific stories
• Business Insider: good fallback for funding via pitch deck stories; strong on entrepreneurial journey pieces that want hard metrics; prolific lists and awards programs worth submitting to
• VentureBeat: the go-to for AI-related news and product launches
• Fast Company: ideal for future-of-work, design, media, and leadership op-eds
• Forbes: contributor network covers earlier-stage companies; strong awards (Fintech 50, AI 50, Under 30)
• NYT / WSJ: require on-record valuation and hard revenue metrics; more realistic as a source quote in a larger story than a standalone feature
• CNBC: oriented toward public markets; not appropriate for early-stage unless you're on their Disruptor 50 list

How to pitch: structure and mechanics

• Lead with what you want in the first sentence — exclusive offer, funding amount, investor names, one-line on why it matters
• Three sentences is the optimal pitch length; longer pitches are almost always weaker
• Subject line should state the goal explicitly — name the column, the category, the amount raised
• Use all platforms: email, Twitter/X DMs, LinkedIn (works especially well for podcast hosts)
• If a reporter tweets they're working on a story, a 10-word note with a relevant link beats a crafted email
• Follow up every three to four days; come back with new information (a recent article they wrote, something they tweeted) rather than a plain nudge
• Acknowledge the inbox is full; use human, respectful language
• If you don't have hard news, point out a gap in their coverage — shows critical thinking, not just flattery
• Everything you put in writing to a reporter is on the record; don't share the full story before they commit

How to frame the story

• Reference an incumbent: "taking on Salesforce with X approach" gives a reporter instant frame of reference and a headline hook
• Category creation language ("first of its kind," "all-in-one") does not work with press — it will be ignored or misunderstood
• Ramp's bill pay launch got CNBC coverage by framing it as taking on Bill.com; the same story pitched as a "new finance offering" would have been ignored
• Find the one thread that ties to something people already care about — Column Tax's story became about low-income tax filing fairness, not an API partnership announcement
• If the product is hard to pitch, lean into the founder story or a specific use case with human stakes

Avoiding bad pitches

• Junk phrases to cut: "robust multiplayer experience," "human in the loop collaboration," "AI assistance," "category creator," "first of its kind"
• Test: read it aloud to someone and ask them what the company does — if they can't say it, rewrite it
• Answer three questions in plain language: what does it do, who is it for, what makes it timely?
• Percentage growth stats from stealth launch are never used by reporters; replace with specific revenue figures or a concrete growth trajectory
• Press releases are largely obsolete for early-stage startups; a blog post does the same job, is more shareable, and lets you write like a human

Finding and pitching podcasts and newsletters

• Treat newsletters and podcasts as equal to traditional media — pitch them in the same outreach program
• Research the show's past guests: if they only feature people in a specific role, match the spokesperson to that role (pitch your CFO to CFO-focused podcasts)
• Check the show is actively producing and listen to at least one episode before pitching
• Ask customers directly what podcasts and newsletters they consume — simple conversation beats a formal survey
• Start with a lightweight opener on LinkedIn: "Love the show — open to guest ideas?" before sending a full pitch
• The pitch that works: lead with the one thing the audience would find most interesting, not the company's biggest headline metric

Contrarian angles and op-eds

• Reporters writing a trend story need a dissenting voice; the company with the minority view often gets called
• Clockwise got a Fast Company op-ed by critiquing Shopify's meeting cancellation policy — not attacking it, but adding nuance
• Op-eds work best when tied to something already in the news cycle; pitch the angle before writing the piece
• Bold, specific opinions from executives — even on social media — can be picked up and quoted in articles

Building social presence

• Executive social presence outperforms corporate brand channels; people follow personalities, not logos
• If it comes naturally, maximize it; if it doesn't, don't outsource it expecting the same results
• Posting on LinkedIn once a month generates at least one client inbound for Emilie's own agency — low bar, measurable value
• Corporate channels need a genuine reason to follow — a recurring opinion, format, or personality hook
• Duolingo-style brand humor is one approach, but it's becoming a cliché; what works now will change

Warm introductions and relationships

• Relationships don't drive editorial decisions — they get you an open and a reply
• Cold outreach done well is just as effective; every reporter will come from a cold email at some point
• Once you've worked together, nurture the relationship — reporters will return for sources and quotes
• Media moves fast; a reporter's beat or publication can change in months, making Rolodex-based strategies fragile

Fundraising announcements specifically

• TechCrunch publishes about nine funding stories a week out of roughly 50 that close — you can be one of them with the right pitch
• Offer an exclusive upfront; never pitch multiple reporters simultaneously for the same story
• Keep funding pitches to: amount raised, investors, one-line on why the category matters
• Don't convolute with trend framing or problem-statement setup
• Follow up three to four times with new information; move to the next reporter if no response after reasonable time

Picking and working with a PR agency

• Bigger agencies are built for reactive, message-control PR with household brands — the opposite of what startups need
• Ask what month one looks like; avoid agencies with a three-month ramp-up before pitching starts
• Request recent writing samples — the quality of the prose is a signal
• Meet the actual day-to-day team, not just the founder
• Don't run an extensive RFP; the best agencies won't participate, and it's a filter against good partners
• Budget: consultants from $8K/month; boutique agencies start around $10–15K/month; rarely worth going above $30K for a Series C-stage company
• One-off announcements: $10–20K; good consultants from around $8K
• Start six weeks before an announcement; leave date flexibility — getting the right reporter is worth four extra days

Quick tactical wins

• Morning Brew's Coworking Series (across Emerging Tech Brew, HR Brew, CFO, Marketing verticals) accepts open submissions via Google Form; roughly 50% acceptance rate with interesting, non-promotional answers — takes 10 minutes
• Gamma used a Gamma presentation as their press kit instead of a release — visual, concise, included an investor video instead of a quote; resulted in TechCrunch coverage
• When pitching podcasts, identify what the host cares about by skimming episode titles — you can often pattern-match without listening to full episodes