We’ve been doing this a while.
We’ve worked with startups at Seed and Series D.
We’ve worked with unknown founders and soon-to-be-acquired CEOs.
We’ve watched companies explode. And we’ve watched them fall apart.
And there’s one pattern that’s impossible to ignore:
The startups that win in PR have founders who are maniacally, personally obsessed with it.
Not performatively.
Not for vanity.
Not because someone told them “you should be doing PR.”
But because they understand what it means to have the mic—and what it costs to ignore it.
We once worked with a 24-year-old founder who thought he didn’t need to prioritize PR.
We’d get top-tier reporters on the hook—The New York Times, WSJ, people whose names matter—and he’d blow it off.
“Sorry, I’m heads down in a product meeting.”
“Can we reschedule?”
“Let’s loop in my head of comms.”
We’d try to explain:
This is one of the most influential tech reporters alive. They want to hear from you. This is your moment.
He didn’t get it.
And honestly? It was no surprise when his company imploded a few months later.
Because if a founder doesn’t think it’s worth making time to speak to the world—to the market, to potential customers, to future hires and investors—what do they think is worth their time?
That’s not just a PR problem.
That’s a leadership problem.
We had another founder.
The CEO of a company 100x larger than the one above.
Hundreds of employees. Global growth. Exponentially more direct reports than the 24-year-old founder who was always too busy.
He never missed a meeting with us.
He never ghosted a reporter.
He never acted like PR was a distraction.
And guess what?
He sold his company for hundreds of millions of dollars and entered an early retirement.
It wasn’t magic. It was leverage.
He showed up. We created pressure. And it paid off—big.
We’re not talking about “as seen in” badges on your homepage.
We’re not talking about fake lists or paid mentions.
We’re talking about world-class journalists wanting to hear your story—and you having the discipline to tell it.
Founders who understand that?
They get coverage that changes the game.
Founders who don’t?
They usually don’t last long enough to regret it.
We can pitch the story.
We can get the meetings.
We can build the narrative.
But we can’t force you to show up.
And we can’t make you care.
So if you’re too busy to talk to the world…
don’t be surprised when the world stops paying attention.
