PR for Entrepreneurs in Tech Startups: Yay or Nay?


If you’re an entrepreneur and want PR representation, I’m a bit astonished. Most entrepreneurs take the D.I.Y approach – Daringly Independent Yoda. Entrepreneurs are usually fairly personable individuals with can-do attitudes. They think they’ve already demystified PR, and they may be right. Maybe you’re the CEO of your company, you work out of the café down the street from your studio, and your best friend is your CTO (if you’re not a programmer yourself) and your Biz Dev Whiz. Your business is your baby and you have trust issues, meaning you refuse to let a 3rd party (In-house PR specialist) handle your company’s message. I get it. You’re an entrepreneur and you can do anything you set your mind to, and you most definitely reach for the stars. You want to be featured in WSJ or Ars Technica and you know you can D.I.Y – Do it yourself. I completely agree that you CAN do it yourself, but one deciding factor holds the answer to if you should or should not seek PR, and that deciding factor is your precious time.

Do you think your time is better allocated toward PR efforts or innovation? It’s not a secret that PR is a necessary tool to engage audiences, create brand awareness, and all the other PR goodness. Media placement is a big part of it, but creating relationships with media and pitching your company to publications is time-consuming and your time is better spent focused on your product. Let your PR agent tell your story, set up meetings with the media for you, write and edit your press releases, maintain good relations with your clients, place you in conferences, and so on. If you’re lucky enough to come across a PR agent whom you trust and can delegate the PR tasks to, make her fall in love with your vision! Knight her into your team and seat her at the coffee table, elbow- to-elbow with your Biz Dev Whiz; I assure you that the duo will bring home the bacon.

Final note: I have no doubt in my mind that entrepreneurs can handle their own PR, but time is better spent elsewhere. Granted, you’ll be called on frequently to speak directly to the media, but let the PR agent open these communication channels for you.
-Tiffany Lan, Public Relations Specialist for Non -Profit and Tech

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