Advice for technology start-ups by Cordy Griffiths, UK General Manager, Ballou PR (www.balloupr.com)
As a technology PR agency, we get approached by many start-ups. Our usual advice? Don’t do PR, yet. This might sound strange from a PR agency, but the majority of start-ups are not ready for PR and should focus their limited resources on getting their product as good as it can be.
So, when is a start-up ready for PR? There’s no set time but the following questions should help clarify:
- Do you have a product you are confident about? Have bugs been solved?
- Have you made the most of your own network? (e.g. have you shared with friends, acquaintances, family to get feedback and create a user base of evangelists?)
- Do you have someone in the company who can be dedicated to PR? There is no point in having an agency, if there is no one internally with the time to manage them, share news, act as a spokesperson etc.
- Do you have a story to tell? It is not enough to say “we’re still here and still selling our product”.
- Do you have the money to spend on PR? Is this the best use of your funds at this time?
If you can answer yes to all of these, start looking for the right agency. Be clear about what you want to achieve from PR (increased awareness, driving sales, acquisition etc.) and draw up a clear brief for prospective agencies: the more you share about your business plans, the more successful the agency will be.
