Is PR worth it for early-stage founders? We didn’t think so. Until users told us our fintech app looked like a scam. Here’s what we did to land TechCrunch, Forbes+ without a PR firm.
(Note: Actual templates we used for emailing reporters, our press kit, etc. in the comments!)
🎯 Get clear on your goals
→ Most people think getting press & launching big via PR is the main event. It’s not.
→ Instead, it’s a *booster* for your actual goals — trust, SEO, conversion, hiring, fundraising. So make sure your messaging, CTAs, etc. reflect that. Press just gives it a short-term boost and public forcing function to ship.
→ When we launched Parallax, we knew we didn’t need *press for press’ sake.* As a financial app, we needed to build credibility, trust, and a presence people could Google.
📸 Decide: embargo or *exclusive strategy
We went with an exclusive strategy:
→ More guaranteed with 1 high-quality feature. Writers like this more.
→ Then let smaller/local outlets follow
Embargo strategy = more coverage, but way riskier — you may not get picked up.
📅 Find the right reporter
→ Actually research which reporter is a good fit for your message. Chances are higher that they’ll say yes if they already write in the same niche.
→ Ideally, you also build a relationship with reporters beforehand.
📅 Launch timeline
Give yourself 4 weeks.
1. Write your story + build the press kit
2. Reach out to reporters
3. Prep your amplification plan
💸 No PR firm, no problem (for us)
→ Saved $
→ Built direct relationships with reporters, now and for the future
→ Learned what makes a pitch land
✉️ What makes a good pitch?
→ Not “we exist.” But: Why now? Why you? Why this story?
→ The best hooks are *timely + human.* If we were doing PR today, we’d tie it to the tailwinds we’re seeing in our industry.
📦 What goes in a press kit?
→ Company overview
→ FAQs
→ Quotes (founder/investors/customers)
→ Media (logos, product shots, founder photos)
→ Contact info
→ PRO TIP: Send this kit as a link. Never attachments. Imagine reporters getting multiple pitches with attachments in their inbox - that takes up A LOT of memory.
📣 On launch day, amplify like crazy!
→ Prep for 10x traffic. Week before our launch, a bunch of scammers and fraudsters raided our website. (A story for another day) Thank goodness - we got to battletest our website that week & were prepared upon launch!
→ Share a single post to amplify. We used LinkedIn. We then ask our investors, friends and family to be prepared to share the post once it was out.
→ Make it stupid easy for others to help e.g. Give people copy-paste blurbs.
TAKEAWAY:
Press is not magic. But when used right, it’s a credibility unlock.
Don’t treat it like a vanity moment — treat it like a GTM tool.
View original post on LinkedIn.