

Startups and PR Firms - The Gross Disconnect - rkord
http://www.pluggd.in/startup-pr-firm-strategy-297/

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mbenjaminsmith
Before I got into tech I founded a PR agency. I agree that you shouldn't
outsource PR as a startup. If you can't fumble your way through a pitch to a
journalist you either a) have a shitty product or b) shouldn't be running a
business. Journalists are remarkably tolerant of the amateur if she is honest
and believes in what she's doing.

The 'clueless staffer' email is a bit old though. No agency worth their salt
would put out something like that. I'd say the #1 issue in PR is not having a
solid story to work with. 'PR in the boardroom' is considered the holy grail
of agency/client relationships and frankly pure BS if anyone ever tells you
they have it. PR doesn't guide business decisions. That means the business is
either newsworthy or it isn't, regardless of what the agency does.

~~~
ugh
PR agencies just can’t make the launch of a USB stick sexy. In my limited
experience with PR agencies I have sadly seen that they seem to have huge
problems telling that the client. They will write a press release when the
client tells them to, no matter how unimportant the thing the client wants to
announce is.

I think this article is quite apt, small companies and startups don’t really
need a PR firm. A long and intensive relationship between client and PR agency
is the foundation for good PR work by the agency and such relationships just
won’t happen when you are a startup. Journalists don’t bite, be nice to them,
make it easy for them and write good stuff for them. That’s all.

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dnsworks
In 1999 I was dismayed by the sheer number of otherwise incapable people who
staffed the various startups I slaved away for. They had titles like "Director
Of Marketing", "VP of Communications", etc. They were opportunists looking for
a job that would make them wealthy, but without the skills or the real drive
to become competent enough at that job to achieve their goals.

I do my best to keep track of the people I've developed some nominal
relationship with professionally. LinkedIN has been awesome for this. After
the bubble burst, the most useless people I knew left the tech industry. They
became Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Agents, and Recruiters.

After the real estate bubble burst, a lot of these same people rebranded
themselves as Social Media Experts. For every dollar your startup earns or
raises, there are hundreds of looters trying to convince you to give it to
them.

~~~
krav
My God, you're so right! I was there as well, same thing - the dot.com boom
made ad agencies tons of money.

