Startups often wait to pull the trigger on PR, usually because they think they have to “launch first.” But the most successful early-stage companies know better: PR isn’t a post-launch play, it’s a pre-launch power move.
According to Bullpen, companies that invest ~$10K/month in PR over two years report 11x ROI. PRWeek found that startups who engage in PR pre-launch are 30% more successful in raising funding within just 1–3 months. And 78% of VCs actively help boost media coverage for their portfolio companies.
Pre-launch is your window to shape the narrative before the market does. Whether you’re building in stealth, gearing up for a funding announcement, or prepping for beta, PR isn’t just about promotion, it’s about positioning.
Strategic media coverage before launch helps you build credibility, attract early adopters, and get on investors’ radar before the noise begins.
The best founders start telling their story early.
10 hacks to land your startup early coverage
1. Mine your competitors’ coverage for contact intel and angles, and steal the spotlight.
Before you pitch cold, study who wrote about your closest competitors before they launched, or right at Series A. You’ll find:
Which reporters are startup/sector-friendly
What angles worked (“YC-backed” vs “ex-Google founders” vs “redefining X”)
How to differentiate your story
To do this, search: [Company Name] + TechCrunch, Forbes, VentureBeat, etc. Use MuckRack or Prowly for journalist contact info. Plug URLs into Ahrefs or Similarweb to see what coverage drove traffic.
Now you can reverse-engineer what worked and make your story sharper.
2. Lead with the founder story, not product.
If you’re pre-launch, it means no customers, no case studies, and likely, no product pages. So pitch you. I see founders shy away from PR all too often, while journalists repeatedly cover early-stage startups because of the founder’s story.
Focus on your origin story, what inspired your startup, and why now. Highlight your founder’s unique background, pivot, or big bet –and position them as a rising founder in a space with VC heat.
For example, Yale graduates Sneha Sivakumar and Anushka Nijhawan co-founded Spur, an AI-driven platform for website testing. Their story, from college collaboration to securing $4.5 million in seed funding, has been featured in the press, like this Business Insider profile, emphasizing the power of academic partnerships in launching successful startups.
3. Offer proprietary pre-launch data.
You don’t need thousands of users to be data-driven. Even small-scale surveys, early access waitlist stats, or product beta feedback can make news if it ties to a bigger trend.
For example, before launching publicly, Robinhood amassed a waitlist of over 1 million users. They utilized this data point to demonstrate market demand and user interest, which was instrumental in attracting media attention and investor interest.
Your product doesn’t even need to be live.. Just relevant. Here’s how to glean data for trend pitching:
Use platforms like Typeform or Google Forms to gather insights from your waitlist or target audience. Even a sample size of 100+ can yield valuable data.
Monitor how early users interact with your product.
Identify trends, popular features, or unexpected use cases.
Share your surprising insights and highlight data points that challenge common assumptions or reveal new trends in your industry.
Connect your findings to broader industry movements to make your story more compelling to journalists.
Create simple charts or infographics to make your data more accessible and shareable.
Pitch this content to tech/business journalists. For example: “New data shows 60% of Gen Z are ditching budgeting apps—here’s what they want instead.”
4. Join forces with your investors or advisors.
You may be in stealth, but your investors aren’t, and their credibility can carry your story. Ask a well-known backer or advisor to co-sign or co-pitch your story. Include a quote from them, for example, “We backed [startup] because we believe X is the next Y…”
Let your VC firm announce the round with a teaser mention of your stealth product. Media outlets are more likely to bite if trusted names validate you.
For example: Artisan, an AI startup developing autonomous “AI employees” like Ava (a business development representative), raised a $25 million Series A round led by Glade Brook Capital. Despite being pre-launch, Artisan achieved significant media coverage by highlighting its innovative approach to automating business tasks and its provocative marketing campaign, “Hire Artisans, Not Humans.” The company’s participation in Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 batch and backing from notable investors like Oliver Jung and Day One Ventures added credibility to its story.
5. Host a “backchannel” briefing with 3–5 reporters.
Set up private, invite-only calls with 3–5 trusted journalists to preview your startup—under embargo, no pressure to write. It builds early relationships before you need something. You also get honest feedback on your positioning, and if you impress them, they may ask to cover you when you launch.
Sample invite: “Hey [Name], we’re not public yet, but we’re building [big idea]. We’re doing a quick off-the-record demo to share the vision. Want a front-row seat?”
This tactic builds long-term media momentum, and increases your chances of securing coverage when you’re ready to launch.
6. Pitch against the category (a.k.a. controlled contrarianism).
Want to stand out? Take a bold position against the norm in your space. Start by identifying a popular belief in your category (e.g., “Every startup needs to be on TikTok” or “Remote work is the future of hiring”). Craft a punchy headline like: “Why [your startup] is betting against <what everyone else is doing>.” Pitch as a thought-provoking take, backed by your reasoning and product strategy.
You can offer interviews with your subject matter experts, or a contributed thought leadership article. Journalists are more likely to cover a story that challenges assumptions, especially from a new voice with data or insight behind it.
Check out this article on How Contrarians Think, which explores the early days of Square, Yelp, and PayPal.
Another example is Basecamp, a company that has consistently taken a contrarian stance by rejecting traditional venture capital funding. In an industry where rapid growth and external funding are often seen as essential, Basecamp chose to grow organically and prioritize profitability over scale.
This unconventional approach has been highlighted in various media outlets, including a Forbes article, which discusses how Basecamp’s founders, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, built a successful company without relying on venture capital. This story challenges the prevailing narrative that startups must seek external funding to succeed.
7. Soft-launch on LinkedIn (and other socials) before you pitch.
Journalists are watching. Soft-launching on social media gives you proof of interest and makes you more pitchable.
Share a teaser post with screenshots, a waitlist link, or a behind-the-scenes story. Highlight early feedback, traction, or your big “why now.” And encourage comments/shares with a CTA like, “We would love your thoughts.” If the post gets traction, screenshot it or link to it in your pitch: “This post sparked 50+ signups in 24 hours…”
Journalists use social media as a discovery tool. So be discoverable.
The founders of OpiaTalk leveraged LinkedIn to build anticipation and credibility before their official launch. They shared updates about their product development journey, engaged with their network for feedback, and highlighted milestones. This approach not only attracted attention from potential customers but also helped them secure their first paying enterprise client and assemble an advisory board.
8. Pitch regional or niche press first.
Not every win has to come from TechCrunch. Niche trade media and regional outlets are often more receptive to pre-launch stories, especially if there’s a local founder, tech angle, or jobs story.
Search Google News for outlets covering startups in your city or sector. Examples include: Built In, GeekWire, Chicago Inno, and Technical.ly. Pitch them first with your founder story, stealth mission, or coming-soon teaser. These outlets are more flexible about timing and often get syndicated or picked up by larger sites.
Since I’m in Seattle, I’ll give you a few examples from one of my favorite tech publications, Geekwire.
Seattle-based startup Common Room emerges from stealth mode, announcing $52 million in total funding. At that time, the company was still in the early stages, with its product in pilot testing by companies like Notion and Pulumi.
QA Wolf, a startup focused on software testing, came out of stealth mode and announced a $20.1 million funding round. GeekWire covered the story here, noting that the company was still building its engineering and marketing teams and had not yet fully launched its services.
Outbound Aerospace, a Seattle-based startup developing a blended-wing aircraft design. At the time of its Geekwire article, the company was still in stealth mode, working on a subscale demonstrator and had not yet flown a prototype.
9. Use your “stealth mode” to tease exclusives.
Reporters love access. Offer a trusted journalist an exclusive “first look” (under embargo or off-the-record) before you go public. I’d recommend when the product is still in beta and when journalists can get an early preview of your product/services benefits and customer benefits. Even better if journalists can get a demo.
Draft a short embargo pitch: “We’re pre-launch but solving a huge problem in [industry]. You’re the first we’ve reached out to.” Offer early interviews with the founder or a product walkthrough. Set a future embargo lift (e.g., “launching in 8 weeks”) to create urgency
Now you’re giving journalists something valuable before anyone else. They remember that.
My favorite example of this again comes from Artisan and their Business Insider feature that offers an exclusive first look at their pitch deck, showcasing their innovative approach to automating business tasks with AI agents. This strategic move not only highlighted their unique value proposition but also generated significant buzz ahead of their public launch.
10. Time your launch to a trend, then pitch it early.
Don’t launch into a vacuum. Instead, align your announcement with a cultural, tech, or funding moment and pitch it weeks before. Use tools like Exploding Topics, Google Trends, or Techmeme to identify emerging themes
Pitch your startup as “the company building in the middle of [trend].” For example: “As AI chatbots flood the market, one startup is quietly building the AI that writes contracts.” Reporters often prepare “what to watch next quarter” stories 4–8 weeks in advance.
For example, Dutch secured a $20 million Series A funding round. The company timed their launch to meet the increased demand for accessible pet care during the pandemic, offering treatments for conditions like anxiety and allergies through licensed veterinarians. As a result, Dutch achieved significant press coverage, including these features in TechCrunch and Fast Company.
The truth is, media coverage isn’t just a milestone, it’s a multiplier. What you do before launch can shape how the world sees you after it. Early PR isn’t about making noise for the sake of it. It’s about planting the seeds of credibility, shaping investor perception, and giving your future customers a reason to care. The window before launch is short, but if used strategically, it can echo far beyond your first press hit.
So ask yourself: when your startup finally goes live, will the world be discovering you for the first time, or will they have already heard your name, seen your vision, and be waiting to sign up?
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