A public relations blueprint: How to get press (sans a big budget)

For early-stage founders, press can feel like a chicken-and-egg problem: you need coverage to build awareness, credibility and investor confidence, but you often need a budget to get that coverage. The good news? Some of the most visible startups of the last decade began generating press long before they hired an agency or built a comms function. “Press isn’t about size or budget, it’s about clarity. If you can articulate why your company matters, you can get coverage,” says Autumn Furr, co-founder of Westway Communications. “Early PR is less about money and more about repeatable behaviors, clear storytelling and knowing where reporters get their ideas,” says Autumn.

Start with a Founder story that’s actually a story: Reporters cover people, not products. A compelling founder narrative works long before your solution is fully built. Consider:

• Original tension: What problem annoyed you enough to build something?
• An unexpected pivot: What changed the direction of your career or idea?
• A cultural relevance hook: How does your company sit within a broader trend or shift?
• A counterintuitive belief: What do you know that others in your industry get wrong?

If you don’t have a dramatic founding moment, don’t force it. Instead, anchor your story in personal insight and experience: clear, concise and human.

Package your message like a reporter would: A reporter doesn’t want marketing copy. They want context. Your job is to make it easy. “If a reporter can’t understand what you do in 10 seconds, the pitch is dead. Precision is a superpower for pitching,” says Autumn.

Consider breaking down your pitch into three parts:

• One-paragraph company summary
• A short founder bio with a single memorable detail
• A trend or problem statement to show the world needs what you’re building

This is what journalists skim first. If they understand the story quickly, they’re far more likely to respond. “If you can insert compelling product or brand images into the body of the email rather than attaching them or linking elsewhere, you’re also more likely to grab the attention of the writer or editor that has only a few seconds to skim through your message,” shares Autumn.

Find your level one press: Your first headline probably won’t be in Forbes or TechCrunch. But you don’t need it yet. Go after:

• Local business outlets
• Niche industry newsletters
• Podcasts with 500–5,000 listeners
• Substack writers who love profiling up-and-comers

These are often more influential with early adopters, and they build the breadcrumb trail prestige outlets look for.

Use your social media as your press kit: Founders underestimate how many reporters lurk on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and TikTok looking for emerging ideas. You don’t need virality; you need clarity.

Post consistently about:

• What you’re building and why
• What surprised you about your users
• Emerging industry shifts
• Honest behind-the-scenes moments

Reporters follow founders who have a point of view. Demonstrate yours publicly.

Be smart about what tool you’re using: Free or nearly free tools can replicate a lot of early-stage PR functions. Consider the following tools:

• Google Alerts for competitive and category monitoring
• Muck Rack’s free journalist searches for email discovery
• Google Sheets for tracking pitches and follow-ups

Remember, you’re not trying to look like a PR pro; you’re trying to make it easy for a journalist to say yes.

Pitch a trend, not your product: Nothing opens a journalist’s inbox faster than a smart trend angle. Instead of “We launched a new skincare brand,” try “Consumers are turning away from 12-step routines, here’s what we learned building a one-product company.”

Tie your idea to:

• Behavioral shifts
• Cultural moments
• Data you’ve seen firsthand
• A pattern you’re observing early

You’ll go from an unknown founder to an expert source faster than you expect.

Always create news: Create momentum by treating everything like a story. Some examples could include:

• A beta waitlist that grew faster than expected
• A partnership with a local creator
• A small but meaningful product breakthrough
• A community event, challenge or workshop

You’re not manufacturing hype; you’re showing traction and growth. “It may not stick immediately, but showing journalists that your company is making progress and doing interesting things that is creating community can create a stickiness that will eventually land you a story or mention,” says Autumn.

Be in the business of creating relationships. If a journalist passes on your story? That’s not a no—it’s a “not right now.” Keep the relationship alive by sending data points, digestible industry insights and insider POVs from the front line of your category.

Become a source, not a spammer. “You land the story by being in touch with interesting, useful information. Find a balance of planting seeds vs. spamming an editor’s inbox,” advises Autumn.

The bottom line is that the more interesting you are, the more interesting your startup becomes. You don’t need a budget to become discoverable. You need a compelling story, a clear point of view, consistent content, smart targeting and thoughtful follow-up.

Do these well and before long, you won’t just be getting press. You’ll be shaping the conversation in your category.

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