Startup PR · Marketing
Buyers check a startup before the first meeting, so the story they find should be clear.
An enterprise buyer hears your pitch, then searches your company name before sharing it with procurement. If the results contain only your own claims and an old directory listing, they have little else to check. Relevant press coverage gives them another source, but it does not replace evidence that your product works.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Startup public relations (PR) is press work that explains a young company through verifiable news, such as a funding round or a first enterprise customer. GullySales finds the story, prepares the founder, and approaches relevant publications, keeping coverage chosen by an editor separate from placements you pay for.
Your announcement needs a fact worth reporting. A commissioned plant or a customer willing to explain why they bought carries more weight than a mission statement. GullySales puts that fact first and agrees what you can disclose before approaching a reporter.
Paid features are a separate buying decision. You see which opportunities are paid before approving a booking, rather than discovering afterwards that the interview was an advertisement.
Who it is for
This is written for you if these sound familiar.
- B2B startup founders with a completed funding round or a first enterprise customer they have permission to name
- Technical founders with an informed industry argument but no time to write it
- Young manufacturers announcing a working plant or a product ready for buyers
- Startups whose prospective investors or recruits find little reliable information about them
- D2C brands with product news relevant to publications their buyers read
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- Founders relying on press alone to meet an immediate enquiry target, where search or advertising deserves a separate discussion
- Companies announcing a product that exists only as a plan, without evidence to support the claims
- Anyone requiring guaranteed editorial coverage in a named publication on a fixed date
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
Common situations this work addresses.
“Our pitches get no replies”
The pitch explains your ambition before saying what happened. A reporter needs a clear reason to cover the story for their readers.
“The feature turned out to be paid”
The offer looked like editorial interest until a rate card arrived. Without a paid-or-earned distinction, you cannot judge the cost or describe the resulting coverage honestly.
“Nobody agreed what the founder could say”
An interview reaches revenue or valuation before anyone has cleared those figures. Customer publicity restrictions create the same problem when names are mentioned casually.
“The announcement missed its moment”
The news was ready, but the wording was still waiting for investor approval. Preparing the material and its approval route beforehand avoids preventable delays.
Choose the right scope
Start with the work your business needs.
Funding announcement
For a completed round with investor-approved facts. The work centres on announcement wording and coordinated approvals, with an exclusive or embargo considered only where appropriate.
Enterprise customer story
For a startup whose first significant buyer is willing to be named. The story explains the purchase without turning an approved customer reference into an unsupported claim about results.
Founder industry argument
For a technical founder with experience worth publishing but no funding announcement. A byline or interview puts their actual argument before a relevant publication, rather than inventing news.
Product or facility announcement
For a working product or commissioned facility with something demonstrable. This includes consumer-facing product news where a publication's readers match the intended buyers.
What we do
The work we can include.
Each deliverable and the purpose it serves. Your written scope confirms what is included, who is responsible, and what it costs.
News assessment
A written view of what is ready to announce and what still needs evidence. You check each proposed angle against an actual event, supporting records, and permission to disclose it.
Approved story copy
A release, founder byline, or interview answers, as agreed in scope. The draft leads with the news and marks claims or quotes requiring confirmation, so you can approve the exact wording.
Publication target list
Relevant outlets with their audience fit and paid or editorial status recorded. Any placement fee is shown for approval before booking; inclusion on the list does not mean an editor has accepted the story.
Disclosure boundaries
A written public line covering sensitive figures and customer references. Your lawyer or company secretary reviews relevant agreements, while your own compliance reviewer approves claims where required.
Founder interview preparation
Likely questions and agreed responses, including questions you would rather not answer. You review how to decline disclosure without replacing an unavailable figure with an unsupported claim.
Reporter outreach record
Approaches to named reporters covering your sector, with one follow-up per approach. The record shows responses and outstanding requests, rather than treating a bulk email count as progress.
Coverage register
Published links with dates, placement costs, and paid or earned status. Referral visits and reported mentions are added where available, so you can distinguish publication from a buyer response.
How the result is measured
- Published pieces, separated into paid and earned coverage
- Publication costs, with paid placements identified separately
- Referral visits from published links where tracking is available
- Buyer, investor, and candidate mentions of coverage
- Qualified enquiries and opportunities linked to coverage where records support the connection
- Completed orders associated with those opportunities, without claiming PR was the sole cause
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Marketing and sales together
Your sales lead receives coverage with the facts they can use.
We hand over the published link, its paid or earned status, and the approved explanation of the announcement. Your sales lead can share it in a relevant buyer conversation and record any response against the enquiry or opportunity. Coverage is supporting material, not permission to claim an editor endorsed your product.
Decisions to make before the work starts
Permissions and evidence
Customer consent and investor sign-off depend on your reviewers. If supporting facts cannot be disclosed, we revise the angle or recommend waiting rather than filling gaps.
Placement and production costs
Publication fees are separate from GullySales time. Additional language versions or missing photography affect the scope and are agreed before commissioning.
Adjacent work
Startup PR does not include a standing thought-leadership programme or ongoing reputation monitoring. Pitch decks and enquiry-generation campaigns are also separate work, even when they use the same approved facts.
How it works
How the startup PR work runs
The work itself, in order. How an engagement starts, from your brief to a written scope, is set out on our method page.
- 1
Story selection
After the requirements brief and conversation, we agree the scope, fee, and term in writing. Within that work, you choose the announcement or founder argument supported by the available evidence.
- 2
Disclosure approval
You identify who approves figures and named references. Investor or customer permissions are resolved before those details enter an external pitch.
- 3
Copy and asset sign-off
The authorised reviewer clears the story and quotes. Founder photographs and logo files are checked for availability, with missing assets raised before outreach.
- 4
Outreach decision
You approve the target list and any paid booking. For funding news, we agree whether to propose an exclusive or an embargo before approaching reporters; either arrangement depends on their acceptance.
- 5
Interview handoff
An interested reporter's questions go to the founder with the agreed disclosure boundaries. We prepare the founder, but the publication controls its editorial decisions.
- 6
Publication and sales handoff
Published coverage enters the register with its status and cost. Relevant links and approved context go to your sales lead, with reporting timing agreed in writing before work starts.
Where this fits
Three pieces of sales work, in this order.
This work sits inside sales process design, at stage 1, prospecting and lead generation. The audit comes before it, and sales management keeps it running.
Step 1
Sales audit
Find where deals are being lost and what to fix first.
Start here if you cannot say where orders are lost.
Step 2 · you are here
Sales process design
One written way to sell, from first enquiry to repeat order.
Start here if every salesperson sells differently.
Step 3
Sales management
A target, a review routine and someone who owns the number.
Start here if the team has targets and no routine.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
Will press coverage bring us customers?
Do we need a funding round to have a story?
Should we pay for a startup feature?
Can you guarantee a particular publication?
Who clears sensitive information?
How do we begin, and what will it cost?
By industry
Startup PR, written for your industry.
Related services
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Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.