Managing Startups: Best Blog Posts

Chapter 28. Our PR Stinks: Here’s What Your Startup Can Learn from It

Susanna Gebauer

At exploreB2B, we were convinced from the very beginning that strong PR would be the answer to our market entry prayers. This is the story of how our reality turned into something of the opposite effect.

The Familiar Doubt

Many friends, fellow founders, and business professionals told us along the way that creating a B2B interactive business platform would be a difficult project. (Hey, we knew that.)

People later told us that the most difficult aspect would be market entry. (Again, no surprise there.) The consensus among those critical of our venture was consistent, and usually along the lines of, “Don’t you want to do something more glamorous than a B2B platform? Maybe something B2C?” (Actually, we believe our concept is glamorous and, quite frankly, exactly what we believe the B2B market calls for.)

Any way we thought about it, the task at hand was going to be tough. The start was the most challenging, with an idea and an empty platform. But we were not the first facing this issue; surely there would be ways to maneuver our way into our key markets?

We knew some companies who’d successfully bought profiles or created fake ones, but we decided that if we really believed in our concept, we would need real people behind genuine profiles and articles. And that we would need press coverage.

How Did We Solve the First Problem of Filling the Platform?

We first talked face-to-face with various professionals ...