Startups face a tough challenge when it comes to getting attention. Between building the product and finding customers, founders also need to tell their story in a way that stands out.
But the media world feels mysterious (even intimidating) if you’ve never dealt with it before. How do journalists decide what to write about? How do you get them interested in your company? And why does PR even matter?
These are the lessons from our masterclass with startup PR agency founder James Hutchinson (Sling & Stone) and startup publicist Amy Brinker, hosted by former journalist Tom Finnigan.
Together, they break down how media really works, and how founders can engage with it productively, without wasting time or burning relationships.
What is Public Relations
Tom explains that, at its core, Public Relations (PR) is about earning attention rather than buying it.
PR sits in earned media – channels you don’t control. You’re not buying space on a billboard. You’re convincing a journalist that your story is worth sharing with their readers.
As James puts it, “PR is telling the story behind the story. It’s how you earn your place in the world.”
That’s why PR is so powerful for startups. When someone else talks about you, it carries credibility.
James points out that being featured in respected publications often prompts real outcomes. Founders regularly see investors reach out after coverage in places like the AFR, SmartCompany, or TechCrunch. Not because it’s a direct sales channel, but because it signals you’re worth paying attention to.
A key mindset shift here is that PR is primarily brand building, not a direct response machine. As James makes clear, it’s not “I spend a dollar here and get a dollar in revenue there.”
It also shouldn’t be an ego exercise. Great PR is not about seeing your face in the Australian Financial Review every week. PR works best as part of an overall marketing mix, alongside your owned channels (website, blog, socials) and your paid channels (ads).
Why your story matters more than your product
One of the biggest mistakes founders make is pitching the media like they’re running a product demo: “We built something cool. Please write about it.”
James explains why that usually falls flat. “The media don’t want to talk about the product. They want to talk about the person.”
More broadly, they want stories that make readers feel something. PR is driven by stories that “get people to get an emotional response and invoke an action.”
That doesn’t mean the product doesn’t matter. It means the product is rarely the hook.
James frames it this way: it’s your job to help outsiders care about the thing you’ve poured “blood, sweat and tears” into. The fastest way to do that is to tell the story behind why the company exists in the first place.
Melanie Perkins and Canva are a clear example. Canva doesn’t position itself as “an online design tool that’s better than the rest.”
Instead, the story centres on the problem: design tools are painful, fragmented, expensive, and hard to learn. Perkins talks about how people aren’t learning design, they’re trying to learn where the buttons are.
She then lays out the messy reality: stock photos, fonts, templates, collaboration over email, formatting for print and web, all stitched together across too many tools.
The story is what makes it relatable. The product becomes the obvious solution. If Canva sticks to “our tool is better” messaging, the story doesn’t land in the same way.
How to craft your startup’s story
The good news is you don’t need to be Canva to have a compelling story. Every startup has one, it’s just a matter of uncovering it.
James shares a simple structure they use with startups at every stage, from pre-launch to public companies:
- Start with the problem: What issue leads you to create your product? Why does it matter? Who does it affect? The more specific and relatable, the better.
- Find your eureka moment: What insight makes you think, “this is ridiculous, there’s a better way?” This might be personal experience, a customer conversation, or something unexpected.
- Show your credibility: What makes you or your team uniquely placed to solve this problem? James frames this as either being an authority (deep domain knowledge) or a disruptor (a fresh perspective from outside the category).
- Simplify your solution: Can you explain it as if you’re talking to “your grandmother or a mate at a barbecue.” If not, keep refining.
- Paint the vision: If you succeed, what changes? James describes this as your “north star” – the impact you’re trying to have on customers, industries, or the world.
Put together, this turns your startup from a product into a mission with a clear reason to exist. It makes people want to learn more, whether they’re a customer, partner, or journalist.
Journalists are busy, help them help you
Amy gives a clear behind-the-scenes view of what journalists’ lives look like right now, and it’s rough.
They’re time-poor due to layoffs, still dealing with the same volume of stories, measured on clicks and attention, often more generalist than specialist, and receiving “hundreds of pitches each week.”
Journalists want good stories, but they’re stretched thin. That’s why it’s crucial to make their job easier. Amy suggests a journalist mindset checklist:
- Who is my audience?
- Why is this story relevant to them?
- How is it different from other stories?
She also recommends using the inverted pyramid: put the most important information first, then add context.
Journalists are “natural sceptics.” It’s literally their job to poke holes. They “can see through the BS.” So don’t oversell or exaggerate. Be authentic and back up claims with facts or examples.
If you’re the founder, don’t be afraid to let your passion show. People respond to genuine enthusiasm, and it’s easy to draw emotion from passion.
What makes a story newsworthy
Amy shares four practical ingredients that make news feel like news:
1) Timeliness
Why now? A funding round from six months ago won’t carry the same weight as something current.
Urgency matters when it comes to news – the idea of ‘new’ is literally in the name itself.
2) Proximity
Australian media cares about what impacts Australians.
A global product announcement won’t matter locally unless there’s a local hook: customers, timing, relevance, or impact.
3) Tension
This doesn’t mean drama for drama’s sake. It means a clear “what’s changing?” narrative.
Amy gives examples like a David vs Goliath angle (a challenger taking on a big incumbent), or tying into a broader pressure like inflation or staff shortages.
4) Significance
What makes it important to know? Hiring 20 people might be forgettable, unless it’s doubling the team to support expansion internationally, or the biggest growth milestone a company like yours has ever hit.
How to pitch without getting ignored
James breaks the pitching challenge into three clear hurdles:
- Challenge 1: Get them to open the email
- Challenge 2: Get them to read it
- Challenge 3: Get them to respond
His practical advice for clearing those hurdles:
- Use a strong subject line (think like a headline).
- Get to the point fast: “I’ve got a new story for you….”
- Cover what he called the “why I give an F***” gap (his editor’s phrase): why is this relevant to the journalist and their audience?
Don’t blast a press release to a thousand journalists. When pitching, start with this question: What is my audience reading? Your audience isn’t everyone. It’s the people most likely to care about your product or service. Find where they get their news and focus there.
Research the right reporter, read what they’re writing about right now, and connect your story to their current coverage.
If it doesn’t connect, that’s okay. It often takes time before it clicks. Here are a few practical ways to build relationships with journalists without being annoying:
- If they pass on your story, don’t burn the bridge. Come back in 3–6 months when you have new traction.
- Be useful even when you’re not pitching: share data, insights, or connect them with an expert.
- Treat it like any long-term relationship. Consistent value builds trust.
James also draws an important boundary: journalists are professionals, not your mates. If something is factually wrong, ask for a correction. But don’t try to leverage friendship to change a headline: “the story wins out.”
Founder voice vs company voice
Early coverage often leans heavily on the founder’s personal story, which can feel like you’re stuck talking about yourself when you’d rather talk about the company.
Amy and James note two things:
- The founder story is often the hook early on.
- But you can steer the spotlight back to the company through your answers.
Using Canva as the model, the media may write about Mel Perkins, but her responses consistently pull attention toward what the company is doing.
A practical technique that you can use is to start with the personal moment if needed, then pivot to “we”:
- “I saw this problem…” → “So we built…”
- “My background is…” → “That’s why our team is focused on…”
- “What I’m excited about…” → “What our customers are now able to do…”
Better still is if you can bring in customer voices so you’re not the only one claiming that you’re making an impact.
Turning media coverage into more
Landing a story in a major publication feels like a win, and it is. But James points out a common failure: a startup gets a story published and then does nothing with it.
His point is simple: “people never go to front pages of news websites anymore.” Most discovery happens through social feeds. If you don’t amplify the story, it disappears quickly.
A simple approach to getting more out of your coverage:
- Share the story on LinkedIn (and wherever your audience hangs out).
- Ask team members, customers, and supporters to share it too.
- Reuse it: turn it into a website article, pull quotes for social, add it to your “as seen in” credibility stack.
The more people see the story, the more value you extract from it. Also, think long-term. A single article won’t make or break your startup, but a series of stories over time can build credibility.
You can also use early coverage to build relationships with journalists. Keep them updated on your progress. When you have something new, like a funding round, a big partnership, or strong user growth, circle back. Relationships compound, just like interest.
With all this, Tom adds a sharp warning: if your PR story promises one vibe, but your website feels disconnected, people bounce. Your site is often the “single source of truth” people check the moment they read about you.
Starting small and scaling up
If you’re just starting with PR, don’t worry about landing the cover of The Australian Financial Review on day one. Start with smaller, niche publications your audience already trusts.
If you’re in tech, that might be Startup Daily. If you’re targeting small businesses, it might be a local business journal. These smaller wins often snowball into bigger opportunities as credibility builds.
When it comes to PR, it’s tempting to aim high and chase international coverage. But James warns that many startups “aren’t ready from a PR perspective.”
Being known in Australia doesn’t automatically translate overseas. A US publication doesn’t care that you’re Australian, they care about what’s relevant to their audience.
James recommends you first get customers and partnerships in-market, then do PR as an amplifier.
Take New Zealand edtech company Kami as an example. They have the option to go global because they already have real on-the-ground traction: most of their revenue comes from US schools, supported by strong metrics, customer stories, and clear market objectives.
Large scale PR can work because there is already a global story to tell.
Your next step to startup PR
PR isn’t magic. It doesn’t replace strong product development, customer service, or other forms of marketing. But it is a powerful tool for building trust, awareness, and credibility.
Here are three next steps you can take:
- Research your audience: Know what they read and which journalists cover those topics.
- Write your story: Use the framework above to sharpen how you talk about your company.
- Make your website media-ready: Journalists will check it, and it needs to reflect the story you’re telling.
PR takes effort, but the results are worth it. The best part is that your story is already there. You just have to tell it.
Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full masterclass.
