ABOVE THE CODE™

TechStars Cloud @GeekdomMarch 5, 2012San Antonio

Hacking Your Startup’s PR and Communications Initiatives

To Get You Above The Code™

ABOUT

•30 years - yup, I am an old school PR guy :) -

•Based in San Antonio, TX / Desk in Tel Aviv @ TechLoft

•Works with Jeff Pulver on State of NOW -#140Conf & incubating 30 startups in Israel

• Involved with Israel’s traditional tech sector for the last 18 years

Life in three labs....

Tel Aviv

San Antonio

NYC / London / Tel Aviv, etc.

NOTES...

•This presentation is online....

• alanweinkrantz.com

• slideshare.net/alanweinkrantz

GOALS FOR TODAY

•How going Above the Code....

• can be applied as an element of your R&D and development strategies

•help you accelerate the potential for success

•prepare your company for gaining coverage before, during and after Demo Day

•prepare your company for being discovered

•be ready when you are found

2 PARTS TO PRESENTATION

•Principles and belief sets for the long run

•Practical and actionable steps to help you be ready for DEMO Day.

THE MEDIA IS YOUR FIRST

MARKETto share and tell your story

you

bloggers

analysts

media

end users

The Media is Your Customer....

theenter-prise

&

I’M NOT READY FOR THIS...

•WTF is a PR person doing in the room?

•We gotta focus on getting to - and through Demo Day

• I am hoping to have some fun at SXSW :)

•a good place to watch companies that rising Above The Code

• I don’t have time for this :)

GOOD NEWS :)

•Very low cost / no cost to create a start-up

•Big Idea

•Core team

•Strong will

• Servers / hosting

•Coding

BAD NEWS :(

•Someone in Austin, NY, SF, Singapore, Tel Aviv, Mumbai is thinking the same thing as you are :(

• Hard to have a defensible position

•Hard to protect your IP

QUALITIES THEN...

•Strong Intellectual Property

•Defensible technology

•Strategic investors like Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Motorola

•VC funded

QUALITIES NOW

•No Intellectual property

•Nothing really defensible

•Strategic investors & partners - Friends, Family, Angels, TechStars, Google, Yahoo, AT&T, Rackspace, etc.

•Up until recently....No funding, or angel, micro, friends & family funding

•Easy to run a virtual company... no real address, presence from a co-working space and an IP phone number

THE WORLD AS WE KNEW IT

•Hardware

•Software

•Telecom

•Security

•Bio Sciences

•Medical Devices

Go to SchoolGo to College / University

Summer JobGo to Work

THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

•Hardware

•Software

•Telecom

•Security

•Bio Sciences

•Medical Devices

High SchoolStart-UpGap YearStart-Up

College / UniversityStart-Up

WorkStartup

Quit Day JobStartup

Outbound / Inbound Strategy

Outreach to media

Being found by the media

pick me

find me

PR in the past.....

company agency media

analystscompany

WHAT I BELIEVE

•12 Fundamental Belief Sets

•Not everything I do always works

• I do this for me. I do this for clients.

•There’s always exceptions to the rules

•Discussion is based on a combination of experience and principles

From >

Code

To >

Above The Code

Alan’s 12 Fundamental Belief Sets

#1 - STOP PITCHING

•Start story telling

•Your pitch helps clarify / define what you do, but really sucks as a way to get coverage

#2 - YOU’RE REALLY A MEDIA COMPANY THAT....

•Create and make media so you’ll be discovered, found and shared

•YouTube

•Twitter

•Facebook

•Blog

•Pinterest

• Instagram

•Cinchcast

•SoundCloud

•Google Plus

•LinkedIn

#3 UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BEING...

•Discovered - random

•Found - search

being discovered and

being found increases your

chances of sharing

#4 IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU

•How do you help others do something in a compelling way you could not do before

#5 BE HUMAN

•Get off your perch and write like you would speak

•Converse with your potential market wherever they are

#6 LIKE MINDED PEOPLE TEND TO FIND EACH OTHER

•Give them a place to connect and share their story

#7 HAVE A MISSION

•We’re out to make __________ better

•We want to help _____ do _______

•We want to help others the opportunity to ________

•We’re connecting _______ with ______ so they can ________

•Make it easier to ____________

•Have your voice be heard about _________

#8 THINK LIKE A SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHER

•The potential to collect “Big Data” means you have something of incredible value to a potential partner, investor, or brand

•Gives you a better chance of a lift when an exit may present itself

•Big data lends itself to infographics, which contributes to your thought leadership and a great way to get media coverage

technology platform

spark - what if?

story...

BIG DATA

real valuenarrative to engagement

Lift towards an exit...(c) Alan Weinkrantz

“some funding.”..

#9 PUT IT OUT THERE

•You never know who is going to find your content and engage

• You don’t have to have high quality production values to do this

• Hardware is cheap. Tools are free. Tons of creatives to help you

#10 DRAW, PAINT, PHOTOGRAPH, ROCK OUT

•Do something or learn to do something creative other than working on your startup

• It will re-wire your brain in an unexpected way

my drums circa 1968

#11 IT’S NOT ALWAYS REPLICABLE

• Just because one strategy or tactic worked for one company does not mean it will work for another

#12 GET LUCKY

•Go wide

•Get lucky

•Run with it when you strike a chord

THE MIND OF A DEVELOPER

•Focus on...

• functionality

•application

•utilitarian value

HACK YOUR OWN PR!

•You have to “know” the journalist

•Much of this you can do yourself

• “Paper trails” on the Internet exist if you search correctly

PLAN....

•Post and write relevant content so you can be a source to media on your field of expertise

•Develop & publish infographics you can share

•Follow a wish list of 20 journalists you think should cover you

•Read and comment on relevant articles without being self promotional.

•Ask end user / beta customers if you can refer to them to media

•Follow editorial calendars

NOW....

•Reach out to home town media

•Make a wish list of where you belong

•business / tech / bloggers who are your fans back home

•media appropriate to your space

•analysts appropriate to your space

• track competitors or companies in your periphery on news.google.com to see who covers and writes about them

EXAMPLES

• I did all this in the last 24 hours

•There are current opportunities awaiting in many contexts

•This requires discipline

• It does take time

•The point is to get you into some type of routine to start thinking about doing this.

•Your mileage may vary

Hi Julie, I’m the co-founder of Vidmaker, based in Madison.

We’ve been part of the TechStars Cloud program and

temporarily moved to San Antonio to get our startup off

the ground. We plan to return to Madison in April and would love to share our story with you about our experience. Would you be interested in learning

more?

follow and engage with appropriate journalists where you are based

Mine opportunities with commenting and engagement

Comment on relevant articles.... leave a trail of

expertise

Follow editorial trails....

Text

join the edit community

follow journalists relevant to your space

Go deep into verticals where you really shine

Peripheral content is

a good trail of where

you might belong

Make the applications of

your technology

platform the hero of your

stories.

Story submissions to vertical market publications

Collecting Data? Inspire and drive creative story ideas with infographics

Capitalize or comment on emerging trends you are creating

Not all journalists are “on staff....”

Be a set of eyes and ears from SXSW for

your hometown

media.

PLAN FOR PR

• If you follow some of these basic principles, you’ll be further ahead.

•This process takes at least six months to one year to really get on a journalist’s radar and be sticky - sometimes you can get lucky

•Get everyone on your team to make this part of their regimen as it will make them aware of the opportunities that await you when you are ready.

•Bring up PR in your team meetings in a “what if...” scenario.

Be Ready For PR So You Can Succeed

HELP!

•My door is open

•Happy to spend one hour with each company after SXSW to help you think this through.

•Email me your wish list of media

http://gigaom.com/2012/03/03/how-startups-can-hack-the-pr-machine/

Read. Re-Read.

http://appsmarketing.mobi/app-marketing-sxsw-2012/

http://tech.li/2012/03/integrating-pr-into-your-product/

Free tools to get you into the groove....

http://www.alanweinkrantz.com/startup-pr-strategies-who-did-i-pitch-todayWho did I pitch today?

http://www.gartner.com/technology/about/vendor_briefings.jspGartner Briefings request form

Editorial calendars http://www.alanweinkrantz.com/technology-public-relations-2011-

editorial-ca

Methodically.Reach.Out.

please share:)

ABOVE THE CODE™

thank you

alan@weinkrantz.com

www.alanweinkrantz.com

Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn.all photos by me

© Alan Weinkrantz And Company 2012 Above The Code ™