Crafting Fundraising Buzz: The Series A Founders' Guide

What the Data Reveals About Maximizing This Major Milestone In The Press

Jan 31, 2024

Overview

Wow, what an incredibly positive reaction to the first edition of The Repute! It’s clear a lot of Founders feel frustrated by the general opacity around Comms expectations and outcomes. I’m glad my roadmap brought some clarity.

I heard a clear request from Series A founders: more detail about generating press attention for your fundraising announcement specifically. So here’s a dive into what the data tells us.

Before jumping in, a quick reminder: My mission is to help companies make data-driven Communications decisions. To this end, I've analyzed 622 articles covering all 45 US-based companies that announced their Series A in October 2023. The outcome is a practical guide offering real insights for Series A CEOs to effectively engage with the press at this crucial stage. Future editions will explore a broader spectrum of Data and Communications topics.

Note: Please take a look at the “Fine Print” section near the bottom of this article for a breakdown of definitions between Top, Upper, Mid and Lower Tier outlets

Q: What Are the Key Takeaways from the Previous Article That Apply to Fundraising Announcements?

Here is the TLDR:

1.) Fundraising = Big Visibility Moment: Your fundraise is your best shot for breaking into Upper Tier media outlets at the Series A stage. Of all the Upper Tier stories in our analysis, 63% were about Fundraising milestones, highlighting its role as a key media hook.

2.) Size and Source of Funding Have No Impact: Two factors that surprisingly did not influence press outcomes at this stage are: 1) the dollar size of a company’s funding round, and 2) the name of the firm writing the check. This finding challenges the conventional wisdom that larger investments from more prestigious investors automatically translate into increased press appeal.

3.) Expect Positive Sentiment: 90+% of all stories about Series A companies in this analysis were “positive” or “very positive” sentiment.

4.) Don’t Expect Top Tier Coverage: In our analysis, no Series A company secured coverage from a Top Tier outlet (ex: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, etc) at any point during their life to-date. It does happen, but it is exceedingly rare.

Q: How Many Articles Should I Expect About My Fundraise?

In planning your press engagement for a Series A fundraise, setting realistic expectations is key. I've compiled a table showing how often the 45 companies in our analysis secured articles in various publication tiers —details on these tiers can be found in the “Fine Print” section.

It's common for companies to get at least one article in Lower Tier publications, with 91% succeeding. However, securing coverage in Upper Tier outlets is less guaranteed. Only around half (49%) of Series A companies manage to get at least one article in these more prestigious outlets.

Securing coverage in multiple Upper Tier outlets for your fundraise is rarer still. According to the table, only 9% of companies saw their fundraising news picked up by two or more Upper Tier publications. This rarity is the result of fierce competition among news organizations. Typically, when a company's announcement is covered by one Upper Tier publication, it diminishes interest from competing outlets. However, as your company (hopefully) grows and becomes more established, this dynamic may shift.

Note: The stats for the Mid Tier might be deceptively low. Two reasons 1.) It is possible a company might categorize certain publications as “Mid” that I’ve qualified as “Low” in my standard framework. 2.) I also think companies have a tendency to become so focused on Top and Upper Tier outlets that they overlook the power of Mid tier options. More on that later in this article.

What Goals Should I Set For This Announcement?

My standard goal framework uses three categories: base case, target goal and stretch goal. Let’s break those down.

Base Case: This level-sets the foundation, based on what the data tells us similar companies achieve at least 50% of the time. And let’s be honest, I don’t know a single ambitious founder who’d be satisfied with merely achieving the base case. But, so that we’re all grounded in the reality of what data says, the base case for a Series A fundraise announcement would be:

Top, Lower, Mid Tiers: 0 articles
Lower Tier: 3 articles (66% occurrence rate)

Target Goal: Here, we aim higher while remaining grounded in data. The goal is intended to be ambitious but realistic. I’d propose something like:

Upper Tier: 1 article, (49% occurrence rate)
Mid Tier: 1 article (35% occurrence rate, but see note above)
Lower Tier: 4 articles (42% occurrence rate)

Stretch Goal: This is where ambition meets aspiration. Can you defy the odds and deliver truly extraordinary results? Encourage your teams to give it the best shot they can. Goals could be:

Top Tier: 1 article (0% occurrence rate)
Upper Tier: 2 articles (9% occurrence rate)
Mid Tier: 3 articles (4% occurrence rate, but see note above)

Let’s Talk About Sentiment Goals: Our analysis indicates that the vast majority of Series A companies—over 90%—can anticipate coverage of their fundraising to carry a 'Positive' or 'Very Positive' sentiment across all media tiers. However, Founders should be mindful that this can vary, particularly if your company has recently been involved in controversial matters or experienced fluctuating sentiment. In such cases, it's crucial to work with your Communications pros to set realistic expectations and develop a strategy to effectively manage your media narrative.

Which Journalists Should I Target?

Below is a table showing the journalists at Upper Tier publications who were most prolific in our analysis. I’m also sharing their range of sentiment scores for the fundraising stories we analyzed (all of which were quite high).

Before you start reaching out to these folks, a big word of caution: Some of these names may be relevant for you, but many will not. Reporters are assigned to one or more specific beats, such as “Startups in Africa” or “AI technology,” where they build deep expertise and a network of reliable sources. They seldom venture too far from those topics. Our subscribers who are Comms pros already know this, but Founders and other execs may not.

I also examined Mid Tier reporters, but no single journalist had more than 2% share of all coverage in that category, so there isn’t great targeting guidance to share. If you have specific questions about your company, reach out.

Do’s and Don’ts for Gaining Upper Tier Media Coverage

Do - Build Profile Earlier/Often With Mid Tier Outlets: There's a small positive correlation between the frequency of articles in Mid Tier outlets prior to announcing your Series A and securing Upper Tier coverage about your fundraise. This indicates that building your company's profile in Mid Tier publications early and consistently can slightly boost the likelihood of making it into more prestigious outlets later on. Let’s look at that visually:

Similar to the old adage that the 'best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago and the second-best time is now,' the ideal time to start building your media presence is in the early stages of your company. And if you haven’t already embarked on this crucial journey, my message is clear: start now! Proactively share your news at least in Mid Tier outlets as early and often as possible, laying the groundwork today for the media success of tomorrow.

Do - Go Exclusive: Comms pros can skip this paragraph, but many founders and other leaders might not know this: To land Upper Tier story you’ll almost certainly need to offer this news to your target reporter exclusively. An exclusive is a verbal agreement that gives that journalist the right to publish your news first. This is a critical carrot to secure their interest. But don’t worry, the term “exclusive” is somewhat of a misnomer (it’d be more accurately called “first run”). After their initial story is published, you're free to pitch your news to other outlets, allowing for broader coverage post the 'exclusive' release.

Don’t - Forget the Visuals: Although not directly supported by data, my observation is that eye-catching visuals related to the positive impact of your business attracts more attention from Upper and Mid Tier publications. A really compelling image showing the customer benefit of your business can make a huge difference, even more so if you happen to be an industry as splashy as rockets, drones or flying cars. I’d also try to make it look as authentic as possible, vs. an overly-polished marketing-style image. Those don’t work as well for news outlets.

Remember, press outlets are looking for clicks too; engaging visuals can significantly boost your appeal to them. I'm always amazed by how often companies spend hours perfecting their announcement's wording, only to pair it with boring glossy images – I've been guilty of this myself. Never underestimate the power of compelling visuals in your storytelling!

Do - Prioritize Efficiency in Pursuing Stretch Goals: When it comes to fundraising, way too many founders and Comms teams exhaust too much time and effort chasing low-odds goals. By all means shoot for the stars, but don’t linger if it isn’t coming together. My rule of thumb = you'll typically know within the first 48-72 hours of pitching if landing in a top-tier outlet is possible. Don't overextend beyond that. Move on and focus on high ROI activities with higher occurrence rates.

Don’t - Overlook The Mid Tier: The Mid Tier is your goldmine. Encourage your team to rack up wins here. My hypothesis is that occurrence rates in the analysis are artificially low because companies often overlook this tier, not because there isn’t interest. These outlets are inclined toward favorable sentiment and definitely more accessible than Upper and Top Tier media. The results often show up nicely in Google as well. They might not produce the prestigious article you’ll frame above the mantle, but they are good for your business. A few additional thoughts in this tier:

Trade publications: Your customers, partners and investors are often reading these outlets. And they tend to have highly favorable sentiment.
Local Business Publications: These outlets exist to champion local businesses (especially outside the Bay Area and NYC).
Local News Outlets Likely Aren’t Interested: Local news outlets likely aren't interested in covering a fundraise, including your local daily newspapers, TV stations, and radio. It just isn’t their thing. Its fine to send them the announcement, but don’t spin wheels here. Nor do I think the ROI is high.

Don’t - Over-Invest Time and Resources in Lower Tier Outlets: Coverage from Lower Tier media often follows or is influenced by your press release/blog and coverage in more prominent outlets. By setting the agenda in Mid and Upper Tier publications will be your most powerful levers to naturally generate interest from the Lower Tier.

Do - Maximize Timing Flexibility For Reporters: In the world of media relations, timing can be your secret weapon, especially when aiming to land stories in Upper or Top Tier publications about your fundraise. Journalists at major outlets are perpetually busy. Moreover, they operate in a dynamic news environment where any announcement might suddenly be bumped by more urgent news. And that’s increasingly true as layoffs have made journalists do more with fewer resources. To maximize the chances of securing that coveted Top and Upper Tier coverage, it's crucial to accommodate journalists' schedules. So rather than imposing a rigid timeline, like insisting on a story being published by next Tuesday, offer them flexibility. I often counsel clients to consider a multi-week window for a pitch. That level of flexibility might not always be feasible, but it significantly enhances the likelihood of your story being picked up in a more prestigious outlet.

The Bottom Line:

Navigating media for Series A fundraising announcements is more of a strategic journey than a tactical walk. Yes, almost every founder I advise covets getting their story in the Top Tier press outlets. And I would too! But longstanding opacity regarding the low odds has led to disappointment and friction between Founders and the Comms teams that support them. Hopefully this will start to shift that dynamic.

Thankfully, there is some really good news: Upper Tier and Mid Tier outlets are absolutely within reach and can significantly propel your company’s reputation forward at this stage. Starting early helps, as do killer visuals.

I'm here for a chat whenever you're ready to dive deeper or just want to bounce around ideas. Send an email or give me a call.

The Fine Print: Methodology and Background

Scope: Evaluated all available press coverage of companies announcing fundraising (Series A to E) in October 2023. Source = Crunchbase

Total Articles Analyzed: 1,370 (Series A - E). 622 specific to Series A.

Data Source: All articles were sourced from Google News, focusing on the first 5 pages for each company (10 articles per page). Note: In a small number of instances, companies had more than 5 pages of coverage on Google News. However, these were mostly incidental mentions and not material to this analysis.

Coverage Period: Articles from June 2014 thru October 2023 were included (with the overwhelming majority between 2018 and Oct 2023)

Methodology: Used GPT4.5 to analyze each article across proprietary mix of 11 unique attributes for each business, and 20 unique attributes for each article.

Exclusions: Coverage does not include TV, radio, podcasts, or other non-text-based media due to cost and time constraints, nor does it include non-English language coverage or newsletters. These may be considered for future analyses.

Inclusions: Press releases and self-generated articles appearing in Google News are part of the analysis.

Press Outlet Tiering
Here is the press release tiering used for this analysis. Apologies in advance to anybody who feels a particular outlet was not properly tiered (feel free to email me if you'd like to discuss). This tiering system will get honed over time.

Top Tier: BBC News, Financial Times, Harvard Business Review (HBR), New York Times, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.

Upper Tier: ABC News (national), Al Jazeera English, Axios, Barron’s, Bloomberg, Business Week, BuzzFeed News, CBS News (national), Chicago Tribune, CNBC, CNN, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, Fox Business, Fox News, Good Morning America, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, NBC News (national), National Public Radio (NPR), New York Magazine, Newsweek Politico, ProPublica, Puck, Quartz, Reuters, Semafor, TechCrunch, The Associated Press (AP), The Atlantic, The Economist, The Hill, The Information, The Nation, The New Yorker, The Telegraph, The Today Show, TIME Magazine, USA Today, Vox, Wired,

Mid Tier: Ars Technica, Bustle, Cheddar, CNET, CleanTechnica, Digital Trends, Engadget, GeekWire, Gizmodo, Huffington Post, IndieWire, Lifehacker, MarketWatch, Mashable, Mother Jones, New York Post, Rolling Stone, Salon, Slate, The Daily Beast, The Verge, VentureBeat, Vice News, Yahoo, Yahoo News, and ZDNet, High-quality trade publications relevant to each company, Other publications of particular influence to early-stage venture-backed companies; High quality local market publications specifically relevant to each company.

Low Tier: Any outlet not mentioned in other tiers, including press release wire services and other self generated content. For this analysis, 266 unique outlets had stories in this tier.