Above the code microsoft accelerator : herzliya

ABOVE THE CODE™

Herzliya, Israel July 1, 2012

Hacking Your Startup’s PR and Communications Initiatives

To Get You Above The Code™

OUR STARTUP IS NOT READY FOR THIS...

•What is a PR person doing in the room?

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

• I work a lot and want to have a life

• I don’t have time for this... thinking about PR could wind up being a distraction

ABOUT

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

•San Antonio & Tel Aviv

•Works with Jeff Pulver on State of NOW -#140Conf

• 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.

GETTING LUCKY...

•Belief set about getting lucky with....

•PR

•Social

•Content

ALIGNING BUSINESS GOALS WITH COMMUNICATIONS

•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 in September

•prepare your company for being discovered

•be ready when you are found by the media

2 PARTS TO PRESENTATION

•Principles and belief sets for the long run

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

THE MEDIA IS YOUR FIRST

MARKETto share and tell your story

you

bloggers

analysts

media

the consumer

The Media is Your Customer....

theenterprise

&

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 New York, Austin, Chicago, SFO, Singapore, Haifa, 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, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, AT&T, 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 SchoolArmy Service

Year Off for TravelGo to College / University

Summer JobGo to Work

THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

•Hardware

•Software

•Telecom

•Security

•Bio Sciences

•Medical Devices

High SchoolStart-Up

ArmyStart-Up

College / UniversityStart-Up

Travel YearWork

StartupQuit Day Job

Startup

Outbound / Inbound Strategy

Outreach to media

Being found by the media

pick me

find me

PR in the past.....

company agency

media

analysts

company

bloggers

The more that software eats the world, the role of story telling

and connecting the dots for your global customer / partner base becomes increasingly important

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....

•Creates and makes 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

•Consider aligning with other startups like yours to create a multinational startup

#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 ________

•We 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....

•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

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” via email and Skype

•Happy to spend one hour with each company after July 15 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/

read again...:)

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.

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

please share:)

ABOVE THE CODE™

thank you

alan@weinkrantz.com

www.alanweinkrantz.com

Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. Instagram. all photos by me

© Alan Weinkrantz And Company 2012 Above The Code ™