Want to Attract Investors? Invest in Good PR: Irina Proskurina on PR as a Fundraising Booster
Money rules the world, they say, and it may feel true to many young entrepreneurs. No matter how good your business idea or startup technology is or how great of a team you’ve gathered, sometimes you just can’t make it work without the help of investors’ money.
It’s no secret that pitching to investors is a challenge. There’s high competition, limited pitching time, and multiple boxes to check in order to obtain the much-desired positive answer. One of these boxes is brand credibility — a factor many investors closely consider before agreeing to support a startup. And it’s hardly possible to project brand credibility without a proper PR strategy.
This was the case for AEV Charging — a bold business project with a clear vision and mission. AEV develops reliable charging hardware and software solutions for businesses and homes, delivering energy efficiency and slick designs. The AEV team had a great start but faced difficulty sourcing sufficient funding for further product development and overall brand growth. While the AEV founders kept refining their pitch to potential investors, they felt they were missing something important — the tipping point that would convince investors to give them a definite yes.
This missing piece was brand credibility, along with social proof. In other words, AEV didn’t have enough to show investors when it came to the positive impact of their product thus far. Once we found the root cause, we knew that PR was the best tool to address it. What we did for AEV was:
develop a brand narrative that emphasizes AEV’s innovations and strengths;
create a series of articles about and around AEV based on the brand narrative;
sel ect a number of reputable international tech-centered media outlets and publish the pieces within a strategic time frame.
Once the PR strategy was up and running, the AEV team renewed their pitching attempts, this time including “AEV in Media” as a separate pitch point and/or brand presentation section. The publications made a major difference when it came to the potential investors’ impression of the brand:
they could see the brand had gained public recognition;
they could use the media publications to learn more about AEV and get answers to their questions;
investors associated the brand’s online presence in renowned media with increased brand credibility.
The results didn’t lag behind. Within several months following the last media publication from E-PR, AEV Charging managed to score an impressive grant fr om a private bank. The money was invested in enhancing product quality, improving business processes, and boosting marketing efforts. The PR strategy keeps working for the brand by attracting potential clients and fostering brand trust.
Bottom line: PR is a solid way to build relations with investors at any stage of business growth. It puts your brand on the map and shows potential investors that the public recognizes the value of your product or service.
Source: medium.com
