Slides by Alice Bo Killemose, Head of Communications and Community at PreSeed Ventures

1. What’s the story
morning glory?
P
S
V
PreSeed Ventures 2021

2. PreSeed Ventures
Being a founder is the perfect training
for doing PR
PR strategy beyond funding
o You Pitch your story ALL the time
o You are used to rejections
o You always need to know your audience
o Your choice to do your own thing is already a unique
story
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3. PreSeed Ventures
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The challenge
PR strategy beyond funding

4. PreSeed Ventures
Head of Communications & Community
Alice Bo Killemose
PR strategy beyond funding
LinkedIn 4
Background Worked with PR alongside
Career
Project Manager, TechBBQ
Co-founder, Brand & Creative
direction, Me & Alice
Founder, Concept & Community
developer, Slæng
Co-founder, The Rabbit Hole
Education
Cand.Soc. Organizational Innovation
& Entrepreneurship, CBS
BSc Business Administration &
organizational communication,CBS

5. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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01
Why good PR doesn’t
begin with funding
02
Know your PR basics
03
Where to get help
Agenda

6. PreSeed Ventures
01 PR strategy
beyond funding
PR strategy beyond funding
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7. PreSeed Ventures
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Funding isn’t your story or PR
strategy
…yet, you can leverage it to create news value
PR strategy beyond funding

8. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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Roccamore

9. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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The strategic narrative
o Don’t let your ego or vanity metrics get the
best of you in PR
o Have a clear strategic purpose for doing PR
and tie it in with your business milestones
o Your purpose, brand story and values
should guide the stories you tell – every
story will just be a different version of the
same core messages
o Think ahead

10. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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What position can you build with PR?

11. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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Lunar

12. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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Radiobotics

13. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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What’s the story morning
glory?
How is this story relevant in a current context:
o Bigger trends
o Case/customer story
o Personal story
o Thought leadership/Unusual story,
example Abzu
o Reports/data/insights
o Disruption (be careful) Example
Seaborg
It is NOT:
o A marketing text
o An investor pitch
o A tech specs list
o An about text
Find your inner click baiter

14. PreSeed Ventures
02 The vital
basics of PR
PR strategy beyond funding
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15. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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Timing
Is the time always right for PR?
Pro’s
o validation/trust
o Brand positioning
o Funding (Investor FOMO)
o Employer branding & Recruiting
Con’s
o Free but time & resource heavy
o No strategic purpose
o Too early/Pivoting/unfinished
product/potential rebranding
HAVE A CLEAR AND DEFINED CALL TO
ACTION FOR YOUR PR
TIP: The story can wait longer than you think

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Exclusive release vs.
wide release
o What does exclusivity mean and when
do you offer it?
o Can you offer exclusivity in several
countries?
o Don’t shot gun your press release
o Do you need a press release
distribution service for a wide release?
(Like Prnewswire)

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The Press release
Do you always need one?
o For a big announcement with a wide
releases YES (helps with alignment of
stakeholders
o Not for an exclusive only story or for a story
on a current/related topic
o For fast-paced online media YES
Specs:
o 1-1,5 pages quite formal and informative
(not too value inflated)
o Add a boilerplate about your company (and
lead investors in funding announcements)
o Qualify the story with data, numbers,
objective experts on the field,
ambassadors with prominent names etc.
o Include quotes from yourself and one or
two core stakeholders (investors, experts,
ambassadors, customers).

18. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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Map your media landscape
Think about which media will match your CTA
and get the story out to the target audience
Prioritise your agendas and messaging for
different types of media:
o Niche media, Example modl.ai
o Tech/startup media
o Business media
o Local media, Example Gomore
o Lifestyle media, Example Nøie
Your strategy guides what is your top tier
media

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Understand your journalist
o Research who writes stories on your topics/domain
o What are they passionate about?
o Participate in events to get on their agenda (Folkemøde,
TechBBQ, Slush etc.)
o Follow their channels & engage (DK Linkedin,
International/Tech Twitter)
o Make a list of a few journalists you want to build relationships
to and give them updates on a regular basis
o Resource: Mike Butcher, Journalist on Techcrunch on getting
press for your startup
https://www.balderton.com/build/getting-press-for-your-
startup-a-masterclass-in-media-relations-with-mike-butcher-
of-techcrunch/

20. PreSeed Ventures
03 Resources &
Help
PR strategy beyond funding
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21. PreSeed Ventures PR strategy beyond funding
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Getting external help – where
& when?
Don’t get an agency on board to early:
o It’s to expensive compared to the value you
get out of it early on.
o Doing it yourself first will build your own
media relation and make you much more
skilled in managing an agency later
Freelancers:
o Copywriters can be a very good idea if you
don’t have in-house communication
competencies and/or need writing skills in
specific languages
o Make sure you get your things proofread
thoroughly
o Working with an external communication
and PR freelancer can be a great solution
before you hire your own resources or as a
supplement to a junior
o ASK your network for references

22. PreSeed Ventures
What should you expect of an investor?
PR strategy beyond funding
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o Annoying answer: It varies a lot
o As a minimum they should be able to help you with
recommendations for who to work with if they can’t help you
o If they help it will often be centred around the funding
announcement
o At PreSeed Ventures I:
o Help shape and scope the strategy & story
o Guide founders through their own process (define CTA,
writing press release, pitch, create medialist etc.)
o When needed pitch the story to journalists
o Act as sparring partner on branding, potential PR
stories after the first funding announcement, selection
of agencies/freelancers, pitching, network etc.
o Should you let investor do your PR? Listen to your gut feeling.
If you sense the story is not going to be about you or create
value for your strategic goals, don’t be afraid to take matters in
your own hands. BUT manage your investor relations well when
you do PR. There’s often many interests and opinions around
the table.

23. PreSeed Ventures
Resources for your toolbox
PR strategy beyond funding
o Podcast: The how, why and when of PR
https://a16z.com/2017/01/25/public-relations-for-startups-founders/
o Podcast: How to manage a PR agency https://a16z.com/2018/09/27/how-
to-manage-a-pr-agency/
o How to get press for your startup
https://www.balderton.com/build/getting-press-for-your-startup-a-
masterclass-in-media-relations-with-mike-butcher-of-techcrunch/
o How to tell stories about your startup
https://www.slideshare.net/mikebutcher/how-to-tell-stories-about-your-
startup-beyond-funding
o Ask Media Anything, PR & Pitching,
https://www.bamtheagency.com/blog/2020/11/19/pr-ask-media-
anything-recap-0
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