When Press Relations is Relevant to Achieve Product-Market Fit

by Akarsh Dhaiya

The concept has been defined differently over the years.

For Andy Rachleff, the venture capitalist that introduced the concept, it’s the secret ingredient that will ensure a startup’s success. “You can screw up almost everything in the company and you will [still] succeed,” he said. Netscape founder Marc Andreessen referred to it as the “only thing that should matter” to startups. Some have even called it the “startup nirvana.”

Product-market fit is one of the business concepts introduced by the startup community as the small guys tried to solve market problems that were seemingly unaddressed by those in the big leagues. It’s when a startup has found a great market for its great product, a reality that most have struggled to achieve. The concept has since helped startups better understand their deficiencies and strengths as they reach business achievements.

In the third episode of my podcast, The European VC Journal, Antler partners Youri Doeleman and Bastiaan Meijer shared some tips on how companies could better attain this startup nirvana. Antler is the newest early-stage startup accelerator to enter Amsterdam, after dominating Singapore in the past year. In 2018, it helped create 13 high-value startups in Southeast Asia’s business hub, including Indones ia-based Sampingan, an online job marketplace.

One of the topics Doeleman and Meijer discussed is the value of press commentary in the early days of a startup. Most may easily clinch on getting published in leading media publications, thinking free publicity never hurt anybody. After all, the press has long been an effective platform to generate interest in products and businesses.

Jumping the gun

But Doeleman, who has had previous experience in getting published early on as he started a new venture, learned too late how getting the word out on a business can be a double-edged sword.

In 2012, he, along with some friends founded a subscription box business specializing in farm goods. Streekbox, Doeleman shared, was the first to introduce the “farm-to-table” concept in Amsterdam as it helped consumers enjoy fresh harvests from farmers delivered straight to their doorsteps. As the startup was in beta launch, Doeleman did an interview with one publication that quickly spread like wildfire. Suddenly, subscription requests flooded the business’ inbox. It was a good kind of problem, but one they weren’t prepared for.

“And right then and there, we knew our product wasn’t fit to the market yet,” he shared.

This kind of episode may help a startup identify early what screws need to be tightened or parts that have to be replaced to get their operations to run like a well-oiled machine. But it shows how, without the proper system, team or product in place, getting the word out about a business, a little too early could easily compromise and even kill a startup’s chances. Especially in the highly competitive market for such apps and platforms, first experiences often make or break a new product or service.

And at times not best

In other cases though, Meijer says, a startup may not need to employ the strategy ever, especially when they deal with a niche market.

“If you’re introducing a software that helps programmers become more efficient, for example, your business may create more impact in forums and platforms that your potential market uses like Github in this case,” Meijer said. “You may use it for free, and up to a million people can quickly check the product. You’ve achieved the impact you long for without spending a dime.”

Done effectively, press relations is one of the best ways to introduce an innovative idea to a potential market who may not know they need a solution for a specific problem. It’s also a good springboard to build credibility. One well-crafted piece in a publication that industry stakeholders read, could help startups land talks and calls with potential partners and collaborators. It could be the bridge that one needs to build connections not just with the market, but with investors too.

After all, in today’s media, nothing captures the imagination of the public more than a good story. Package your product with a good company narrative and it’s bound to be a hit.

Akarsh Dhaiya has an MBA from INSEAD and is a Managing Partner of investment banking firm Rocket Equities — listen to him unpack the VC and startup world at the European VC Journal (apple.co/2Izu3uD).