In 2025, I crossed my 100th startup client. After 17 years in PR and hundreds of founders, CEOs, and C-suite leaders across consumer and B2B tech, I’ve seen the same mistake at every stage. It’s time to talk about it.
Launching a product? PR gets called weeks before GA, after the story is locked. But PR belongs in the GTM room early, shaping the narrative before competitors do and before hype outpaces credibility.
Seeing growth? Metrics get hidden instead of amplified. Silence feels safe, but it rarely is. Ongoing PR ensures momentum is translated into trust, demand, and long-term brand value.
Raising capital? PR is considered after the round closes, leaving leverage on the table. Involving PR earlier sharpens the investor narrative and sets up a credible, well-timed announcement.
Different moments. Same mistake. PR is treated as a reaction and not a strategy.
23 reasons startups should have PR right now
(This list is organized by the stage of the company)
Seed Stage: “We need legitimacy.”
Investors and stakeholders increasingly treat media visibility as a legitimacy signal, not just a nice-to-have. According to industry data, pre-Series A startups with consistent press visibility raise 35% more funding than those with no media coverage, underscoring the impact of early external validation on investor confidence and perceived momentum. 
A survey of investor due diligence practices found that 92% of venture capitalists review press coverage when evaluating early-stage companies, meaning startups without media presence risk being overlooked or seen as less credible. 
Companies that delay PR until major milestones often miss the “freshness window” for shaping perception and lose the chance to build narrative momentum when it matters most, resulting in weaker visibility and diluted brand positioning later in their growth journey. 
At the seed stage, you need to focus on your founders, vision, problem framing, POV, and early traction. No one knows or trusts you yet.
Series A: “We need growth and proof.”
Even at Series A, PR isn’t just “nice to have.” It measurably affects growth, trust, and investor confidence.
Startups that invest in media relationships and earned coverage 12–18 months before a Series A raise are shown to be 3× more likely to hit their target funding amount and can see 15–25% higher valuations compared to peers without early PR efforts because they enter the market with established credibility and narrative presence (source).
Favorable media coverage increases brand trust by roughly 35% (source), directly improving buyer confidence and shortening sales cycles. Companies that delay building visibility are more likely to be overlooked in crowded markets, leading to weaker deal flow and slower go-to-market momentum.
At Series A, your PR focus should be on customer stories, category POV, exec visibility, and product credibility. There’s a significant risk for stalling after the first raise, which underscores the need for PR at this stage.
Series B-C: “We need scale and consistency.”
Even as startups scale through Series B and C rounds, strategic PR remains critical to sustained growth, credibility, and market positioning. Consistent media visibility helps companies build brand authority and reinforces customer and investor confidence at a time when scrutiny is rising and competition is fierce.
Research shows that startups with ongoing PR and media engagement that drive third-party recognition are far more likely to remain top of mind with investors, partners, and customers. This is a form of signal bias that venture capitalists and industry decision-makers increasingly use to differentiate crowded fields and surface investment opportunities. 
Startups that delay building these relationships often struggle to gain traction in new markets, lose momentum in hiring and sales conversations, and miss out on credibility signals that reinforce leadership visibility and long-term category relevance.
At this stage, PR should be focused on consistency, scale, credibility, and leadership visibility. You might be dealing with fragmented messaging and rising scrutiny, driving the need for PR.
Series D/Pre-IPO: “We need trust at scale.”
At the Series D and Pre-IPO stage, reputation isn’t just perception; it’s business risk. According to research on investor behavior in public companies, nearly 70% of investors consider media and analyst sentiment when evaluating late-stage and pre-IPO companies. This is because consistent external validation correlates with marketplace trust and perceived governance quality.
Other research shows that firms with established PR and earned media strategies demonstrate up to 30% higher investor engagement and stronger aftermarket valuation performance than peers that delayed narrative and media groundwork, primarily because early visibility builds familiarity and reduces perceived risk at scale.
Companies that postpone PR until late in their lifecycle often face steeper challenges in shaping long-term narrative, aligning internal and external communications, and managing heightened scrutiny from regulators, customers, and analysts.
Typically by pre-IPO or Series D, PR’s focus is on reputation management, consistency, governance, and long-term brand equity. This is when your reputation risk becomes business risk, making PR imperative.
As I’ve said, I’ve seen the same mistake over and over: PR is treated as something you turn on when you’re already under pressure. A launch is coming. Growth is slowing. A round is closing. Scrutiny is rising.
Then PR gets the call.
But PR doesn’t work on demand. It compounds. The companies that scale well don’t wait until they “need” PR. They build it early, use it consistently, and let credibility, relationships, and trust accumulate over time. Once you need PR urgently, you’ve already lost leverage.
Waiting isn’t neutral. It lets competitors define the narrative, investors meet you without context, and sales fight skepticism that didn’t have to exist. Your story forms either way — the only question is whether you shaped it.
For all of the execs out there waiting until the last minute to loop in PR support, or until you “need” PR, you’re already reacting instead of leading.
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