If only more people knew about my product…. Sounds familiar? If it does, it is probably because media exposure is one of startup founders’ steepest hills. Having put heart and skill into your product or service you firmly believe in, you are convinced that all it would take is for news of that product to spread. But often there is a huge disconnect between the way founders imagine the media world and the way it actually operates resulting in frustration on both ends. Having faced these challenges head on from day one, the team of inventures is happy to announce the start of our Media Academy.
The Issue:
Today, the media has fewer resources to cover new and exciting topics such as the startup scene.
Currently the biggest problem is the disconnect between entrepreneurs and the media. In theory, it is all quite simple – entrepreneurs need media exposure while the media want heroic stories – anything from Felix Baumgartner jumping off the edge of space to the leap of fate you took turning your idea into reality. There are stories all around us and often it is as simple as finding the rightangle.
In reality, however, more and more entrepreneurs come from technical and research backgrounds, and they often lack the skills to present and communicate their innovations, products and businesses in a media-friendly way. On the other hand, the media have had their business model challenged resulting in fewer resources to cover new and exciting topics such as the startup scene. The result: contrary to logic, while the two do need each other, there are few entrepreneurs with the skills to attract media coverage on one end, and a lowered capacity to provide said coverage on the other.
The Solution:
Despair not, for we have thought about it long and hard. In our two years of working with both, startups and media, we at inventures have learned that while there are many tools and services to provide media coverage, there are also some basic steps that most people fail to learn and use in their daily business.
We feel that by providing some general knowledge and tools, and by opening up the conversation about the startups and media, we can help entrepreneurs and journalists make better sense of each other. Our ultimate aim is to bridge the increasing divide between the media and the startup scene through our media academy.
What is the inventures Media Academy:
inventures will publish stories in collaboration with leading media houses, outlining key opportunities and challenges in attracting media attention.
While you may not be receiving a certified diploma at the end of this one, we are launching a series of articles focusing on providing you with basic knowledge about working with media. You would be surprised how much of it is simple and makes perfect sense, but you somehow never stopped to think about it. And we get it – running a startup is a 24/7 task and any help is welcome. So to help out, we will be publishing stories in collaboration with leading media houses, outlining the key opportunities and challenges in attracting media attention.
Giving you further insides, we will make our growing database publicly available, with the aim to provide background to our stories. For those who prefer the more hands-on approach, we will offer media workshops to startups and incubators. Going even further, we will make our tools and resources available to anyone who is interested improving their media presence. We are very excited about working with all of you on the topic and look forward to your support and input on our quest.
Stay tuned for another edition from our series!
The inventures team
