Communications as a VC weapon
Venture capital (VC) firms increasingly see communications as a way to help their investments stand out from the competition.
Why it matters: Telling a good story — instead of buying one through ads — can be a cost-effective move in a rough economy.
State of play: When pencils are up, communications can be a smart tool to grow your business, says Allison Braley, Bain Capital Ventures’ first marketing partner.
- “You’re not going to see companies spend a lot of money on paid ads. Instead, you will see startups turning to their VCs and saying, how can you help me grow without spending as much? And that’s where having a truly excellent comms function at the VC level can help,” Braley told Axios.
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-Feeding the founder narrative
Elizabeth Holmes was going to “empower people everywhere to live their best possible lives”; Adam Neumann wanted to “elevate the world’s consciousness”; and Sam Bankman-Fried was the poster child for effective altruism.
Why it matters: Communicators must control the message and ensure it doesn’t detach from the reality of the business.
Be smart: NYU marketing professor Scott Galloway refers to this lofty storytelling as yogababble, or “a way to smear Vaseline over the lens of truth to make a company, brand or product appear more compelling.”
Between the lines: We’ve seen how aspirational messaging paired with celebrity partnerships and strategically placed media profiles can lead to huge fundraising rounds and valuations.
- Owned mediais another way VC firms and tech companies use to fuel the founder’s narrative.
- Like the glowing profile Sequoia commissioned on behalf of Bankman-Fried, which “strained the boundaries of journalistic propriety and perfectly illustrated the dangers of a relatively new Silicon Valley trend,” writesBloomberg’s Brad Stone. (The profile has since been removed, but you can still read it )
The bottom line: It’s a communicators job to keep the narrative — and founder — in check, because as Ben Thompson writes in Stratechery, “Narratives can lead people astray.”
-Freelancer frenzy
Highly skilled workers are being laid off in droves, but there’s still a major demand for marketing and communications talent — just maybe not as full-time employees.
Why it matters: Many startups, VCs and agencies are scouring for communication consultants, and the opportunities are ripe for those looking for flexible, lucrative work.
- According to Digiday, 71% of in-house marketers and 68% of agencies are hiring freelancers to fill content needs.
What they’re saying: “I have consultants on speed dial that I will refer to our portfolio companies and while they can cost a lot, they’re often really good at the job,” says Birch.
- “We want strategic doers,” says Wilkins, “Somebody who understands the bigger picture, can be a thought partner and ask the hard questions, but can also tell a story and get people to care, because at the early stage, your story is all you have.”
Zoom in: The PR industry is becoming less territorial, making freelance and consulting work more viable.
- “Freelancers understand there’s plenty of work to go around,” says Michelle Garrett, who has been working independently for 20 years. “Referrals are worth their weight in gold and without the support of other freelancers, it would be really hard to do what I do.”
- Garrett hosts a weekly #FreelanceChat on Twitter to cultivate community and discuss freelance tactics. “We bring in experts and cover topics that impact our businesses. This week, we’re having an accountant on to answer end of the year financial questions.”
- Mixing Board, founded by Sean Garrett in 2020, is another place comms pros are collaborating. The group of 200 professionals — from startups to the White House — gather to discuss trends, provide mentorship and source talent for senior level full-time and freelance work. (Disclaimer: I’m a Mixing Board member).
The big picture: The turbulent economy and COVID-19 pandemic pushed many workers — particularly female caregivers — out of traditional roles and into consulting gigs.
- “The old school thinking is that a full-time job working for someone else is more secure, but I believe spreading your fortunes across multiple clients is more secure,” Garrett told Axios. “The way we work is changing, and if talented professionals can’t find the job or environment they want, they can go out and create it for themselves.”
- Freelancing contributes $1.3 trillionof the U.S. economy — up $100 million from 2020 — and a majority of hiring managers plan to increase the use of independent talent over the next six to 24 months, according to an Upwork survey.
What we’re watching: “There’s been an influx of amazing comms talent entering the market, and the irony is that so many will end up consulting for the same companies that just fired their in-house shops,” says Wilkins.
-Communicator Spotlight: Elisa Schreiber, Greylock Partners
Elisa Schreiber spent her career as a startup operator and never could’ve predicted she would end up in venture capital.
Why it matters: Now, she runs marketing and communications for Greylock Partners and supports firm-backed entrepreneurs and portfolio companies like Discord, Rubrik, Airbnb, Coinbase and Roblox.
How she got here: Schreiber previously led marketing for the producers of Live 8 — the first live music festival to stream at scale — and helped produce the first TEDx. Most recently, she led global communications for Hulu.
- “I’ll never forget the day that Hulu surpassed one million subscribers,” she says. ‘The entire team huddled around a digital ticker and waited for the moment. The cheering was deafening!”
Trend spot: She has an eye on meme culture.
- “It’s the most defining characteristic of modern communications. It will be fascinating to look back and assess the impact meme culture had on societal interactions.”
Navigating a bad news cycle: “Very rarely are companies caught completely off guard by a tough story, so one lesson is: be prepared.”
- It’s also important to be as empathetic and transparent as possible in your communications, she says.
- “And perhaps the most important lesson: never lie. Credibility is the only thing that matters.”
De-stress routine: Exercise with Caroline Girvan’s YouTube workouts or walking her dog.
Media diet: “I try to start my day with a win, so I usually play Wordle with my morning coffee.”
- On Sundays, she reads a hard copy of The New York Times. “You can’t rely on an algorithm to keep you up to date,” she says.
- After work hours, she’s binging “The Crown” or reading “The Widow Cliquot” by Tilar J Mazzeo.
Most-used app: “Twitter, by a lot.”
Influenced by: VC personalities Hunter Walk and Nicole DeTomasso and on the brand side, she loves how Steak-Umm uses social media to comment on news of the day.
Words of wisdom: “Make decisions that reflect your personal core values, and you’ll never make a wrong choice.”
Πηγή: axios.com
