In today’s highly competitive tech industry, it’s just not enough to have a great idea or a winning design concept – one needs to have the resources to turn that spark of creativity into a thriving company. Established entrepreneurs understand the need to weigh the costs and benefits associated with adopting different financial strategies like bootstrapping to keep overhead costs down versus taking on investment funding from angels or venture capital (VC) firms. While there are advantages and trade-offs to both models, generally speaking, companies with a larger working capital may have more options and resources at their disposal to invest in product development, attracting top talent, and making a larger PR splash.

We at Communiqué have extensive experience working with clients of all shapes and sizes, from Facebook Engineering in Seattle, Alaska Airlines, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Smartsheet to companies carving out entirely new markets like Spaceflight and AnswerDash. For our portfolio of clients who work with VC firms, building strong relationships with the communications contact within these firms is of paramount importance to help align PR strategies, compare media notes and collaborate on what has worked traditionally to help get the word out.

Throughout my years as a communications professional, journalist and marketing executive, I’ve had the pleasure of working with prominent VC’s from Manhattan to Sand Hill Road including Warburg Pincus, Mayfield, Madrona, Cascadia Capital, Ignition, Emergence Capital, Canaan Partners, Storm Ventures and many more. My experiences have never been short of spectacular since these firms typically go the extra mile to help mentor emerging companies and navigate them toward maturation and successful exit.

Recently Communiqué had a representative from one of Seattle’s most prominent VC firms Madrona Venture Group into our office for a brown bag lunch and general discussion about how the investment process works and the best ways for us as an agency to partner with them on behalf of their portfolio companies. PR agencies and VC firms have common goals – both desire to promote their clients through driving just the right media attention that highlights value proposition, customers and differentiation that can, in turn, positively influence perception and company valuation.

VC should also be thought of as trusted advisors and in some cases, as clients themselves since they often have a vested interest in the ongoing success of their portfolio companies as shareholders of the companies they represent. The communications contacts within VC firms often have a great collection of stories, advice and personal relationships with journalists that they can help leverage across their companies. In short, they want companies to succeed so there’s a clear incentive for PR professionals, VCs, agencies and internal communications teams to collaborate and help build a company’s brand.

As an entrepreneur, be sure to help foster and encourage these relationships since it allows your company to tap into the years of collective experiences. After all, this approach furthers our philosophy as a leading tech PR agency in Seattle – that together we can achieve great things on behalf of our clients through demonstrating industry knowledge, having the right connections and implementing PR strategies that truly make an impact.