The first priority when starting a new firm is to build up the roster, hire the core team, establish the processes and get some reference campaigns. You can’t build a business by saying ‘no’. So you’re not too concerned about your ‘target client’.
But saying ‘yes’ all the time is dangerous. You have to be selective about which clients to take on. Beyond all the basic lead qualification, you need to build confidence and find what the team is uniquely good at. “Firms are defined as much as by what they say ‘no’ to, as by what they do,” a friend once told me. And he should know having built and sold three agencies.
The decision to work with tech startups was easy. You can’t beat the entrepreneurialism, energy, innovation and pace of working with early stage companies. Plus it’s a time when marketers can have a big impact on success.
Deep tech startups
Within startups though, one area we’re honing our skills with is deep tech firms, who I’m affectionately calling ‘Nerd Companies’. These are the database, big data analytics, container management, microservices, open source, devops, agile startups. Why? Because you need domain expertise, tech understanding, and they are hard to market. Not everyone ‘gets it’ (a phrase I rather hate but is applicable here) so competition is lighter yet demand is great.
There just aren’t many marketing agencies which can help deep tech startups. The Big PR model of having lots of junior staff means they don’t have the domain expertise or context for why some firms in this space are significant. That’s not a criticism, but their teams haven’t seen the sweep of technologies blossom and fade – why some succeed, while others falter. That’s important to all tech clients, but especially nerd companies.
At the same time, deep tech companies can have a huge impact on the IT sector, and broader verticals. We want to market companies which are making a difference. Not incremental 1-5x companies but the order of magnitude improvements. Those are the ones which enable new use cases, capabilities and behaviors. They might struggle with adoption (which is where we come in) but their customers are huge advocates, their staff work with passion and industry insiders respect them.
Saying a bigger yes
Having made the decision that ‘nerd companies’ are a key client target has helped us filter the opportunities we are getting. It makes it easier to say no to some prospects, so we can say a bigger yes to others. Or frankly, so we can just focus on doing a great job for the clients we have, rather than chasing every startup which looks in our direction.
When we started, I didn’t have a clear idea of our target clients. It was the right question at the wrong time. But now we have an answer in deep tech startups. They are by no means the only ones we are working with – but it’s a great foundation.
About the Author
Morgan McLintic is the founder and CEO of startup marketing agency,Firebrand. Firebrand works with early- and late-stage startups to help raise awareness and drive demand. It does this through integrated programs involving PR, content marketing and digital marketing. The firm was recently recognized as the Boutique Agency of the Year by the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) and awarded Gold Winner of theB2B PR Campaign of the Year by The Drum. Firebrand works with startups in sectors spanning fintech, cybersecurity, AI/ML and infrastructure such as Emburse, Human Interest, Planful, Weaviate and Yubico.
Prior to Firebrand, Morgan was the founder in the US of LEWIS, a global communications firm, which grew to $35m in revenues and 200+ staff in the US, and $75m with 600 staff globally. He has over 30 years' tech experience, both consumer and B2B. At LEWIS, Morgan lead the acquisition of three companies - Page One which was integrated and rebranded as LEWIS Pulse; the Davies Murphy Group, a 65-person PR and marketing consultancy; and Piston, a 50-person full-service digital advertising agency.
Morgan has been a speaker at events for AlwaysOn, Holmes Report, MIT / Stanford VLABs, OnHollywood, PR News, PRSA, Social Media Club, Social Media World Forum, Venture Capital and Private Equity Group, and WITI. PRWEEK named him to its Global PR Powerbook in 2015 and 2016.
Morgan is the host of weekly startup marketing podcast, FiredUp!
