There has always been a debate in the world of tech startups about whether courting and taking money from VC is the optimal way to grow an early-stage tech startup.

Many tech startup founders who have eschewed VC investors say the capital injection comes at the cost of too much equity, ceding 100% control over the business, and a constant search for funds for the next round. They also say it forces them to take their eyes off the ball from a company management perspective. 

However your startup falls on that spectrum, the reality is that VCs have executed a near-historic draw down over the past two years – with the obvious exception of AI funding. 

Swyft’s advice to early stage startups is: Don’t wait for VCs to save you. Find ways to promote your startup from every angle possible, using every tool you can. In that vein, PR is one of those tools you should be using all of the time. It’s highly scalable in reach, helps virtually every stage of the sales funnel, and truly won’t break the bank if you avoid a pricey tech PR agency (hint: they tend to be on the west and east coast).

Here is the quick and easy way to begin promoting your startup with, or without, the help of a tech PR agency:

Leverage Your Story 

Every tech startup has an origin story involving a founder, or team of co-founders. Dig into the whys, hows, whens and wheres about their startup journey and turn it into a compelling story. Include that story on your website and share it with your audiences on various social platforms. Authentic founder stories help make startups memorable and relatable. It also gives media outlets a nice hook for a profile article about your startup by opening with a real world story why the company exists. In the hands of a talented storyteller, this approach can yield more followers, customer inquiries, and media interviews.

Build Relationships with Journalists 

This one is a no-brainer yet few startup founders and their marketing leaders pursue it. Start building relationships with journalists who cover your industry as soon as you launch, even before launch while you’re still piloting with beta customers. Your best bet is to engage with them on social media at first. Start by commenting on their articles and posts. If you have any value-added insights based on your experience, then add them to the conversation. By doing this early and often, you make it easier to get their attention for your future news announcements. You will also have an online relationship that can more easily lead to an in-person meeting at an upcoming industry trade show.

Utilize Social Media Effectively 

Related to the point above, social media is a great tool for amplifying your message to a variety of potential audiences: prospects and customers, investors, influencers, and journalists. By regularly posting updates about your tech startup, you can engage with your audiences, join relevant conversations and build your thought leadership brand. As you build brand awareness, you’ll attract followers and create a halo effect that will drive a stream of leads with higher buyer-intent to your conversion assets.

Create High-Quality Content 

Invest in creating valuable content, such as blog posts, whitepapers, and videos. This not only positions your startup as a thought leader but also provides material for media pitches and social media posts. High-quality content can also improve SEO and drive organic traffic.

Become a Thought Leader 

Use the expertise and reputation of your founders and leading experts to establish them, and your startup, as thought leaders. The best way to do that is to identify media outlets that will accept contributed articles from your experts, then create a list of topics that play to their strengths. Write articles at least monthly to establish a consistent cadence of publications. The benefits are huge over time: greater brand awareness, higher performing SEO, and sales-funnel friendly sharable content. 

Monitor and Measure Your Efforts 

Perhaps this goes without saying, but you should regularly track the success of your PR campaigns. Use analytics tools (Google Analytics is fine) to measure website traffic impacted by articles, media mentions, and social media engagement. Analyzing this data helps refine your strategies and ensures you’re maximizing your PR efforts for the best results.

By implementing these PR strategies, your tech startup can build a strong brand presence, attract customers, and grow independently of VC funding. Be careful what you ask for….If you can successfully grow without the VCs, they will suddenly seek you out and throw money at you.

About Sarah Gagliardi: Sarah is a Content Writer for Swyft, a tech PR agency in Austin and a top digital marketing and PR firm in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft recently opened a satellite office where it offers tech PR in San Francisco. Swyft was also listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.