Choosing a Startup PR Agency
Vet PR agencies on month-one behavior, writing samples, and lead time — not on big-brand logos.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
Founders assume bigger, well-known agencies are better, but those firms are built for reactive, message-controlled work with household brands — the opposite of scrappy, fast startup PR. Gerber gives buyers concrete diagnostics to evaluate agencies, plus realistic lead-time and budget benchmarks so the engagement is scoped correctly.
Origin
Emilie Gerber, founder of Six Eastern, speaking candidly (including her own transparent pricing) about how founders should evaluate agencies.
Core principles
- 01Big-brand logos signal reactive, message-heavy work ill-suited to startups
- 02How an agency spends month one predicts whether you're paying for ramp-up or results
- 03An agency's own writing samples reveal whether they'll produce jargon or clarity
- 04Optimize timing around the right reporter's availability, not a self-imposed date
How to run it
- 1
Look past the logos to the working style
Prefer agencies that experiment, move fast, and start pitching quickly over those known for controlling messaging for household brands.
Watch out Big client logos don't mean they know how to work with tiny companies — often the reverse.
- 2
Interrogate month one and ask for writing samples
Ask exactly what the first month looks like — if it's all intake calls and a three-month ramp, that's paid ramp-up. Ask for recent blogs/releases and read them for jargon; ask to meet the actual day-to-day team.
Pro tip Requesting recent writing samples is trivially easy and instantly reveals how they'll represent you.
Watch out Skip agencies that demand an extensive RFP with lots of free upfront work — the best players won't participate, so you weed them out.
- 3
Set lead time and budget realistically
Kick off ~6 weeks before an announcement (blog, media training, outreach, investor quotes, images all take time). Budget: boutique agencies from ~$10K/month (Gerber's start at $15K, typical for Series A), rarely beyond $30K unless global; a one-off single story roughly $10-20K, or ~$8K via a consultant.
Pro tip Don't lock a firm announcement date — optimize for when your first-choice reporter can cover it; the right reporter drives more than announcing four days sooner.
Watch out Companies that rigidly hold a set date have issued big news to zero coverage; leave the agency flexibility on timing.
In the wild
Gerber has seen companies fixed on a specific announcement day issue a press release for big news and get no coverage because they wouldn't flex to reporter availability.
→ The lesson: reporter timing beats calendar timing for actual coverage.
Common mistakes
Assuming bigger agencies are better
Large firms optimized for household brands are reactive and message-controlled — the opposite of the scrappy, fast experimentation startup PR needs.
Running an extensive RFP
Demanding lots of free upfront work drives away the best agencies, leaving you to choose among the weaker ones willing to do it.
Is it for you?
Best for
Startup founders deciding whether and which PR agency to hire, and how to scope timing and budget
Not ideal for
Global enterprises needing separate teams per product line, or very early companies better off doing scrappy PR themselves
From the transcript
“find out what month one looks like with them if month one is them just doing intake calls and learning about the company”
“writing samples like to the point of like all those press release excerpts I I shared like is that how they write if it is…”
“one thing I would say don't do is like an extensive RFP process”
“six weeks is ideal”
“our rates are uh start at 15K a month for our retainers”
“getting the the First Choice reporter is going to drive way more for your business than announcing it four days sooner”
From the episode
The ultimate guide to PR
Emilie Gerber (founder of Six Eastern)