Your investors’ PR team(s) may also help.  Some investors will complement your news with a blog post of their own, promote your funding via social media, aid in outreach to the media and make themselves available to do press interviews. It’s not an imposition! Your investors want your company to succeed.

Filing a Form D and Timing Your Announcement: (AKA: How to Avoid the Biggest Mistake Startups Make when Announcing Funding)

In compliance with SEC regulations, most US-based startups are required to file a Form D electronically. The Form D contains the basic details of a financing and must be filed within 15 days (real days vs. business days) of closing the round. Unfortunately, once filed, these details become public which leads to a common PR headache for startups. Savvy journalists often monitor Form D filings looking for news scoops related to new financings. For companies filing a Form D, we recommend filing late in the day on day 15 and working to get your news out prior to filing. This way the start-up can control the narrative around their financing and work strategically with reporters who might cover the news. There are alternatives to filing a Form D. Start-ups that wish to operate in “stealth” mode or have otherwise made no public announcement of their financings must speak to their legal team about alternatives.

Do we need a PR agency to do this?

Obviously, having PR professionals at your service is helpful. But for many early stage companies, committing to an agency on retainer is too much too soon. (In the early stages, when company news is likely to be sporadic, the hefty price tag for ongoing agency support may not be cost-effective.)

If so, you might consider working with a consultant or agency on a “project basis.”  It’s a reasonable request given that funding announcements are very straightforward. And, it’s helpful to publicists looking to build their business pipeline. You may also be able to tap your VC firm for help. My team sometimes pitches in when BVP’s early stage companies need help executing a funding announcement.  When those companies need heavier lifting, we guide them to external experts who can step in and own the effort as if they were internal, ensuring that the exec team is in synch and prepped for the push, and making sure that results are reported.