Startup PR

Startup PR is the practice of earning media coverage and credibility for early-stage companies — getting founders quoted in press, booked on podcasts, covered at launch and funding moments, placed on startup lists, and visible when investors, customers, and candidates ask AI assistants about the category. It combines media relations, founder brand-building, awards, and generative engine optimization (GEO) — usually on a budget of zero.

The fastest path is answering journalist requests: reporters post source queries on HARO, Connectively, X, and LinkedIn daily, and founders with real data and sharp opinions win quotes. Layer on founder bylines, podcast guest spots, one well-timed launch moment, and list submissions. Featured surfaces all of these in one chat and drafts responses in your voice — the co-pilot that replaces the PR hire you can't make yet.

PR budgets vary widely with scope, goals, and the partners involved. Featured itself is free to start, with paid plans at $39/month (Lite) and $79/month (Pro, billed annually) — and every plan includes every capability: journalist requests, podcasts, bylines, awards, monitoring, and GEO tracking. Many startups and the agencies that serve them run Featured alongside their existing PR programs.

GEO is the practice of improving how AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini describe your startup — starting with whether they know you exist. When buyers research your category, those answers are built from press coverage, communities, and structured content. Featured audits your AI visibility from day one and tracks it like you track your Google rankings.

AI engines cite brands that appear consistently across credible sources: startup press, launch coverage, founder podcasts, community discussion in r/startups, and industry newsletters. That means earned media is the input to AI visibility. Run a GEO audit to see where you stand today, then close the gap with journalist requests, bylines, and podcast placements — and measure weekly.

Yes. Featured owns and operates HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and Connectively, and an expert is connected with a publisher every 6 seconds across the platforms. Startup topics — fundraising, AI adoption, building lean teams — are among the most frequently requested source categories, and Featured matches you to relevant queries automatically.

Ask Featured to build a media list of reporters who have covered your topic in the last 90 days — for example, “journalists covering startups in our category.” You'll get names, outlets, beats, and recent headlines, so every pitch references the reporter's actual work instead of going in cold.

Journalist-request responses can land placements within days, since reporters are on deadline. Bylines and podcasts typically take 2–8 weeks from pitch to publish. AI visibility moves more slowly: expect roughly 1–3 months for new coverage to shift how AI assistants answer, which is why continuous tracking beats one-off audits.

Pre-seed to Series B founders doing their own PR, first marketing hires, and agencies serving startup clients at scale. Agencies are among Featured's power users: the co-pilot handles opportunity discovery, drafting, and monitoring around the clock, so strategists can spend their time on messaging, relationships, and counsel.

Start with Inc. 5000-style rankings once you qualify, industry startup awards, and pitch competitions, then let Featured track eligibility and deadlines. For podcasts, Featured's database tracks 814,000 active shows; describe your story in plain language and it returns startup shows that actually book founders at your stage.