PR for Early-Stage B2B Tech Startups: Essential or Optional?

A short answer to the question, 'Is PR essential for a cybersecurity startup at the early stage?' would be, in most cases, 'Yes'.

Cybersecurity is a complex, dynamic, and critically important industry. Clients face new challenges daily, and vendors release new solutions to help them cope.

On the one hand, customers need new cost-effective solutions to address emerging challenges, which creates opportunities for startups. On the other hand, to rely on a young company to protect sensitive data and infrastructure, the customer must be confident in its reliability. PR is very helpful here—by forming clear and consistent messaging, it helps establish the trust and credibility needed to penetrate the market and ensure a long-term growth.

Plus, cybersecurity is a high-risk field—data breaches make headlines daily, and in the case of an incident at the startup itself or with its contractor, PR is necessary to react properly, mitigate potential reputational damage, and, with consistent positive media presence, help the company to recover its reputation.

AI  is another field where PR is needed from the very beginning. This is because AI startups often work in entirely new fields where companies are still learning how to use innovative technologies. Effective PR is essential to educate customers about the implication of the technology the startup is providing. In addition, PR helps startups stand out in a rapidly growing space where numerous other AI startups are surging, making it harder for vendors to differentiate themselves. 

Given this sector's early stage, it’s especially important for startups to showcase the real-world implications of their technology and position themselves as a though leaders in the space. PR is for sure among critical approaches to achieve it.

FinTech is another field in which PR is important from the early stage. First, FinTech startups handle sensitive financial data, which means clients must be confident in their ability to protect it. Second, they must prove their compliance with strict regulatory standards (e.g., PCI DSS). 

This makes PR a critical investment: positive media coverage and educating the market are essential for building trust, especially when  competing against established giants in financial sector, such as traditional banks.

For industrial and manufacturing tech startups at the early stage, the situation is different. This is because these companies operate in industries with long sales cycles that require significant technical evaluation and product demonstrations to provide decision-makers with a detailed understanding of the product’s impact on a facility’s operational efficiency. Events like trade shows and conferences come into play here. The focus is more on referrals through existing industry networks.

Is PE essential for an IaaS company at the early stage? Not likely. Young IaaS providers prioritize technical reliability, product development, and demonstrating product-market fit by building direct relationships with clients, direct sales, and partnerships. At an early stage, such companies focus on building a reliable and scalable infrastructure and also work with long sales cycles.

For IaaS startups, PR is less important in the early stages compared to direct sales efforts and partnering with larger providers. The focus is on building trust through hands-on demonstrations, client references, and industry collaborations.

Last example of a market where PR is less critical for early-stage companies. ERP solutions tend to be highly customized for specific industries (e.g., manufacturing, retail, logistics) and require a consultative sales approach, which includes demonstrations and long proof-of-concepts to showcase how the solution can solve specific pain points in client operations.

For ERP startups, long sales cycles mean that much of the growth comes from direct sales teams, referrals, and customer testimonials. While PR can help position the company as a thought leader in its space, it's often a secondary instrument until the company has gained traction through customer success and relationship building.

Of course, this is far not complete overview of all B2B tech, and I didn't mean it to be. But it does show us one certain pattern: for B2B startups playing in complicated and high-risk areas that need to establish authority quickly, PR is essential—it is an important complement to marketing. It helps build trust, educate potential customers, and establish the startup as a thought leader. Early PR efforts can lead to increased visibility, attract investors, and accelerate customer acquisition—all critical for startups looking to scale quickly in competitive markets.

For highly specialized B2B industries providing customized solutions, targeting enterprise markets, with long sales cycles, the situation is a bit different. PR takes a backseat for different reasons, as these companies often rely more heavily on direct sales efforts, niche networking, and industry-specific events to attract clients. The focus is on securing referrals and demonstrating the solution’s value rather than widespread media exposure. However, once the company gains a foothold in the market and begins scaling, PR becomes more significant as well.

This article aims to provide a big-picture overview of when and why PR is necessary for early-stage B2B startups. However, each case is unique, as the PR strategy depends on the specific company and its business needs.