Promoting your Startup - The Importance of Being Earnest

by Startacus Admin

The Startacus team noticed, from our adventures at Web Summit 2014, a startling trend began to emerge very quickly among the startups and other exhibitors; there was a visible monopoly of attention being utilized. To put it another way, the outgoing, determined and earnest teams seemed to be getting substantially more attention than the more passive and timid teams. Naturally.

Self Promotion - The Importance of being Earnest

Why is this a big deal? Surely if an investor wants to put his money into your remarkably specific, one of a kind, special snowflake of a startup, then you just have to sit back and wait for the money to roll in. Obviously. Right?

You could adopt that approach, and some investment may come your way, the business world is an incredibly diverse and unusual realm, with many wondrous and inexplicable events happening every day. However, passivity resulting in success is the rarest of rare occasions, even in the ever changing business platform.

Take a look at anyone who happened to make it to the Dragon’s Den television show; and take a look how many people got funding with their social ineptitude and frankly, lack of enthusiasm. That’s right folks – practically zero. In fact, as a life lesson, approaching a job interview or a sales pitch or any sort of venture in life where there is a gain to be made; being earnest is crucial! No one wants to deal with someone who doesn’t care. Unless you’re selling apathy, but lately there hasn’t been a substantial market for that. Except for maybe among angst ridden teens, but they seem to have their own surplus, so that’s not very viable as a business.

The big problem here, is what if you’re a socially anxious or awkward individual with an absolute winner of an idea? A very real problem, to be sure, but is your whole team? Is there no one you can ask in your venture with a semblance of a personality that could draw people to the venture?

At Web Summit 2014, There was (nearly) no end to startups who just wanted to get their story out there, getting the information to anyone who would listen, making sure to drum up hype, and draw as much attention from media, investors or innocent bystanders. Then of course, you had the unique few who just seemed apathetic. Standing around, doing nothing, bored and boring.

Don’t be that Startup. The measure of a venture for many investors comes not only from the facts and figures on a chart; There has to be a genuine belief that the venture will work. The attitude of your startup team, in any capacity, on display or in conversation must always be of a confident, self assured full of resolve.

Imagine this scenario; you’re a multinational business mogul with investments around the globe. Two teams appear in your gallery of potential investments; both with a similar idea. One team seems to only want to work on the business, they have no time for customers or any other external body. Of course, they also appear to only be at a showcase for the sake of saying they were there. The other team, is outgoing, always has time to answer questions, to grow and work and develop the idea further, with the help of others. They’re pro-active at a showcase. The world WANTS to give them attention.
Where do you put your money?

Exactly.

One of the most important rules of business to remember is this:
Someone is going to win each and every race in business; every good idea will have a success story sooner or later.

So what is the harm in actually going out there and doing everything you can to make your venture work, and if it’s already working; What’s wrong with making it work even better? Sooner or later someone will come along with an idea that will basically replace an older defunct model, especially if there isn’t any effort to go forth and build upon it.

Long story shortened drastically: You could have THE Billion dollar idea, but if you aren’t able to work on it, promote it and collaborate in order to ensure that your idea is always the best on the market, sooner or later someone can and will pop up and take it from you.

So next time you have the chance to connect with other businesses with the goal of furthering your own; Take that chance! Take every opportunity you’re given to succeed and run with it!

If you want some extra online coverage for your startup, why not showcase it in our collaboration space ? Oh, and if you are looking for a little more tailored publicity check out our startup PR programme! 

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Published on: 14th November 2014