Image by Nicholas Erwin used under CC license.
Whether you’re a PR pro in pursuit of your next client or an in-house marketer assessing potential partners for your brand, there are a few ‘tried and true’ indicators of company growth potential that we all look for. Funding is a great example.
In the PR agency world, we often assess a company’s readiness for primetime by their latest funding round. While Series A is typically the entry point, a Series C may indicate that a company is positioning for acquisition. Each scenario indicates a business opportunity, but the approach we take in engaging the prospect is unique, as is each company’s perspective on PR. A company that recently raised its first round may be looking for broad exposure, while a Series C recipient may be interested in raising its profile exclusively in the business and financial press, where it can get in front of potential suitors. Seems simple, right? Not always.
One of the best times to engage with a high-growth company is before funding is even a factor. That’s how we scored our newest PAN client, Drizly. Long before the company landed its recent $13M Series A round, PAN was sitting across the table from its founders – recent Boston College graduates with a penchant for business and a taste for Bud Light (shout out to my Alma Mater’s drink of choice) – discussing the company’s vision and go-to-market strategy. So how did we know that Drizly was going to be Boston’s ‘Next Big Company?’ Here are three less obvious indicators of impending success that we look for:
