Kickstarting PR For Start Ups- A Review of JournoLink

As a customer of Virgin Start Up, I first heard about this PR workshop via our newsletter.

Having just launched my new Kitchen product, this course sparked an interest with me. Without hesitation, I booked a ticket as I knew from experience that the Virgin Start Up meetings do sell out quickly.

On the day of the workshop, I arrived early and brought my product along with me. It was inspiring to meet other startups and hear how their stories began. We had a range of business start ups from Insect based protein bars to Organic tampons!

Ian Mason, Head of Strategic Development at Virgin Start Up welcomed us all and introduced  Tetteh Kofi from JournoLink, our speaker for the event. With a background in journalism and broadcasting, Tetteh cleverly gave us an insight into how the PR minds work. It was intriguing to learn that you need not have the right skill base to create your own PR. As an entrepreneur, I am already running a tight ship and don’t have the financial resources to enlist PR help. So this was music to my ears!

We learnt that when writing a press release, the information is in fact all there in your mind. Remembering that it’s your story, so no one knows it better than you. But by asking the right questions, you can narrow down the content and start to streamline it towards a theme. It is by sieving through this initial dense content that you will produce some nuggets of gold. From here, you have the beginnings of your first press release.

As the evening progressed we got into groups and had to create our own press release. In principle it didn’t seem too hard, but in practice it was quite challenging. This really got our group thinking about our brands and what they represent for us. A rather reflective point of the evening and a moment where you realise that every brand needs to have a story. The key is planting enough information for the journalist to link it together and make their story.

Creating your press release is just one element of your PR but by engaging with the right journalist you can unlock your brands marketing. We learnt about how to find suitable journalist for your market and how to aptly interact with them. Interestingly enough the relationship between brand and journalist works in synergy. Neither can reach their height without the other.

In summary, it was an incredibly informative evening which allowed us to gain a fascinating insight into the mind of a journalist. With so many new companies being born every hour, how does a new business get the attention of a journalist? How do you make your business stand out from the crowd? By attending this workshop, I am a few steps closer to answering these questions. Tetteh was not just an engaging speaker but he kept me enthralled and captivated throughout the evening. A well thought out presentation and I have busily used this insight to create my recent press release.

The second part of this workshop is in a couple of weeks, and I am eagerly anticipating the next instalment.

 

How I brought My Product To Market

Having just recently brought my product to market, it can be said with much confidence, that the journey has been anything but smooth. For anyone looking to create their own product, please don’t be put off by my difficulties but instead use my experience to build your stamina. For grit and determination, are a necessity in this Industry.

In this first part, I will be looking at how to bring your idea to life.

Once you have thought of an idea you will want to see if it is worth developing.

The first stage is finding the right company to take your idea seriously. There are many companies around. I chose mine from researching their previous customers. This will give you a background of their success. Also, remember that once you begin this process, it will be a lengthy one and involve numerous meetings. Thus, ensure that it is logistically suitable.

During your first meeting with your chosen company, you will need to check that a ‘Non Disclosure Agreement’ is in place. This means that no one else from the company can use your idea. Remember the Chosen Company (let’s call them ‘CC’ for now), is not there to tell you whether your idea is good or bad. They are there to help you develop your idea. So its crucial that before you get to this stage, you have already conducted some market research.

After my first meeting with the CC, they provided me with a detailed table of the costs involved. I started with the ‘Concept Development’ stage, which includes sketches and a rough CAD model (Computer Aided Design). Once I was happy with this, I then moved to a more detailed CAD stage. This will show the design in 3D and have enough information and detail to prepare for the prototype. Each stage is quite expensive and if you have sufficient funds put aside for the project, then you can move seamlessly from one stage to the next. Unfortunately my product started off self-funded and so despite these initial phases only taking 3-4 weeks each, I had a long delay between them.

The next phase was incredibly exciting and what every creator wants to see. To have a prototype of their product is the moment that you feel your design has come to life. For me, this phase took a few months. One of my most memorable times in this journey, was seeing that first glimpse of the prototype. During that train journey to London my stomach was filled with butterflies. Knowing that this was the theoretical underpinning moment for remortgaging my home, was both nerve-racking and intriguing . An element of financial risk is inevitable in every invention. However, taking that step requires belief in your invention, endurance and determination.

I took the Mark 1 prototype home and immediately began testing its durability and effectiveness. Over the next few months, I asked trusted friends and family, to also use my product. This was a useful tool in noticing flaws or problems that were  user specific. After compiling a detailed list, the work on the Mark 2 Prototype began a few months later. The steps were repeated and invoiced each time, until we received a prototype that met out functionality. For me, this was the Mark 3 prototype.

Once you have a design that you are satisfied with, you need to source a ‘Production Quotation’. This phase took almost 6 months as the product parts had to be sent to various factories to receive an exact production quote.  On receiving our quotes, I had to decide on how best to progress, onto the next phase of the project, which was ‘manufacturing’. This was the most expensive part so far. Having spent a considerable sum already, I decided to raise funds via crowdfunding. I have a separate blog about this in detail. But just as an overview, the crowdfunding did not work.

Feeling somewhat deflated, I now was left with a choice of abandoning the product altogether or sourcing another route for funding. During the same time as the  crowdfunding campaign, I was fortunate enough to receive praise from industry experts. This led to my product being featured in magazines and websites. In addition, I was composing a list of prospective customers that had been contacting me via the press articles or crowdfunding campaign. After a few months passed by, I still had not come to a decision. Did I need to admit defeat ? Would I be throwing good money after bad? I could not afford to be going further into debt. Would it not be wise, to just throw the towel in, after all the crowdfunding campaign had failed?

Getting ready for Amazon

As I sit discussing my marketing plan with my mentor, it is hard to believe that my product will be ready at the end of February this year. After freight, it will be arriving at the Amazon warehouse for May. It has been a journey of some ups but many downs. There has been no shortage of obstacles to face, of which the biggest was funding. After reaching my ‘business defining moment’, I applied for a small business loan to fund the manufacturing and tooling. Even with this the additional costs are vast. Anyone looking to launch a new product should ensure that they are prepared for them. The freight, duty, VAT, insurance, fulfilment etc can easily add up. But they are crucial elements to this phase. When I first came up with the idea to create my new product, I honestly wasn’t expecting this much of a rollercoaster ride. But such is business.