Written by Jonathan Dunnett
Among the many things that we see as a challenge for Founders and those within a startup is “How do I bring awareness to what I’m doing?”
Often, the convening wisdom will be to throw a bunch of money at pay-per-click ads on Instagram or Facebook, to pay an influencer to talk about your product, get covered in TechCrunch (et. al.), go to a million pitch events (don’t do that - that’s my bias), or some other approach.
Now, depending on the type of product you have, your market/consumers, etc., any of these may be the right solution, yet, especially for B2B businesses, what’s often the big missing piece? The key is, you have to put yourself on the right lists.
Now, every industry has its own main lists or magazines. These are often published by industry associations or other key players in your industry. If you’re not sure how to find them, try a Boolean search like, “cleantech (or your industry) + magazine” or “fintech + industry publications”. A quick scan should reveal the most important sources (and list opportunity) for your business.
“We get our data from… “ is an answer I often get when I ask, “How did you form this list?” So, if you’re wanting to make yourself known, as part of your marketing and positioning strategy, make sure you’re building a LISTING strategy. Where do you need to be listed? What do you need to convey? How often should that be updated? Who owns it?
In terms of the “where”, here are some places where you need to make sure you are listed:
https://tracxn.com/ “Tracking Innovative companies across 300+ Technology Sectors, 1000+ Emerging Themes, and Dedicated Coverage on 30+ Countries.” If you’re wanting to get visibility, especially in front of investors (angels, VCs, family offices, etc.), this would be a good place to list. A16Z, Citi, Google and others are partners.
https://pitchbook.com/ Among other things, Pitchbook helps investors in deal sourcing. You can ask them to pull your profile here.
https://www.cbinsights.com/ CBInsights touches various parts of the market, including investors (Corporate Venture Capital, Venture Capital, Investment Banks and others), and profile here can often help your visibility. You can sign up and curate your profile here.
https://www.crunchbase.com/ “Crunchbase is the leading platform for professionals to discover innovative companies, connect with the people behind them, and pursue new opportunities.” Here’s how you can get listed.
Is that it? Just four? Not at all. Yet, we know these databases are reliable, consistently referred to by folks in innovation (including those making exposure-based lists: e.g. “The 100 best upcoming companies in fintech”) and investors. There are certainly other resources out there, which may be an amazing fit based on your specific focus. Of course, you always want to validate the resources, and, if they ask for money, you need to consider if they are worthwhile. Promises of SEO glory and massive click-through-rates should always be scrutinized and validated.
Further, you might consider (depending on your domain) getting in front of research houses like Lux, Gartner, BCC, Frost and Sullivan and others. Beware, these can be double-edged sword, and you never want to disclose information to them that you wouldn’t want shared broadly, including to competitors.
You might also consider some of the following (these are not validated - that’s up to you!):
You may also want to list on Angel List (especially if you’re looking for talent, and, you can list on ProductHunt), as well as G2.com (you can also read a piece I wrote called, Competitor analysis for software companies using G2 Crowd).
There are even tools out there that you can pay for, but consider if the value upside is really there for you or not. At least with the databases we’ve listed above, you know what you’re getting.
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