As part of our collaboration with the EIC Scaling Club’s communications team, Truesix took on several communication-related responsibilities during the Club’s Ambition Forum, held in Riga on 3 September 2025. This Club event brought together Europe’s most promising deep tech scaleups, investors, and ecosystem partners to exchange knowledge, make connections, and prepare for global growth.
One of our key contributions was designing and leading the workshop “Enhancing Company Visibility”, led by our co-founders Julia and Krista. The session featured a presentation by Krista, a panel discussion moderated by Julia, and an expert talk by our partner Ilze Švarcbaha, a LinkedIn communications specialist. Together, the workshop explored practical strategies for strengthening visibility, credibility, and influence in today’s deep tech landscape.
In this article, we’ve compiled the most relevant communication and PR lessons for deep tech companies from the workshop and from our broader experience working with the EIC Scaling Club and tech companies in general.
But first things first….
Why is media visibility even necessary?
As a deep tech or science tech company, you probably think that developing and refining your product or solution is the main aim. And if the product is great, it will become known in the right circles through organic marketing and word of mouth.
Unfortunately, it rarely works that way. Even great products need to enhance their visibility, and companies need to find ways to tell the world about their solution.
In her presentation, Krista outlined the main ways media visibility benefits tech companies:
- Growing brand awareness
- Building credibility and trust
- Attracting investors
- Attracting potential clients
- Attracting talent
While PR is difficult to measure and nothing is guaranteed, 82% of investors agree that familiarity with a brand’s name significantly influences their investment decisions. And companies that integrate PR into their marketing strategy experience a 20% increase in revenue over three years.
So let’s look at the main PR tactics that companies can use to enhance their visibility.
News & announcements
The “traditional” form of PR entails preparing a press release and sending it out to many media outlets. The benefit of this tactic is that it’s possible to reach a wide audience with one press release – if it’s a newsworthy one.
There’s always an element of luck involved as well – how many journalists pick up your news will depend on external factors as well, not only on the quality and impact of your announcement.
The trick about press releases is that they must contain a news element for any medium to be willing to publish it. News can be either a major company milestone, funding raised, new markets opened, events announced, etc. News cannot be a description of your product’s features or benefits.
Thought leadership
This tactic is good for situations where you don't exactly have news, but you do have an opinion or expert insight to share via opinion pieces, interviews, or commentaries. The downside of such articles is that each of them takes thorough preparation but is usually published in only one outlet (if you’re lucky).
That said, expert interviews and opinion pieces are strong instruments for strengthening the thought leadership of the company founders – especially if they get published on reputable media.
For editors to consider publishing an opinion piece, you need to have a thought-provoking opinion or unique knowledge about a topic – ideally, linked to your business or industry. These articles cannot be promotional, but if the topic is connected to your specific industry experience or expertise, you – and by consequence, your company – will gain visibility and enhanced reputation.
Events & press conferences
Events are another pillar of PR that is sometimes overlooked. Consider organizing press conferences to announce your product launch (with demo) or other high-impact news (e.g., mergers, IPOs). Events can also be about smaller-scale milestones like throwing a party to celebrate a new office opening or an anniversary.
Press conferences can serve as a sound tactic in less favourable situations, like crisis communication when you need to be accessible for transparency. Press conferences and press releases are often part of a combined effort – the release usually comes after the press conference, to provide journalists with background, facts, and quotes they can use, and ensure consistent messaging.
What kind of stories does the media want?
You may feel that your startup is the most exciting thing in the world, and everything that happens to it is just automatically media-worthy. In truth, there are thousands of companies fighting for media attention, and to even hope for getting covered, your story needs to be one – or preferably several – of these things:
- Timely – related to current trends or events
- Relevant – related to the reader and the situation he/she's in at the moment
- Insightful – providing new or in-depth information or a different angle on a topic
- Emotion-evoking – optional, but very much recommended because emotional stories get clicks and clicks keep media in business (and qualitative media know the difference between a pure clickbait and a good angle!)
Where to look for visibility opportunities?
Needless to say, visibility opportunities don’t exactly come running towards you (unless you’re SpaceX or OpenAI). To get noticed by the media, you need to approach journalists, using the PR tactics listed above, but also in more creative and personal ways.
Follow your industry journalists
It’s a good idea to follow a small number of relevant reporters from your industry or niche and notice what they cover and how they work. Whenever you have a story or an expert comment that fits their beat (or is currently very topical and related to their work), proactively send them an email or a direct message.
Monitor journalist requests
Journorequests are public calls for sources – whether on social media or PR platforms – seeking people and companies that fit particular story angles. We have recently written an article on how to respond to these requests. Start by following #journorequest on X and LinkedIn, as well as signing up for PR platforms like Qwoted, HARO, Help a B2B Writer, etc. Whenever you see a relevant request – especially one that you have specific knowledge about – send a well–written and original (not AI-generated) answer.
This tactic won’t always lead to a mention, as your submission will likely compete with many others. Still, it’s worth trying – we’ve successfully helped clients get featured in Wired, BBC, Business Insider, and other reputable outlets using this approach.
Meet journalists at conferences
Meeting someone face-to-face creates a far stronger connection than interacting online. As we have found over and over again, in this digital age and time, personal connections matter more than ever. An in-person introduction also increases the chances that a journalist will recognize your name when you later send them a pitch – and be more likely to pay attention to it.
If you are going to a conference, you can meet journalists at side events, networking breaks, or invite them for a coffee through the event’s networking app – whichever option seems more natural and convenient. Have a chat, learn about their beats and main struggles, and briefly tell about yourself and your company. Don’t openly pitch them yet – leave that for later, keeping their interests in mind.
Tailor your angle for different media
While some PR principles apply to all media, there are also specifics on how to approach different types of outlets with different scopes and audiences. You can’t approach a regional niche media outlet with the same type of story you’d pitch to a major news outlet.
Use this list as your guiding principle:
- Innovation & startup media: focus on the milestone & impact
- Niche media: focus on the technology advancement
- General news media: focus on human interest
- Regional/local media: focus on the impact for the local ecosystem
In addition, be sure to send your pitch to the right person. If you’d like to share news, interviews/features or quotes, you can pitch either editors or writers (e.g., journalists or reporters). If you’d like to offer an opinion article, you should pitch editors.
Now, what happens after you’ve sent your perfect pitch to a relevant media outlet and to the right person? More often than not – radio silence. Unfortunately, not receiving replies is a common situation in PR, and you shouldn’t be discouraged by it.
What you should do is follow up after about a week. Some journalists receive even 100+ emails daily, so yours can simply get lost. In our experience, following up on pitches can drive your chances of coverage up by 50%. If after one follow-up you still get no response, it’s time to move on to the next media outlet.
Discussion: Deep tech communication best practices
The Ambition Forum panel, moderated by Julia, brought together seasoned communications experts, each contributing their unique perspective to the discussion on deep tech company visibility:
- Jennifer Schenker: veteran technology journalist, founder and editor-in-chief at The Innovator
- Ieva Treija: Editor at Labs of Latvia & co-founder of business newsletter Finday.lv
- Anda Asere: Journalist at Labs of Latvia & co-founder of business newsletter Finday.lv
In the first part of the discussion, participants explored why science communication is important per se. Ieva pointed out that scientists are rarely taught how to communicate with the public. As a result, they face double the workload – not only developing their core solutions but also learning how to engage with the broader ecosystem.
Echoing this point, Jennifer noted that scientists often use specialized jargon that doesn’t translate well for the general public. She stressed that every founder, regardless of industry or background, should have a clear one-liner or elevator pitch. This, she added, is essential not only for media relations but also for communicating with investors and potential clients.
“You should be able to explain your work to anyone – from a five-year-old to your grandmother – in simple terms. And it’s not only about what you do, but also about explaining its wider impact,” said Anda.
She added that you can’t expect journalists to write about you if they don’t know there’s a story to tell. Entrepreneurs should use their social networks or even contact journalists directly to share what they are working on. Anda also pointed out a common problem: company websites often don’t list real people’s contacts – reaching out through an info email or contact form isn’t direct, and journalists tend to avoid it.
Other common mistakes include:
- Sending press releases in PDF format
- Not accompanying the release with images (in landscape format)
- Ghosting journalists who have follow-up questions
- Not having a press kit on your website (containing company facts, founder bios, and high-res images in multiple orientations)
Panelists shared curious cases, such as when a company announced a major funding round and then the entire leadership team left for vacation immediately afterward. The only person left to respond – belatedly – to journalists’ questions was the founder’s wife.
Everyone stressed that the media rarely want to speak with PR managers or marketers; they prefer direct access to key decision-makers. So, as a founder or C-level executive, you need to be ready for interviews and fact checks after announcing a major milestone.
LinkedIn is a powerful platform if you use it well
As Ilze Švarcbaha emphasized in her presentation, LinkedIn offers ample free advertising opportunities, that not many companies fully leverage. Start by making the most of the bio and description space under your name, and be sure to complete your About section.
It’s generally better to post from your personal LinkedIn account, as this gives a human face to your business. At the same time, it’s important to share business updates on the company page. A good way to maximize visibility is to repost company content on your personal profile – and vice versa. When reposting, you can choose to add commentary or not, but avoid writing just a couple of words or a single sentence; either share a more substantial take or leave it blank (this matters for LinkedIn’s algorithms).
Always respond to people who comment on your posts to build engagement and show that you value your audience. And one golden rule – never start your post with the words, “We are thrilled to…”
Communication is a skill you can learn
All speakers and workshop participants agreed that communication isn’t rocket science, but a skill you can develop and polish. And of course, there already are good examples of well-communicating founders in the Baltic region. Workshop participants mentioned several, like Martin Villig (Bolt), Martins Lasmanis (Supliful), Dainis Kruze (Aerones), Egija Gailuma (Engycell, ex OX Drive).
By combining strategic PR, personal engagement with media, and thoughtful use of platforms like LinkedIn, deep tech companies can do a big favour to their visibility, credibility, and growth potential.
The best time to start thinking about all this? Right now.
We wish you the best of luck with growing your company's visibility! And if you feel you need expert comms support, you know where to find us.
September 19, 2025
ByIeva Sipola
In