For many founders, public relations feels like a black box. You hire an agency, wait for the headlines to roll in, and hope that the sudden attention will unlock growth. But no agency is spearheaded by David Copperfield or Eisenheim. Succeeding at public relations requires a long-term, strategic process, and results build gradually. It happens through trust, clarity, and consistent collaboration.
When executed well, PR can be transformative. It can give your brand a public identity, strengthen credibility with investors, attract top talent, open doors to new markets, and create opportunities for partnerships you may not have known were possible. But hiring an agency is only the starting point. The real work — and the real payoff — comes from how you work together. Here’s a guide to help you do just that.
#1: Start with absolute clarity
The first conversation you have with your PR agency should be about goals, not press releases. Without a clear destination, you’ll both waste time. Do you want to build brand awareness in a new market? Support a funding announcement? Position yourself as a thought leader in your sector? Each of those requires a different approach, timeline, and set of metrics, so make sure you know what you’re aiming for before getting started.
At Mindset, we front-load every engagement with what we call a clarity session. This is an unvarnished conversation where we define success in concrete terms and agree on how we’ll measure it. That agreement becomes the north star for the work ahead.
#2: Make your PR team part of your inner professional circle
Once you’ve chosen a PR agency, think of it as an extension of your strategy team. If you look at it merely as an external service provider, you’ll likely miss out on some of the value they can bring to the table.
What this means is fully integrating them: sharing your 12-18-month business plan, letting them see your growth challenges, and giving them context on your competitors and the market landscape. The more they know, the better they can anticipate opportunities and protect you from risks.
When your PR team understands the full picture, they can connect your brand to emerging trends and act as a sounding board for decisions.
#3: Keep the information flowing
PR thrives on lead time. If your agency only hears about developments after the fact, the team can’t position the story in the strongest possible way. Even if a piece of news feels too small to matter, share it. Skilled PR teams can often combine smaller updates into a bigger, more compelling narrative.
One of the most effective campaigns we’ve run came together in just a week and a half because the client looped us in immediately: XPANCEO’s $250 million fundraising round. With the clock ticking, we secured an exclusive with Bloomberg, prepared embargoed press kits, and executed a global launch. The result was 91 pieces of coverage. Of these, over a quarter were from Tier 1 outlets. Without early, transparent communication, that outcome would have been much harder to attain.
#4: Discern carefully which stories to pitch
Not every company update is a headline. Founders often overestimate how much the outside world cares about their news, but journalists have their own criteria for what makes a story worth covering. They’re looking for timeliness, relevance, and impact on their audience, not a recap of your internal milestones.
When your PR team advises against pitching something, trust them. It is not that they don’t value what you have to say, but they’re protecting your credibility. Wasting a journalist’s time with weak angles can close doors for when you do have a story worth telling. The best agencies will help you pick your moments so each pitch strengthens your reputation rather than diluting it.
#5: Make thought leadership a core strategic pillar
The strongest PR strategies are proactive. One of the most powerful ways to build your profile is to consistently share your perspective on where your industry is headed. This encompasses writing op-eds, speaking at conferences, joining podcasts, or participating in panels.
Done well, this shifts you from “founder of a company” to “trusted voice in a sector,” which has a compounding effect on credibility. When the founder of Zinit spoke to Forbes about how their AI procurement platform tackles the $1 trillion “blind spot” in global trade, it positioned them as an authority on a complex, high-stakes issue. That kind of positioning pays dividends long after the article runs.
#6: Be ready to move fast
PR opportunities are often time-sensitive. Journalists run on tight deadlines, and sometimes you’ll have only a few hours to get a quote in, approve a statement, or provide supporting material. If your response comes too late, the story moves on without you.
Make it easy for your PR team to act swiftly. Give them direct access to you or a trusted spokesperson, have pre-approved talking points for common topics, and streamline your internal approval process so they can move without bureaucratic lag.
#7: Measure, learn, and adapt
PR is not a “set and forget” function. You should be reviewing results regularly with your agency to understand what’s working, what’s falling flat, and what needs to change. Look beyond vanity metrics and focus on signals that connect to your actual goals, whether that is the quality of media placements, share of voice versus competitors, engagement with published content, or any lift in web traffic or inbound leads.
If a certain type of story is hitting the mark, double down. If another angle isn’t resonating, drop it. It is wise to pivot and adjust sails when needed. The best PR relationships are built on this kind of ongoing feedback loop, one where both sides work together to aim for sharper impact.
Final thoughts
A great PR agency can open doors, but only if you’re ready to hold them open from your side too. When you give them clarity, trust, and access, they can amplify your story far beyond what you could do alone. Remember that PR is a long-term game based on relationships, not on transactions. Treat it that way, and the returns you’ll receive will last long after any single headline fades.
