I’ve Changed My Mind About Founders Pitching Themselves

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Hi, I’m Amanda Lauren, and I write mostly about interior design, lifestyle, and parenting/kids for Forbes, Real Simple, and Yahoo, among other publications, as well as a media consultant. But my opinions are mine. This Substack is a mix of industry insights and media opps (but not today!)

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Every time I write about PR, I try to remember that this Substack has two very different audiences.

Some of you are publicists. Some of you are founders. My goal has always been to share advice that helps both groups—even if that sometimes means saying things that aren’t particularly popular.

I mean, are you anyone until someone hates you? No!

But seriously, I try not to discourage anyone. I know PR budgets aren’t always realistic, especially in today’s economy for startups.

But I also think honesty is more helpful than false encouragement. And my advice might help you make some business decisions.

I’m writing this because one of my subscribers (let’s call her Jenny) recently shared that she lost a client after the founder decided they wanted to pitch themselves instead. They worked together for a long time, and she’s a fantastic publicist, so I know it’s not her. And I told her I’d be writing about this. So don’t worry, we’re cool…

Let’s start with the good news.

Some of the best pitches I’ve ever received have come directly from a founder.

Bad news:

That founder has an MBA from Columbia. I’m not saying that makes you a better founder, but I know of several other successful founders from her class, so perhaps this is something they are teaching in business school.

But she’s not as rich or as successful as Gary Vaynerchuk, who went to Mount Ida College, a school I’ve never heard of (no offense to Mount Ida students and alumni).