Maneuvre

Our personal stories and backgrounds always make us more interesting to other people. It’s natural - it adds a human touch, sometimes helps understand our professional decisions and paths we take, helps others relate more, and so on. On the other hand, sharing more insights into our professional backgrounds, about the ways our businesses operate, what are our processes, how we select startups we invest in or make business decisions–this is also very valuable. It can help your potential partners or portfolio companies understand your mechanisms and approach better and be more prepared for collaboration with you. So, a mix of both - your personal and professional journey and insights - is a recipe for a great conversation or, in this case, for a very interesting podcast. One of these was just published yesterday - check out Sergey Jakimov's conversation with Peter Ottsjö and Ingemar Patrick Linden on their Levity podcast. The full episode is here: https://lnkd.in/dkwPYCRi

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with (or just over) LinkedIn and social media. Not every day is a positive, amazing, great milestone day, although your feed can seem that way. What do you post then? 🤔 The answer:  Something authentic. Our successes are not black and white. For each achievement and each win, there are struggles and challenges not spoken about enough. Sharing these doesn’t diminish your expertise or professionalism–it humanises it, and makes you a nicer, more interesting, more capable person to follow. David Walsh’s post here is a great example to remember when you’re feeling trapped in the pressures of maintaining a “perfect” professional image. After all, humans follow humans. Don’t be afraid to be one.

How much should a startup budget for PR? Less than whatever number makes your burn rate even a bit uncomfortable; but more than zero. Wide range, we know 👀 The truth is - not everyone needs a PR agency. There's plenty you, as the founder/creator/person in charge, can do to land some attention. And it's wise to give PR a go yourself, *before* you start investing tens of thousands of euros into it -- if only to get smart on what you'll be hiring someone to do. Still, your time is valuable, so skip the hours of googling. You can get a founder-specific guide to PR from us for less than 30 euros - with an option to spend just a bit more, if you'd like some time to ask questions specific to your company. 😎 Happy pitching! https://lnkd.in/d_-gcgPd

When launching a startup, it's common for the brand narrative to take shape over time. In those early stages, knowing what to focus on and how to build a compelling story can make all the difference in setting your brand apart. That’s where The Ultimate Founders Guide to PR comes in. Created by our expert team at Maneuvre, the book is filled with practical insights tailored specifically for founders ready to make an impact, willing to learn what they should require from a PR agency, and how to prepare for their first announcement. For a limited time, when you get your copy, you’ll also enjoy a private 30-minute Q&A with Rachel P.. This is a great opportunity to ask your burning questions and receive personalised insights. No matter where you are in your PR journey, this book will help you: ✨ Build a strong foundation for your PR efforts that aligns with your mission. ✨ Connect with more media and effectively communicate your narrative to stand out. ✨ Position yourself as a thought leader in your industry, fostering relationships that matter. Interested? Check more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/d_-gcgPd

With so many events throughout the year, it's impossible to attend them all, but Web Summit is a must if you want to understand what’s happening right now and what’s coming next. So, how can you make sure you’re getting the best return on investment from the event? 📅 Plan your schedule: With so many stages and speakers, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Highlight the key sessions that align with your goals or feature people you’d like to meet. 👋 Network with intent: You’ll meet people everywhere – from the conference floor to the coffee line. Be intentional about who you want to connect with. Don’t overlook side events either—some of the most valuable conversations happen away from the main stages. 📲 Use the app: Leverage the Web Summit app to build your connections list in advance, so you’re not scrambling during the event. And, of course, we’ll be there too – so if you want to chat, connect with Michalina Brokos 🔜 Web Summit / Lisbon and Andrea Gomez Lopez!

There are two reasons founders and execs don’t post more online (whether their own writing or on LinkedIn). One, they don’t want to brag and turn off their customers/investors. Two, they don’t want to give away info that their competitors could use. The good news is that you and your team can show up as experts without doing either. 🥸 Here’s a good example: Premo Ojokojo from AZA Finance addresses the challenges and solutions for building diverse teams in the fintech space. Achieving high team retention or gender parity in this industry is not easy, but the AZA Finance team has been very successful in this area—and Premo was happy to share her tips with other HR directors. You can read Premo’s op-ed in theHRDIRECTOR here: https://lnkd.in/dnuPhisG.

In today's fast-paced digital world, timing is everything. Major industry events gather the brightest minds, biggest brands, and most disruptive startups in one place. They also gather many of your possible investors, clients, or partners. With so much innovation and activity concentrated in a few days, the window of opportunity to make a splash is both exciting and narrow. Brands that announce during these key moments can get unparalleled exposure—but only if they do it right. Big events (like Web Summit, which is already next month 👀) provide a huge platform to get your message out there, but with so many companies fighting for attention, you’ll need a solid strategy to stand out: ⏱️ Timing is everything. Are you speaking at one of the panels or giving the keynote? Is it possible to mention your announcement there? Maybe you should organise a small side event during the conference? Big events sometimes offer assistance with announcements—look for insights on their website, in a media pack, or in other guidelines you received. 🎉 Clarity & visibility – your message needs to stand out, especially when so much else is happening. Media exclusives can help create excitement and ensure you reach your core audience. If you know what you’re announcing and when you want to do it, already start reaching out to journalists. And remember: the story is exclusive. So you offer it exclusively to one journalist at a time. 📤 Outreach – prep your media and outreach strategy ahead of time so you’re not too stressed with it at the last minute. If you’re not announcing your news exclusively, it’s a good idea to send it to the journalists under embargo to give them some time to prep the article (they may not have enough time to do it if they’re also attending the conference!) There’s still time to get it right. Need some help? Contact us @ founders@maneuvre.co. PS: Check the Web Summit schedule here: https://lnkd.in/eKixThgs

One impressive statistic. That's all your company really needs to stand out. A single, verifiable, non-skewed data point that shows: 🔎 Why you, why now, and why someone who isn't financially incentivised to support you (such as your regulators, or the press) should care. Then, once you have it, share it - with visuals! Even better is to collect several data points and publish them all, proudly, just like Solynta | true potato seeds has done here in their latest Kenya report. They have the numbers to prove that, indeed, they *are* helping farmers use less fungicide, meaning these growers can achieve ESG goals and still provide enough food for our global nutrition security. This is a great example of how to capture your wins in a way that is newsworthy and easily understandable. https://lnkd.in/exH6EdfV

Your less-than-perfect-but-entirely-your-own-expertise writing > anything ChatGPT creates for you. This is true for all of us, but especially true if you work in emerging technologies. Why? 🤔 There’s not as much for AI to ‘learn from’ if your work is truly bleeding-edge-new. It’s never going to get your novel tech just right. and 🤔 If you are bleeding-edge-new, you have the opportunity to define, early on, what makes your tech great - if you delegate this to a non-expert, it’s just not going to be expertise. It’s going to be words. Therefore, please, if you do nothing else: Don’t send AI op-eds or answers to press. First of all, they will know - and will know you as someone that didn’t take the time. Second, their job is to take your expertise and, after vetting it, share it in a digestible way to their readers (your investors, clients, communities). For that trade to work, you have to provide something original. Thanks for the inspiration Stefano De Marzo!

If you want to get a speaking slot at the event, start appearing in podcasts, have your op-ed placed, or start being recognised as an important voice in your industry, there are several things you can do. And they can be summarised in this short sentence: be active. 💡 Be active on social media: Share that article that recently got you inspired/made you think about something specific. Or write a piece sharing your expertise and publish it on your LinkedIn. 👋 Be active at networking events and conferences: Take the opportunity to connect with people and build your exposure and position. 📰 Be active with media opportunities: If a journalist is seeking an expert to comment on a topic within your expertise, reach out and share your opinion or connect them with someone else in your network who can be helpful. These things pay off. They will come back to you in a good sense sooner or later. Like this week for LongeVC’s Artem A. Trotsyuk, who shared a commentary for an in-depth, well-researched article on AI in a biotech bubble by Jules ADAM from Labiotech.eu. This is definitely a piece you want to be featured in as an industry expert. If you're interested in the future of AI and biotech and appreciate good journalism, make sure to give it a read: https://lnkd.in/dhHqe2yK