1. Focus on building an engaged community

This can make or break everything from acquiring customers, to influencing product decisions and raising capital. Monzo is a great example: from its much coveted golden tickets, to asking its community to vote on product decisions, it has built up a loyal, active base from the get-go.

2. Get it in front of people in ways they might not expect

We created branded seat covers and put them over rental bikes across London; left envelopes with £5 in them across the city telling people ‘we’d rather give the money to you than spend it on Google Ad words’. But be careful it doesn’t create extra work – one of our portfolio companies launched a campaign to send a pineapple to anyone in London’s Zone 1. They got landed with all sorts of issues around fruit storage and warehousing.

3. Think hard about media outreach

There are so many startups launching and only so many journalists at the likes of TechCrunch. Approach different media depending on the levers you need to pull at any given time – for getting on the radar of investors, TechCrunch is great; driving purchases, not so much.

4. Collaborate

When resources and budgets are stretched, think about how you can collaborate with other brands/individuals/events. Think of ways to get your story hitting across as many touchpoints as possible.

5. Involve the crowd

Crowdfunding platforms are a great way of democratising access to the startup economy and enabling businesses to reward their most active fans. They generate buzz and prove you’ve built something people genuinely want.

6. Own your story

Consider the different channels you’re on – then think about the different stories you can tell and people you can reach across those channels. Include people who’ve been a part of your journey to help increase reach, and to share the love.

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