Mary Ann Azevedo has a passion for covering innovative startups. As Crunchbase News’ former senior reporter—she recently announced her move to HousingWire as their new fintech editor—and a regular Forbes contributor, Azevedo has her finger on the pulse of budding businesses throughout the country. A self-proclaimed specialist in real estate and construction technology—reflections of her time at the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Crunchbase News and the San Francisco Business Times—Azevedo has covered dozens of startup financings totalling hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Red Fan team met up with Azevedo in a virtual roundtable to catch up on the latest from Crunchbase News, discuss Azevedo’s observations in today’s funding environment and hear a few of her tips for emerging startups on how to position themselves in today’s competitive media market.
TWITTER IS A HOTBED FOR CONVERSATION AND BRAND-BUILDING.
“Twitter is a big source of web traffic and general conversation,” Azevedo told us. Not only are journalists sharing content more frequently and interacting with friends and colleagues, they are also using Twitter as a tool to research and evaluate story angles. Azevedo herself recently posed a question to her more than 5,000 followers, asking “What type of start-up news are you most interested in reading?” She received nearly 30 replies.
While Twitter’s short-form and seemingly fleeting content can prove difficult to communicate a brand’s positioning and value, it acts as a critical conduit between a company’s thought leaders and industry influencers. Companies should consider a Twitter strategy with a focused outcome: Regular engagement with relevant industry players, whether that be customers, media or industry peers.
Take Perch Perspective, for example, a human-centric business and political consulting firm that has amassed more than 200 followers since its April 2020 launch. The team frequently posts owned content while regularly commenting on news relevant to their target clientele’s industries. Note how they tag publications and reporters directly while supporting their posts with relevant hashtags and links. Not only is the company sharing its high-value content with its followers, but it is reinforcing its expertise by engaging with timely news and reporters focused on relevant beats.
HAVE A FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE HORIZON? DATA TALKS.
“If you’re pitching a funding announcement, the more numbers and metrics you can provide, the better,” Azevedo said. While she noted that revenue numbers can’t always be shared, the more you can contextualize the impact of the company’s recent growth or scale, the better it serves the piece. Growth statistics like year-over-year revenue increases, plans for headcount expansion or annual recurring revenue demonstrate your brand’s traction in the market and showcase how the funding will impact customers and the broader industry.
In Azevedo’s recent article about Human Interest’s $10 million Series C, she notes a number of growth stats both related and unrelated to the company’s funding, including the number of companies and employees it serves. A company spokesperson also describes Human Interest’s growth through its revenue increase of “up ‘three to four times’ compared to the same period last year.” The article later includes a reference to the company’s growth plans for internal headcount.
INNOVATIVE BIOTECH AND LIFE SCIENCES COMPANIES ARE ON THE RISE.
“Companies doing things that literally save lives will be more valued and looked at differently in today’s environment,” Azevedo shared. Already a fan of covering “under-the-radar” regions and industries, Azevedo is intrigued by the emergence of creative biotech and life sciences companies.
Between May 27 and 28 alone, Crunchbase News covered more than $80 million in funding for health care brands including Q32 Bio, Tia, and Stork Club. We’re watching the rise of biotech in our own backyard, with companies like Babson Diagnostics striking a crucial collaborative research agreement with Dell Medical School to study the immune response to COVID-19.
Azevedo’s parting thoughts encouraged companies to lead with sincerity. While funding announcements may seem straightforward and fact-based, she and her colleagues connect with companies that are truly telling a story.
“A company’s story has to be really sincere. The truth and humanity has to come through, it can’t just be disguised self-promotion.”
Follow Azevedo on Twitter here and find her past Crunchbase News coverage here and current HousingWire coverage here.
