Communications Strategy
Investor Relations | Roadshow Editorial ||
Thought Leadership
Communications Strategy Investor Relations | Roadshow Editorial || Thought Leadership
Dream it
〰️
Dream it 〰️
Communications Strategy
Investor Relations | Roadshow Editorial ||
Thought Leadership
Communications Strategy Investor Relations | Roadshow Editorial || Thought Leadership
Communications Strategy
Fundraising PR Planning
Thought Leadership
Corporate, Executive Messaging S
Communications Strategy Fundraising PR Planning Thought Leadership Corporate, Executive Messaging S
Make News
Raise
CapitaL
COMMUNICATIONS +
CONTENT
Getting the right messaging for startups and their venture capital backers — from signal to headline to term sheet. StoryCraft delivers media training, pitch polish, and a battleplan designed to amplify your story.
Question
What single investor pitch in your arsenal can +43% your next raise?
News Capital is the compounding value a company creates when credible media coverage becomes an asset instead of a vanity metric. It turns press into a market signal: investors move faster, customers convert more easily, and top talent takes you seriously. When founders deliberately build News Capital, rounds close sooner, terms get better, and every future conversation starts with more trust already on the table.
Their pitch deck became the gold standard of fundraising storytelling. A simple narrative—problem → solution → travel revolution—raised early capital and is still taught as the canonical example.
The Result
Raised early capital; pitch deck became the 'how to do it' standard
One 2-minute explainer video replaced a 20-page product spec. Instead of technical specs, they told the story of losing files and annoying workarounds.
The Result
Boosted conversion by ~10%, helped add millions of users
A tightly scripted, sarcastic founder monologue. The story: 'Razors are a scam; we're the anti-scam.' One sharp script created a moat in a boring category.
The Result
Video went viral, built instant brand awareness, led to billion-dollar exit
Origin story + mission copy became their positioning. Founders annoyed by $300+ glasses and a monopoly; they told a clean story about affordable, stylish eyewear with a social mission.
The Result
Mission + story scaled them to multibillion-dollar DTC brand
A blog (Into The Gloss) became both market research and brand pre-sell. Founder Emily Weiss built a community and cult audience before the product even existed.
The Result
Blog-driven storytelling built trust that grew into billion-dollar+ brand
One internal memo ('We Don't Sell Saddles Here') defined the entire company narrative. Not selling chat software—selling less chaos, a new way of working.
The Result
Memo aligned the company and shaped all messaging; became multi-billion-dollar SaaS brand
Founder origin story: 'We built the tools we needed.' Tobi Lütke couldn't sell snowboards with existing tools, so he built his own. The narrative—builders scratching their own itch.
The Result
Story of founder-as-user reinforced trust and became core brand pillar
Blog + book (Rework) + essays established thought leadership. They used writing to define an entire philosophy about how work should happen.
The Result
Writing-driven positioning became core to brand and company culture
Don’t Buy Press Releases
Buy access, not press releases. Decades-deep corridors into AP, The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. Angles an editor buys and investors respect. Proof first. No hype. No reputational shrapnel. Coverage that moves markets. Momentum that shows up in the raise.
Joe Bel Bruno spent two decades inside newsrooms, helping decide which stories landed on front pages at influential outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Associated Press.
He’s sat in the meetings where pitches live or die, weighed what gets headline treatment and what gets buried, and watched in real time how coverage moves markets, reputations, and careers. Joe knows what resonates for startups because he’s helped build the kind of coverage he now chases for clients—most notably launching dot.LA with Spencer Rascoff to give Los Angeles’ startup ecosystem the reporting depth it was missing. .
Today, he uses that same editorial muscle to help founders, funds, and high-growth companies turn their work into coverage that investors respect—not vanity PR, but stories that actually show up in the raise
Smart storytelling for emerging companies
From seed to Series B, we help you earn press, shape narrative, and protect reputation
Is the story sellable?
Site, deck, and materials reviewed for clarity, proof, and journalist appeal.
You get: a red-lined deck, angle map, 1-page audit with fixes.
Ideal for: fundraising in the next 60–90 days.
Turn signal into headline.
Founder bylines, quote bank, message house, and media prep that lands.
You get: 3 byline outlines, press kit, mock interviews, talk tracks.
Ideal for: launches, traction moments, or stagnating PR.
Stay out of the ditch.
Ongoing narrative management, risk scanning, and shoring up crisis prevention.
You get: narrative plan, issues watchlist, response playbook.
Ideal for: regulated, founder-loud, or deal-heavy teams.