## Startup Events as a PR Method, Boosting Sales, and Attracting Investments

Startup founders often aim to attract investments to fund their projects while simultaneously boosting their PR. Participating in various events—such as conferences, seminars, and expert gatherings—is considered a staple in the startup community. But what about sales? As startup enthusiasts might say, “We’re a startup! We need growth hacks, networking, news hacking, coworking, scaling, and plenty of pitches for appetizers!”

# Seminars and Business Trainings

Let’s start with the most obvious yet least effective method: business trainings and thematic seminars with so-called “gurus” in the field. Typically, these educational gatherings occur in what’s humorously referred to as “coworking” spaces—places synonymous with laziness, hypocrisy, superficial work appearances, procrastination, smoothie bars, and endless, unfounded showmanship.

Why do people attend these seminars? Isn’t working from home better and, moreover, free—no distractions, and if there are, the inter-room doors have been around for ages. People go there not to work but to find excuses not to work and to flaunt their new MacBooks and take selfies claiming they’re “working on the job.” How can you even take a selfie while working or engaging in sports? You’re either working or not; you’re either exercising or coming to take a selfie to make everyone think you’re dedicated. And how can you look good in a gym? Sweaty armpits, greasy hair, and a red, puffed face—very sexy. Although, if you haven’t actually done anything there… We’ve veered off-topic.

Moving on, the peak nonsense is when these trainings focus on topics like “Goal Achievement,” “Motivation,” and other trends aimed at lazy individuals seeking a magical push. Here’s a secret: to achieve your goals, you need to work hard and persistently; to find motivation, you either have it or you don’t. That’s it. I won’t even charge you for this advice. Such seminars aren’t suitable for aspiring entrepreneurs because by the time they attend, it’s already too late if they’re seeking motivation. Professionals might attend just to enjoy these splendid speeches.

# Startup Conferences

Here, the audience tends to be more substantial. Attendees at such conferences know what they need to do and when to do it, yet they attend to learn how by going to conferences hosted by experts, having initially invested some of their savings intended for their own startups.

A startup conference is a treasure trove of knowledge… for regular attendees of self-development trainings. If you’re somewhat in the know and came seeking secret information from “myth-busters,” I’m here to disappoint you: “experts” attend conferences with the same intent you attend them as speakers—to gain PR. Remember when someone asked you to present your sales-boosting methods, or perhaps you volunteered to speak; what was your first thought? “This is a fantastic PR opportunity!” Now, applying basic logic and arithmetic: how many attendees are listening to you? About 50, at best 200 if the organizers know their stuff. But startups are rarely invited as speakers. Usually, those who have previously failed ventures are invited. But you’re just starting out. So, reach is about 100 people. Costs include gas or a train ticket (assuming you didn’t pay for participation, which isn’t a given), plus a lot of time spent traveling, preparing your speech, and the event itself. In comparison, how many views would your Medium post get? If you’re a newbie, on average—2,000, with a platform reach of over a million! Costs? Only time and internet fees. Plus, the results of your work are verifiable. How do you evaluate the real effectiveness of a conference? The number of experts you had coffee with during a coffee break?

Moreover, true professionals don’t have time for such conferences. They’re either growing their business or spending time with their families, for which they already lack this precious resource. Instead, Facebook commentators give speeches at these events. Rare exceptions are giants who have created a steady passive income and attend these conferences out of sheer boredom, but reaching them from the bottom is impossible: their real advice is too costly.

Lastly, some startup founders even attend special networking conferences, studying psychology and NLP to master the art of schmoozing. They even coined a special term for it—networking. It’s like a fad—creating fancy names for basic concepts, similar to how a janitor is now a “cleaning company manager.” Of course, a conference on flattery techniques sounds unserious.

# Startup Competitions

Participating in various battles, competitions, and tournaments for startups can kill three birds with one stone: PR, attracting investments, and your own hopes for PR and investment through such events.

And all this is achieved by schmoozing with other startup enthusiasts and industry experts. Naturally! We go to see others and to showcase ourselves. Showcasing yourself, of course, but that’s not important. Few consider that all other “experts” came for the same reason.

There are three types of participants in startup competitions:

• Organizers
• Jury Experts
• Startup Teams

Now, let’s dissect whom you’re aiming to gain PR in front of these three categories.

## Organizers

They earn precisely by having you attend. Conversations about what your company does and your unique product deeply interest them not at all. Hopefully, you weren’t planning to make an impression on them to get invited again next time, as that’s a foolish endeavor.

## Jury Experts

It’s implied—or at least, you hope desperately—that the jury consists of genuine investors who come to select worthy startups and invest a million dollars. Don’t fool yourself with vain hopes. True investors attend conferences to support the startups they’ve already invested in. Here’s a free secret: investors need startups just as much as startups need investments. They also face competition: who invests first in a promising startup. Each investment round implies a different approximate percentage of the company. In the first round, investment amounts are smallest, but the share is very attractive, corresponding to the highest percentage of future profits. As the saying goes, “The first is the father,” but in this case, it’s an advantage for investors.

We previously wrote that in the fall of 2015, the international startup competition Venture Days was held in Prague, claiming to have 50 investors, but in reality, only 4 attended! Organizers were running around with strollers, changing their children’s diapers, and the organization was so disorganized that speaker presentations got tangled like headphone wires in a pocket. However, there were plenty of startups, but it’s unclear to whom they were presenting themselves—probably to each other. However, the showmanship was impressive, and they charged hefty prices: €350 for two team members for two days.

Shockingly, some participants explicitly stated, “We don’t need investments. We’re here for PR.” PR? Who among these three groups is likely to purchase anything from them? At these bazaars, only sellers gather: organizers sell their services, startups try to sell themselves, and experts trade their reputations. Where are the buyers? They’re nowhere to be found.

## Startup Teams

Finding partners? Potential mutually beneficial collaborations? Forget it; no one cares. People are hustling hard to advance, readily stepping on others. You can only make enemies there, not partners. All participants are so self-centered, thinking only about making their pitch better on the fly so everyone’s jaws drop. No one can remember what your company does. Everyone cares only about themselves.

# Final Thoughts

Lastly, one more free yet valuable piece of advice. If you want to attract investments, you need to reach out to investors directly. This allows you to secure the person you genuinely want as your investor. Attracting investments isn’t just about money but about a long-term collaboration with someone who not only provides funds on humane terms but also offers connections, advises you when needed, and truly acts as an expert who’s been through fire and water. They are invested in ensuring you act correctly because your business is their money. However, it’s best not to look for investors at all; instead, create a self-sustaining product, and once you start generating substantial income, believe it or not, they’ll come to you. Many investors hesitate to invest in startups that aren’t yet making any money, often delaying the “Series A” round. Attracting investments without an MVP at the idea stage is a distant dream. Therefore, only persistent and long-term effort without wasting time on showmanship will help you achieve real PR, boost sales, and finally secure investments if you can’t do without them.

For more insights and resources on connecting with the right venture capital firms and private equity companies, visit Co-Founder AI.