By Liza Vilnits
Layoffs and business closures have become so common in the past few years that reporters have created newsletters and columns solely focused on the updates. The sentiments I hear from founders across sectors (and VCs, actually) are the same: it’s still tough out there right now.
The latest data shows that 2025 will likely be another year of “failed startups.” Fundraising continues to be a struggle and the time lapse between funding rounds for early-stage startups has reached the highest point in a decade.
Founders know that some VCs have capital, but are being extremely selective in deploying it; according to data from The National Venture Capital Association, there was $312 billion in dry powder in the U.S. last year.
And on top of it all — if you’re not an AI company, it may be tough to gain the attention of investors. But if you are an AI company, you’re being compared to giants like DeepSeek, whose rapid rise to fame has already begun to raise questions around valuations and capital requirements.
So what does all of this mean for startups? Founders must work harder than ever to stand out right now in order to get a piece of the small funding pie. But what I continue to see when talking to early-stage founders, looking at their pitch decks and websites, and listening to how they’re positioning their companies is this: They have no idea how to tell their story in a powerful way, which can make or break their company, especially in the early days.
While it’s not a founder’s job to be a publicist or marketer — they already wear 10 other hats — having “the story” down is the starting point to being successful in every single other area (recruiting, fundraising, customer targeting, etc.).
Many early-stage founders go through startup bootcamps and accelerators to learn about product market fit, engineering, sales, etc., but public relations and marketing are rarely given the spotlight that’s warranted. As a result, they lack the knowledge to hone messaging and also the tactical/execution skills to create opportunities for virality.
Common storytelling pitfalls
When asked about their company, founders naturally gravitate toward the product or service and strictly focus on the technology behind it. They tend to focus on explaining the “how” as part of their story instead of the “why.”
Additionally, founders often lack the data or proof points that emphasize the criticality of the problem they’re trying to solve. It can’t just be you talking about why something is important; founders need to create buy-in by showing the problem beyond just one personal anecdote, and it needs to go beyond just the total addressable market.
While personalizing your story to connect with the audience you’re pitching can push you forward, using buzz words or phrases that don’t actually mean anything such as “first in the market,” or “one-of-a-kind” will detract from your appeal and come off as weightless claims. If you truly believe that to be true, make sure your claims have two legs to stand on.
The secret sauce to a compelling story
First and foremost, identify or craft the aha moment that sparked the idea — this humanizes you and makes you both memorable and relatable. Then paint the picture of the problem, why your audience needs this solution — and most importantly — what the world would look like without your solution. To build this narrative, it’s critical to hone in on the core audience and industry, but also broaden the horizon to determine if there’s a trickle effect that perhaps tells a much larger story.
There are likely other companies trying to solve the same problem, so anticipate the first questions you’ll likely receive which is: “What makes your approach truly different or unique than what’s already available on the market?”
Don’t beat around the bush. Talk about your competitors openly, perhaps what they’re good at, but also the major blindspots, gaps or oversights in what they’re building, and get granular — maybe it’s accessibility, cost, usability or something else that they’re lacking in comparison.
Lastly, “why you — what makes you uniquely qualified to solve this problem?” Anyone could hire a developer to build your technology, but what is it about your past personal or professional experiences that makes you the best person to build this product or company?
Elevate your perspective and use that to boost credibility and trust in your leadership.
If just one thing: Use your voice
In order to get noticed — by investors, potential partners, customers, employees, etc. — you need to be vocal, and not just in closed-door meetings with your team. Becoming a thought leader in your industry means talking openly and reacting to what’s happening in the world, whether on social media, via blog posts, or through a substack newsletter. Bonus points if you are pursuing media coverage like being quoted in an article, speaking at events, or being interviewed on podcasts, for example. Whether you’re in education, healthcare, finance or something else, stay up to date on the breaking and trending news within your industry and speak out (in a thoughtful way) about the good, the bad and the ugly, tying it back to what drives you and your company’s mission. This is the first step to getting noticed and building credibility.
Nailing your story truly has the power to catapult you forward and have a domino effect on possible investment, team growth, customers and more. If you take just one thing from this: Take the time to be extremely thoughtful in how you’re telling your story and showing up online.
Surely, this will require a time investment — do the tough questions exercise, conduct the competitive research, ideate on key messaging, and more. It will be worth it, though. There will be plenty of things that are out of your control as a founder, but one of the most important — the one you can control — is how you tell your story.
Liza Vilnits is the founder and CEO of Beyond Trending, a public relations agency that helps startups, VCs and nonprofits increase their exposure through powerful storytelling. The agency’s clients have been featured in top-tier publications including Crunchbase News, TechCrunch, Fortune, , The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider and others. From publicly traded cybersecurity companies to vegan pet food brands, she has led PR campaigns for B2B and B2C clients, large and small, for more than a decade. Vilnits has spoken about the power of storytelling at conferences like TechCrunch Early Stage and Charleston’s Good Business Summit.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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