Erin built 15 years of trust by being crystal clear about embargo terms, explaining why she won't do exclusives, and having honest conversations about editorial guidelines. She asks reporters point-blank: "What does exclusive mean to you? 10 minutes early or several hours?" Honoring those commitments—and being upfront when you can't—keeps relationships intact for the long term.

Hiring a PR agency for three months around a funding round doesn't work. Erin advises bringing on a consultant or contractor early to extract the narrative and build relationships over time. The founders who succeed are the ones who commit to relationship-building meetings with reporters even when there's no immediate coverage opportunity—because those lunches pay off when it's time for a big announcement.

Ten years ago, you could say "that's not my side of the house" when asked about growth marketing or paid media. Now, understanding customer priorities, business goals, and where media intersects with them is table stakes. Erin's pitch to founders isn't "trust me, this reporter matters"—it's "here's how this conversation aligns with our customer acquisition strategy and market positioning."

Product-focused tech reporters have disappeared. Founders need to hear this directly: just because you spent a year building something doesn't mean anyone outside your company cares. Erin sets this expectation early and shifts focus to owned storytelling—social, video, founder voices—with media as an amplifier, not the primary goal.

Audiences are gravitating toward authentic founder voices on LinkedIn and podcasts like TVPN because they're tired of rehearsed, PR'd personas. If your founder is one person on social and a completely different personality on Bloomberg, that dissonance kills trust. Protect the founder's authentic voice instead of polishing it away—even if that means they stumble occasionally.