The startup world never stands still, so it’s not a surprise that the strategies founders use to position their companies are constantly changing. For decades, media coverage of funding announcements has been a cornerstone of PR efforts. A visible article detailing the millions raised was often the first badge of credibility for a startup, crucial not just for attracting customers but also for building investor trust and team morale. However, as Violetta Bonenkamp, an experienced European entrepreneur and thought leader, points out: the funding round article is now obsolete. Here’s what startups need to know and, more importantly, what they should do instead.
The Fall of the Funding Round Article
Over the past two decades, tech journalism has been saturated with stories about startups raising Seed, Series A, or even larger rounds. Media outlets once clamored to report these funding milestones, but this practice has dwindled for several reasons:
Oversupply of Startups: In 2025 alone, there were over 450 Series A rounds in Europe, but fewer than 700 news stories published by platforms like Sifted, many of which didn’t focus on funding. The sheer number of companies chasing limited media attention makes it impossible for every story to be covered.
Economic Challenges of Journalism: Media outlets are increasingly driven by subscription and event-based revenue models, prioritizing exclusive, business-critical news. Funding announcements no longer qualify as such. In fact, the Press Gazette reported that 4,000 journalism jobs were cut in 2024 in the U.S. and UK, down from 8,000 in 2023, leaving fewer journalists to cover non-disruptive funding news.
Automation and Aggregation: With tools like ChatGPT and AI-powered aggregation platforms, anyone can now search and find funding information. The exclusivity of announcing a raise has eroded entirely.
Bonenkamp observes, “Most startups pursuing traditional funding PR strategies today are like academics submitting outdated papers to journals that no longer publish in their fields.”
Why Abandoning Old Habits Matters
Founders often attach emotional significance to media coverage as validation of their progress. However, Bonenkamp argues this outdated thinking can lead to misallocated resources: “Every hour spent convincing a journalist to cover your round is an hour not spent building meaningful connections with your actual audience.” It’s time for founders to recalibrate their expectations and strategies.
What to Do Instead
Shifting away from traditional funding PR strategies doesn’t mean giving up on visibility, it means leveraging modern, high-impact alternatives. Here’s how Bonenkamp suggests founders adapt:
1. Develop Your Owned Media Strategy
- Why? Platforms like LinkedIn or a company blog allow startups to narrate their story without the gatekeeping of external publishers.
- Actionable Steps:
- Create a high-quality blog post about the funding round, highlighting how the funds will be used and the impact on customers. Add visuals such as infographics, videos, or team photos.
- Coordinate your launch post across key stakeholders, your investors, founders, and team members. This amplifies reach organically.
- Example: CEOs such as Alex Bouaziz of Deel have successfully leveraged LinkedIn for updates that go viral because of their authenticity and storytelling.
2. Focus on Building Your Network and Community
- Engage directly with your target audience on social platforms or in niche community groups.
- Platforms like Discord or startup forums can be as impactful as the biggest media outlet when scaled authentically.
3. Turn to Alternative Story Angles
- Instead of focusing solely on money raised, craft narratives that resonate emotionally:
- The founder’s journey or a remarkable customer success story.
- Contrarian insights into your market, such as challenging existing industry norms.
- As Bonenkamp puts it, “People relate to people, not numbers. Funding news rarely inspires, but a heartfelt personal or team-driven story often does.”
Avoid These Common Mistakes
1. Overestimating Media Influence
Relying too heavily on “as seen in” logos for credibility is naive. Founders often believe customers or partners will be impressed by these mentions, but according to a Kim Oguilve study, credibility isn’t built by logos alone. Long-term customer trust is a result of successful engagements, not media exposure.
2. Wasting Time on Cold Pitches to Journalists
Many startups pursue weeks-long efforts to secure journalists’ attention for funding stories. Bonenkamp advises setting a strict two-week limit on PR campaigns for funding news. If traction isn’t achieved by then, allocate the resources elsewhere.
3. Neglecting Team Alignment
PR activity often happens in silos, by one founder or a marketing lead, without the buy-in of the whole team. Collaborative efforts can amplify visibility.
A Modern Guide: How to Announce Funding the Right Way
Write a Crisp Blog Post
Use tools like Notion or Medium to outline:- Why the raise matters.
- Specific examples of future plans enabled by the funding.
- Gratitude towards contributors, like team members and investors.
Plan an Amplified Social Launch
- Ask investors, employees, and advisors to post their unique take on the announcement. A coordinated wave can lead to viral engagement.
- Use platforms such as LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) to launch simultaneously.
Invest in Visuals
Graphics, short videos introducing the founding team, or even animated content can make announcements far more engaging.Track Engagement Metrics
Leverage analytics to measure which platforms and posts gained the most traction. This will guide future outreach efforts.
Strategic Insights from Violetta Bonenkamp
The era of funding round articles might be over, but founders now have an enormous opportunity to rewrite the rules of startup visibility. “Today’s startups,” says Bonenkamp, “must act as thought leaders, directly building customer relationships through storytelling and transparency.” Instead of chasing diminishing returns from traditional media, founders should focus on building a community-driven brand that resonates on a deeper level.
For example, CadChain, one of Bonenkamp’s startups, has embraced this new PR paradigm. By focusing on grants, innovation-based messaging, and community engagement, it gained visibility among key stakeholders and was selected by the OECD as one of 12 global participants in a prestigious Blockchain Forum.
Final Thoughts
Media coverage of funding announcements isn’t dead, it’s just irrelevant for most startups. Founders who understand this shift can save time, resources, and energy by focusing their efforts on community engagement, emotional storytelling, and owned media strategies. As Bonenkamp emphasizes, “Visibility comes from authenticity. If you make an impact, people will notice, with or without a journalist’s byline.”
By embracing innovative PR tactics that focus on lasting value rather than quick headlines, today’s founders can pave the way for sustainable long-term growth. For more startup insights, explore resources like Sifted.
FAQ
1. Why are funding round articles becoming obsolete?
Funding round articles are becoming obsolete because of an oversupply of startups, shrinking journalistic resources, and automation tools like ChatGPT that aggregate funding news. Check out Sifted: The funding round article is dead
2. What data supports the decline in funding round coverage?
In 2025, there were 478 Series A rounds in Europe, but Sifted only published 686 news stories, not all of which were about funding. Read about it on Sifted
3. How has journalism’s economics contributed to this decline?
Journalism has shifted toward subscription models, prioritizing exclusive, business-critical content, which funding news often isn’t. In 2024, 4,000 journalism jobs were cut in the U.S. and UK. Learn more on Press Gazette
4. What are better alternatives to traditional funding PR?
Alternatives include creating a robust owned media strategy, focusing on social platforms like LinkedIn, and engaging directly with communities on platforms like Discord. Check out Sifted for strategies
5. What is an owned media strategy?
It involves using platforms like LinkedIn or a company blog to narrate your story directly, bypassing external publishers. Explore this strategy on Sifted
6. Why is building a network and community important for startups?
Engaging with your target audience in niche community groups or through social platforms fosters direct relationships and trust. Learn more at Sifted
7. What types of stories should founders focus on?
Founders should tell emotionally resonant stories, such as their personal journeys, customer success stories, or market insights. Discover more storytelling tips on Sifted
8. How can startups effectively announce funding without media coverage?
Startups can write crisp blog posts, plan coordinated social launches, invest in visuals, and track engagement metrics. Learn about effective PR tactics on Sifted
9. What mistakes do startups make when seeking media coverage?
Common mistakes include overestimating media influence, wasting time cold-pitching journalists, and neglecting team alignment for PR campaigns. Avoid these mistakes with insights from Sifted
10. Who is a thought leader advocating for innovative PR tactics?
Violetta Bonenkamp is a European entrepreneur and thought leader who advises startups to focus on community-driven branding and storytelling. Read her insights on Sifted
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp’s expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the “gamepreneurship” methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic “without any funding and without any code,” this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call “gamepreneurship”. By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique “play to learn and earn” model.