Seven years ago, in January, Black Unicorn PR started with a simple but powerful idea. To do PR differently. It all started with JJ’s role as Head of PR at a London startup. Looking for the right PR agency to partner with, something didn’t add up. Most agencies couldn’t cater to startups adequately, they were old-school in their approach. They would bring very senior salespeople to meet, but not those that would be servicing the account. There were very few startup-focused PR agencies.
We wanted to break free from the stale, impersonal approach of traditional agencies and build something agile, human, and deeply connected to the startup ecosystem. And so Black Unicorn PR was born. Mauro Battellini joined, bringing sales and marketing experience. And to look after ‘operations’. And the team was built from there.
Fast-forward to today, and we’re proud of how far we’ve come. Not just in the work we’ve done, but in the relationships we’ve built, the talent we’ve nurtured, and the impact we’ve had on the companies we’ve worked with.
So, as we celebrate our seventh birthday, we wanted to take a look back at what’s made this journey so rewarding.
Seeing the team grow
We’re proud of bringing an awesome group of humans together. From all corners of the world and not just the UK, including South Africa, Germany, Spain, Lithuania, Ukraine (and sometimes Argentina). It does make it hard to get together, but we wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. JJ, Mauro, Joe, Nataliia, Alice, Louise, Maria, Emma, Mia and all those that work with us somewhat less frequently. And how could we forget our historical corns Agne and Jenna.
Peeps that have been in PR for over a decade, highly experienced, and others who launched their PR career with us. There’s nothing more satisfying than investing in people, and seeing them grow in their roles. From focusing on content to managing multiple accounts. From narrow focuses to strategic thinkers. The team is always growing. Not just in terms of numbers. In terms of experience, expertise, confidence.
Although we prefer not to lose people, when we do we’re very proud of them. Some of our ex-corns are doing great things now and working for exciting companies (and much bigger than ours). OK, we’re getting sentimental now, so let’s move on.
Thanks for being part of the journey with BUPR, guys!
Working with amazing clients across verticals and geographies
Despite retaining an important European focus, we’ve helped companies from across the globe build a global reputation. From Finfra and Ayoconnect in Indonesia, utu and Credolab in Singapore, to ffVC in the US and South Africa’s biggest car subscription startup. As well as our home market of the UK, we’ve built solid connections with the Baltic and Central and Eastern European ecosystems. We’re big fans of CEE, their potential, fast-growth, straightforwardness and problem-solving ability. We’ve worked with Southern European startups, from Portugal to Italy. And we can confidently say, you may find some of the most hard-working, business-passionate people in the world there.
We’ve mastered the startup PR versatility challenge. From cybersecurity for AI and quantum to travel tech and consumer tech. From fintech to smart lockers. But also zoomed into the world of European startups with specialisations in certain industries. We’ve helped Davids punch like Goliaths, such as Lithuania-based Millo appear on a number of global publications including BBC Click and WIRED. Or also Lithuania-based gifting company Tinggly appear on Business Insider and The New York Times. If our client is seed, their PR punches at the level of competitors in Series A or B stage. If they are Series A or B… well you get the picture.
We’ve seen companies go from collaboration to acquisition, namely the cases of open banking fintech Nordigen (to GoCardless), and conversation review and QA platform for support teams, Klaus (to Zendesk). We’ve seen companies go from a handful of people to hundreds of employees. And we’ve turned startup founders into industry thought leaders whose opinions trigger conversations. We’ve taken startups from 0 to 1 and beyond with PR and helped them mould their images, helping them with their stakeholder journeys, awareness and more.
Most importantly, we met open people, founders willing to work together and give PR a seat at their table, with many of them becoming friends. These are true benefactors to society, who strive to improve our lives with better products and services one iteration at a time. If Black Unicorn PR can help, and we’ll be respected, we’re in!
Getting to know the people behind the publications and making friends
If you would look at Twitter you could be forgiven for thinking there is a battle going on between journalists and PR people. Let’s just say that the observable universe is full of bad apples, but once you zoom into the neighbourhood of actual PR pros, PRs with the right mentality, the truth couldn’t be further from that.
Whether for coffee, dinners or at events abroad, we’ve met and become friends with a good number of journalists. Real PR goes beyond the transactional. If we can deliver something of value to journalists, then we become resources for them as they pursue their stories and cater to their audiences. Like in trade and commerce, there are supply chains, and journalists appreciate professionals who can assist startups in delivering quality. Contrary to what it would seem on Twitter, most journalists we know are extremely appreciative of PR pros and how they prevent startups from being too promotional, spraying and praying and setting expectations.
But much further than that, what we’ve enjoyed the most is a shared passion. A shared passion for innovation, interesting startup ideas, analysing global trends, and completing each others’ pictures of the world. And it has led to a lot of interesting discussions. And in many cases, good friends to share drinks, meals, long walks and other experiences.
Is it exaggerated to say journalists help build the future? If you don’t write the chronicles of our lives, politics, economics, industries, technologies and more, how can we assess what’s going on and make better decisions? Journalism might struggle and seem to be in a dark place, but it will survive, and always be crucial.
Growing the brand, sharing the knowledge
From the beginning we didn’t want to be a faceless, presence-less company. We also didn’t want to be focused on one name (although JJ Comms sounds kinda cool). We didn’t care about the existing PR agency playbook too much. We rather looked at other industries and collected best practices from all over and joined them up with new ideas. That gives Black Unicorn PR a uniqueness, from the look and feel of the brand, to the initiatives with content to help educate startups about PR.
Today, we have a blog that we’re proud of, which we use to share our advice for PR, as well as many more resources. We have a podcast, Runway, focused on sharing insight from great people in the startup and media communities that can help founders and builders, as well as entertain listeners (though there’s work to be done in terms of showmanship skills, yes). And we are looking to work more with events and other media platforms.
Looking Ahead
Seven years in, and we’re still learning, evolving, and finding new ways to do PR better. And be better people. We’ve had wins, we’ve made mistakes. But always learning and growing. Growing stronger and wiser. As we look ahead, we’re excited about what’s next. New clients, new challenges, and new ways to shape, tell, share and enjoy meaningful stories.
Thanks to everyone who has been part of the journey so far, from our team, our clients, our journalist friends, and our broader network. Here’s to many more years of helping startups change the world!
Thanks to everyone that has been a part of the journey!
