Having a press friendly startup is good for getting you press - but that's different than marketing. If it's not actually driving sales then it's just noise. F

Having a press friendly startup is good for getting you press - but that's different than marketing. If it's not actually driving sales then it's just noise. For instance, I worked with an early stage hardware startup whose customers were developers (you couldn't actually do anything with the device if you weren't a developer. It was a SDK not a finished product). They generated tons of press because hardware is much easier to understand, show and write stories about than software. But despite being in really high profile publications (millions and millions of people seeing it) - it failed to move the needle sales wise. - Most developers aren't reading these publications - Most press articles don't mention the developer angle - You're just one of many many stories that day in a big publication. - In some ways is _really hurt_ because it made it seem like it was a $100 thing you could buy at Target than a complicated SDK. This resulted in lots of non-devs buying, being wildly disappointed and wanting to return it.