Give the reporter what she wants!

Founders bring companies into being because they don’t take no for an answer, because they bravely tackle all obstacles, because they never, ever give up. These characteristics are essential when creating something from nothing, especially when changing a whole industry.

But it’s exactly these qualities that play havoc with founders when they try to communicate externally. Ninety-five percent of the time, The Wall Street Journal is going to say 'no'. If you keep asking a journalist to write a story that serves you and not them, their resistance hardens. You’ll destroy the reputation you’re trying to build.

If you want a ‘yes’ from a major business publication like The Wall Street Journal, you have to have a story that they want to put in their pages. They do not care about how your product works. What they care about is the river of money.

Business press cover business. They cover the flow of goods and services and money between creators, suppliers, and buyers. Our global economy is a massive, interconnected river of money. A brand new tributary in the river of money is business news. A tributary that overtakes and subsumes another tributary is business news. Sometimes a giant river of money just dries up through its own lack of momentum. Forensic coverage exploring why organizations fail is another big staple of the business press.

When you’re sitting in your first big interview with that business press reporter, expect her to ask for customer references, industry analyst data, sales and market figures, research. She won’t just take your word for it that you’re doing great. She requires proof.

Apply your grit and determination to building a fantastic constellation of proof points to surround your company’s story. When you succeed in building a great case, you’ll start hearing ‘yes’ a lot more from the business press!