What is PR and How Do You Get Featured as a Startup Founder?

Talk about something that can put your brand in front of thousands, sometimes millions, of eyeballs without you spending a single rupee on ads.

It’s called PR (Public Relations).

Now, PR is not the same as marketing. Marketing is you talking about yourself. PR is someone else, ideally a respected media outlet, blogger, or influencer, talking about you. That’s why it’s so powerful. When you say you’re good, it’s advertising. When they say you’re good, it’s credibility.

So, why do we need PR?

Because people trust stories more than sales pitches. They want to read about “The founder who turned ₹5,000 into a ₹5 crore brand in three years” or “The startup making clothes from bamboo that feel softer than silk.” It’s human. It’s interesting. And most importantly, it’s shareable.

Let me give you an example. A couple of days ago, I went to DMart to purchase some items. One of them was a liquid detergent.

I usually have the habit of analysing my own and others’ purchasing behaviour. I watch how people interact with products and try to interpret why they take something or completely ignore other products.

It’s interesting to see. A few people get attracted to certain products that most people don’t even look at.

While I was in the detergent section, I was looking for one name – Fab.

There were a dozen other brands, including Rin, Surf Excel, Ariel, etc., but I was looking for Godrej Fab.

I stopped and thought, because I was introduced to the brand name a couple of weeks ago during an offline advertisement here and there. I saw an ad while watching a CSK match on JioHotstar.

Those were the initial touchpoints. But they kept advertising Fab as a low-price alternative – like “Rs. 99 washing liquid.”

The brand name stuck in my head.

Just a couple of days ago, I read an article in BusinessLine about Fab’s finances. They said it was doing roughly ₹250 crores. That shocked me. They introduced the product just a year ago, and they’re already making ₹250 crores? The power of the offline distribution network that Godrej has.

Then the article went on to say Godrej is aiming at ₹2,000 crores in the coming years.

What? ₹2,000 crores? It must be a great product. Unless it could have such strong numbers!

Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter here — it got into my head. Now, I was sold on this article.

This is PR.

PR enhances your marketing efforts by increasing credibility.

But when do we need PR for our clothing brand?

Not on Day 1. On Day 1, you don’t have a story yet. You’re still figuring out your products, customers, and systems. PR works best when you have something worth talking about: a milestone, a unique product launch, a social impact story, a big collaboration, or even a failure you turned into a comeback. That’s when the media wants to listen.

How do you get featured?

You don’t have to hire a fancy PR agency in the beginning. Start small. Make a list of journalists who write about startups, fashion, or sustainability.

Follow them, comment on their posts, and build a genuine relationship. When you pitch, don’t send them a boring “We are a clothing brand” email. Send them a story they’ll want to open with their morning coffee.

For example, instead of saying, “We make T-shirts from bamboo cotton.”
Say, “We turned a discarded fabric idea into a cult-favourite T-shirt loved by 1,000 customers in just 60 days.”

Remember, PR is not a one-time stunt. It’s a slow, steady drip of stories that keeps your brand relevant. The right story at the right time can do more for your credibility than a ₹5 lakh ad campaign.

So think about it – what’s your story right now, and how can you tell it so that people want to share it for you?. If you’re just starting, keep this in mind until you figure things out.