Paul Graham on PR

Submitted by mikehostetler on Fri, 04/22/2005 - 10:00

Paul Graham is a person I enjoy reading very much. You can find out more about him here.

The reason I enjoy reading him is because he
offers a lot of straight advice about being an entrepreneur.  He
is honest about the challenges that face entrepreneur's today.  He
encourages young people to walk the same road he did, even with the
knowledge of what that road is like.

His latest piece about Public Relations companies
and changing media today hit me squarely.  In thinking about the
differences between a small company that is run from a basement or
garage in your spare time and a company that skyrockets to the NASDAQ
in only two years I have come to a few conclusions.  

1. The ideas that big companies have are no different than small companies.

2. Small companies only fail to execute their business in a way that would rocket it to the top.

3. Big companies somehow sold thier souls to discover the secret
keys of capitalism to rocket themselves and their companies to the top.

    Ok, maybe that last reason was a little far-fetched, but it
    definitely seems that way.  Rocket companies somehow get their
    companies out into the spotlight where they eventually achieve a
    critical rate of growth that becomes self-sustaining.  

    This
    is where the article by Paul Graham comes in.  He spilled the
    beans on the secret key that his company used to propel themselves to
    stardom and eventual sale to Yahoo.  They used a public relations
    company.  Their PR company (for an incredible fee) put them into
    the spotlight where they defined their brand in such a way that they
    became the golden child of internet e-commerce for small
    businesses. 

    Now, I am not saying that all you need is an
    idea and a good PR company.  There are other disciplines of
    business that you must execute in order to ride the rocket, but the
    disciplines of business are much more forgiving than the damage that
    can be caused by failure to use a PR company or even worse, using a bad
    PR company.

    So, if you are starting a business, be sure to look
    at the benefits of a good public relations company that can reach your
    ideal customer.

    Paul Graham's blog can't accept trackbacks, so here's an appreciative link.