Total venture funding reached $469 billion in 2025 — the highest level in three years. Yet for most startups, the capital markets have never felt more closed off.
That’s because the money isn’t spreading. Investors are writing bigger checks to fewer companies, cycling mega-rounds back to the same handful of AI darlings, over and over.
So how does a startup break through when the capital keeps flowing to the same companies?
New research from Harvard Business School points to a factor most founders underestimate: visibility.
Researchers Brian K. Baik and Albert Shin analyzed more than 28,000 venture capital deals across 17,525 U.S.-based startups to understand how media coverage functions as an information mechanism in private markets — where there are no mandatory disclosures, no analyst coverage, and no regulatory filings to signal quality to the outside world.
Their findings are striking. Increases in news coverage are significantly associated with a higher probability of subsequent financing. A single standard deviation increase in coverage corresponds to roughly a 1.8 percentage point increase in the likelihood of closing a next round.
The effects don’t stop at fundraising. Startups experiencing larger post-investment increases in news coverage are more likely to attract higher-quality employees from more prestigious universities.
VCs Already Know This
Here’s what’s particularly telling: the investors writing those big checks are already investing in media strategy for their portfolio companies.
A global survey of 399 VC investors confirms that 77.1% report actively taking steps to increase media coverage for portfolio companies, primarily to enhance branding, inform stakeholders, and attract talent.
Their top motivations: building brand awareness, reaching clients and suppliers, and attracting better talent. Helping portfolio companies raise follow-on funding ranked fourth. In other words, VCs view media as a legitimate business development channel that reaches stakeholders far beyond investors.
And they’re targeting this effort deliberately. VCs concentrate media efforts toward early-stage companies and those where they serve as lead investor or hold a board seat. On the flip side, the pre-Series A companies flying without that kind of investor involvement are likely building without the same tailwind.
The Credibility Gap
This is the quiet competitive disadvantage most founders never talk about.
Startups aren’t just competing on product anymore. They’re competing on credibility. And credibility — particularly in the absence of public financial statements or third-party validation — is largely built through coverage. In private markets, where firms operate with limited transparency and no mandatory reporting requirements, media coverage functions as one of the few channels through which external stakeholders can learn about these firms at all.
The research also found that not all press is created equal. Earned media — not company-initiated press releases — is what’s most associated with subsequent financing outcomes and improvements in hire quality. Reporters and editors, not wire services, are the validators that actually move the needle.
But There’s a Catch
Most startups aren’t PR-ready.
You can have a compelling story and still fumble it when a reporter calls. Your website might say five different things. Your funding announcement might be weeks away with no pitch strategy in place. Jumping into a full PR campaign before the foundation is laid is expensive, frustrating, and rarely effective.
That’s exactly the problem PR Launchpad was built to solve.
Build the Foundation First
PR Launchpad is Pace PR’s six-week foundational engagement for early-stage founders who need the strategy, messaging, and media infrastructure to show up credibly — before they’re ready for a longer-term, full service PR strategy..
In six weeks, you’ll walk away with a narrative that’s sharp and audience-specific, a targeted media map that tells you exactly who to pitch and when, a press kit ready to send at a moment’s notice, founder communications training, and a PR roadmap tied to your actual business milestones.
The research is clear: visibility influences outcomes. The companies that will break through in this environment will not only have the best product, but also the headlines.
If you’re gearing up for a funding announcement, product launch, or market expansion and you know you need to show up with a real story, apply for PR Launchpad here.