Don’t be shady, just say what you do!
I’m from the media, I’m here to help
It’s Fintech Week in the UK right now, and the word of 2025 is “growth”. How do we create an environment where founders see the UK as a place to start as well as a region to scale up? One of my issues with these types of conversations is that the discussions rarely focus on what the UK needs to do to support and nurture companies that sustain, create employment, and encourage innovation. The talk is almost always: ‘How can the UK experience hyper, blitzscale growth like Silicon Valley in the US?’.
Now, we all know my views on so-called “rocket ship” growth, prioritised over almost everything else, especially regulations and compliance, and staff mental health. However, this is not what I plan to write about today. Instead of complaining, I thought I would offer my tiny slice of advice and tips that entrepreneurs should adhere to in order to create exciting and long-standing fintech companies.
And to do this, I will piggyback on the fantastic LinkedIn star, Nick Huber, who posts regular advice for producing content, dealing with journalists, and general business communication. He is worth a follow. An example of his posts include: “A quick a simple way to decide is your company’s lastest blog, white paper or other type of thought-leadership writing is worth publishing”. Most of his stuff I read and think: From your lips to God’s ears!
A recent offering I reposted on LinkedIn got a reaction.
A year or so ago, I wrote an article that mentioned a well-known and very successful global company. I described them as a “payments processor.” I soon received an email from their corporate communications representative.
“Hi Liz,” (good start, the number of emails I get addressed to “Dear [reporter]” or “Mr. Lumley” is insane).
“Great article, but…”
The corporate comms “But” oh goody!
“You described us as a payments processor, we are actually ‘an innovative Saas company empowering the next generation of businesses to thrive in a digital economy’ it would be great if you could make that change?”
No.
I can’t remember if I responded, but I know I didn’t make the change. I didn’t make the change for three reasons. Those are:
I don’t work for this “payments processor”.
That corporate comms description offered above is PR/marketing nonsense.
The company is a “payments processor”.
Which brings me to the Nick Huber post.
He writes:
“Nine times out of ten, when a journalist reads your company’s “About Us” website page, the journalist won’t initially care about your company’s “purpose” or “journey”.”
“Ten times out ten, however, a journalist will want to understand, in a few seconds, what your company does. As a friend put it, the "about us" page needs to do what it says on the tin.”
The number of times I am on deadline, rushing to get an article into the subs, and I try to find a simple explanation of what exactly a company does. What I am looking for is:
“A provider of treasury management software”
“A provider of wallets for self-custody of digital assets”
“A payments processor”
All above are acceptable.
Instead what I find is:
“Enabling the next generation of treasury professionals to supercharge their processes and survive in an ever-changing, chaotic world with innovative technology.”
“Promoting freedom and embracing self-sovereignty for the Web3 universe and beyond”
“An innovative Saas company empowering the next generation of businesses to thrive in a digital economy.”
All of the above, are not, acceptable.
To quote Nick, again, your company description should SAY WHAT IT DOES ON THE TIN! (all caps, mine).
In addition, for the love of Pete, make it easy for a journalist to contact your company—anyone, anywhere. List an email address, phone numbers, and media relations representative that is easy to find on your website.
If you don’t do that, don’t come crying to me that journalists never cover your company.
Peace out and Happy UK Fintech Week to all. ☺
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Songs by Destiny’s Child have been chasing me all week. It is fitting for this week’s musical finale, here is a classic.
Don’t be shady, just say your name
👏