Rule 506b, no general solicitation
- No general solicitation or advertising. A founder telling a podcast the round is open and oversubscribed can cross that line.
Tech PR agency for founders
Pocket PR is a tech PR agency for founders with news worth reading and no time to chase reporters.
We are a remote team working from Kyiv and Brno.
We plan the round and the exclusive, pick the writers who cover your category and send pitches a person wrote.
Tech desks drown in announcements, so the order of the news matters as much as the news.
Illustration
Where venture money went in 2026
- 80%of global venture funding in the first quarter of 2026 went to AI companiesnews.crunchbase.com
- $510Bglobal venture funding in the first half of 2026news.crunchbase.com
What does a tech PR agency do
A tech PR agency turns company events into news a specific reporter wants on a specific day. It also says no.
A logo refresh rarely earns a tech headline.
- Funding announcements from pre-seed to growth, each with its own exclusive or embargo.
- Product launches, where the angle is the problem solved rather than the feature list.
- Founder commentary on stories reporters already write.
- Data stories built from your own product usage.
Illustration
How tech journalists decide what to cover
In the Muck Rack 2026 survey of 897 journalists, 88% said they drop a pitch the moment it misses their beat.
Beat relevance came first in what they value, then access to sources and original data.
A tech writer asks three quiet questions, and a pitch that answers them in four lines usually gets a reply.
The full rules are in how to pitch journalists.
| Question the writer asks | What answers it |
|---|---|
| Is this new, or just new to this company | A first in the category, a market signal, an unusual customer |
| Is there a number I can verify | Revenue growth or usage data, plus the round and its lead |
| Can I talk to the founder today | A named slot on the calendar before publication |
Tech desks that cover rounds and launches
seed to growth rounds and launches, wants the amount, the lead investor, use of funds and one traction line
online daily with the Equity podcast and the Disrupt conference
scoops on AI labs and late-stage rounds, values early access over press releases
subscription online daily with newsletters
European startups and the funds behind them
online daily with newsletters and rankings
weekly tallies of European funding rounds and exits
online daily with a newsletter
All 12 outlets
early rounds and new companies across Europe
online daily with a database
consumer hardware and the apps people use every day
online daily with reviews and the Decoder podcast
long reads on technology that need a character with a tension
magazine with a website
the daily deal list for venture and private equity
morning newsletter
venture deals with interviews of the investors behind them
newsletter with live events
who holds power in venture capital and where AI money goes
newsletter with a podcast
weekly take on the tech story everyone is arguing about
New York Times podcast
developer tools and Show HN posts, works when the founder writes plainly and answers in the thread
community news site run by Y Combinator
How to announce a funding round in the tech press
A round is the most common tech story and the easiest to waste.
With most 2026 venture money going to AI, a seed round alone is rarely news.
The angle carries it, meaning what the round says about a market, a first customer in a hard sector or an unusual investor mix.
Set the date after the money is wired and the lead investor has approved the wording
Choose between one exclusive and a small group under embargo
Prepare a brief with the amount and the investors
Add what the money is for and one proof point.
Book the founder for calls on the day before publication
Publish your own post and the investor's post at the embargo hour, not before
Conferences where tech reporters book meetings
13 to 15 October 2026 at Moscone West in San Francisco
TechCrunch Disrupt
Reporters book meetings weeks ahead, so a launch pitched in September can land a sit-down on site.
9 to 12 November 2026 in Lisbon
Web Summit
Hundreds of accredited journalists attend. A strong slot for European founders with a fresh round.
18 to 19 November 2026 in Helsinki
Slush
An investor-heavy crowd with the Nordic press on site, which suits round news.
June in Paris, the 2026 edition ran 17 to 20 June
VivaTech
French and pan-European press plus corporate buyers looking for startup partners.
early January in Las Vegas
CES
The one week consumer hardware reporters all gather, booked solid by December.
What embargo rules do tech reporters expect
Tech writers expect to be asked before they receive embargoed material, and one broken embargo can cost you that writer for good.
Templates for embargo and exclusive offers are in the pitching guide. On a round we run three checks.
- One time zone that the company shares with every investor and reporter.
- Every scheduled post checked, the investor's blog included.
- The hour confirmed to each reporter in writing before the material goes out.
What a founder can say while raising a round
US securities rules shape tech PR more than most founders expect.
Your counsel decides which Regulation D rule applies, and everything we write stays inside that decision.
Until the round closes, we talk about the product and the customers.
Rule 506c, open talk with verified investors
- Open talk is allowed, but every investor must be verified as accredited. In March 2025 SEC staff eased that check through minimum investment amounts and written representations.
How much does a tech PR agency cost
US boutiques bill $3,500 to $10,000 a month, and mid-sized firms with a tech specialty $10,000 to $25,000, usually with a three to six month minimum, according to Everything PR.
Enterprise agencies start around $25,000, per AM World Group. Pocket PR starts from $390 a month.
A round or a launch usually sits on the $890 plan. The full market comparison is on how much PR costs.
How to tell a strong tech PR agency from a weak one
Four questions on the first call separate a strong tech PR agency from a weak one. Listen for names and for refusals.
A vague reply is an answer in itself.
- What will you not pitch. A good agency refuses thin news and explains why.
- Which writers would you contact first. Check that they covered your category recently.
- How do you measure results. Look for a clear answer before the work starts.
- What goes into the report. Declined pitches belong there next to the wins.
The calendar behind a round or a launch
Round and launch calendar
We map your next funding and product news against the reporter calendar, so each story has a date and an owner.
Embargo and exclusive plan
For every announcement we decide between an exclusive and a wide embargo. Then we pick the first reporter and prepare the briefing pack the day before.
Beat-matched reporter list
A short list of named writers who covered your category in the last six months, refreshed before each pitch.
A Berlin code review tool closes its seed
A seed round for a developer tools startup
- Situation
- A Berlin team building a code review tool closes a seed round led by a European fund. The founders want TechCrunch and also want developers to hear about it on launch day.
- What we do
- We offer one US tech writer an exclusive under embargo and prepare a Show HN post for the same morning. Once the exclusive is live, Tech.eu and Sifted get a second angle built on data.
- Outcome
- This is an illustrative plan, not a client result. The point is sequencing. One exclusive goes first and the community hears the same day, so no reporter learns the news second-hand.
Venture money and AI in the newsroom
- Global venture, all of 2025
- $440 billion, already passed by the first half of 2026, per Crunchbase
- Journalists using AI tools
- 82% in the Muck Rack 2026 survey, up from 77% a year earlier
- Reporters' own AI tools
- ChatGPT is used by 47% of journalists, ahead of Gemini at 22%, per Muck Rack 2026
Anastasiia Bratkova
Chief Brand, Marketing & Communications Officer, RSE
Signs every pitch
Questions
What founders ask a tech PR agency first
Which tech PR agency is the best?
The best one for you knows the writers on your exact beat and can name what they published this quarter. Ask a shortlisted agency for three reporters who covered your category recently and how each prefers to be pitched. Size and awards matter far less than that list.
Do you use AI to write pitches?
No. Software finds the writers who covered your category and drafts the briefing notes. A person writes each pitch to a tech reporter and signs it, because reporters spot a generated pitch in the first line.
Should we give TechCrunch an exclusive on our round?
An exclusive works when one outlet clearly reaches your investors and hires. It usually means a single writer gets the story a day early under embargo. If your buyers read trade titles or Sifted instead, a wide embargo across four or five outlets can serve you better.
Can we talk about our round before it closes?
In the US, a raise under Rule 506b bars general solicitation, so public talk about an open round can create a legal problem. Rule 506c allows it, but then every investor must be verified as accredited. Announce after closing unless your counsel says otherwise.
How far ahead should a tech launch be pitched?
Two to three weeks for a feature story, one week for a funding exclusive, and six to eight weeks for conference meetings at Disrupt or Web Summit. Late pitches still land, just with fewer options.
Sources
- Muck Rack via GlobeNewswire, 2026 State of Journalism report finds 82% of journalists use AI
- Crunchbase News, Q1 2026 venture funding records as AI takes 80%
- Crunchbase News, global venture funding and exits in the first half of 2026
- Paul Weiss, SEC staff no-action letter on Rule 506c general solicitation
- SEC report on VC funds under Regulation D Rule 506c
- AM World Group, PR agency cost
- Everything PR, how much does a PR firm cost in 2026
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