Does media coverage help a startup get funding?

Chris Bing of DCInno writes Wednesday exploring whether increased media coverage of a new company helps the business find venture capital investing.

Bing writes, “To some degree, media matters for both Brady and Delistathis, but it’s mostly in positioning a company before the eyes of an investor. Therefore, the source or publication that produces the story is paramount.

“But not every venture capitalist is the same.

“Bobby Acampo is a director at Chevy Chase-based Revolution, a venture capitalist firm founded by prominent investors and internet entrepreneurs Steve Case and Ted Leonsis — which has invested in a number of DMV startups. He believes that significant/positive PR can also help but it ‘certainly does not determine whether a company gets funding or not.’

“It’s more important to establish a tangible and personal connection with a potential funding source rather than collecting a series of media clips, Acampo described. He also added — differing from his fellow VCs — that in some cases, too much press can even be negative. ‘Too much PR can be a bad thing, especially if a company isn’t at scale yet. [For example] it’s one thing if you’re a consumer company but if you’re a B2B/enterprise company and you’re buying up billboards (and you’re still pre-Series A), I question if it’s a good use of capital.'”

Read more here.