A Dangerous Misconception Among Startups: “Can’t We Just Deal with Communication Right Before the IPO?”
When meeting with numerous startup founders, we often notice an interesting commonality: a strong belief that they can—and should—personally cover every aspect of the company. This stubbornness is particularly pronounced when it comes to setting up a dedicated communication (PR/IR) function. The vast majority of founders assume that an independent communication team is unnecessary until just before going public (IPO).
They have their own valid, albeit frustrating, reasons for thinking this way:
- “We tried hiring external experts and agencies, but they didn’t deeply understand our business, so it made little difference.”
- “We tried building an in-house team, but they were too consumed with risk management—overly cautious and restrictive, which felt suffocating.”
- “Ultimately, it wasn’t as effective as me going out there and pitching it myself.”
Driven by these past experiences, founders often define communication as a passive function—a mere mouthpiece meant to broadcast pre-determined messages after all strategic decisions have already been made.
To some extent, this is completely understandable. In the early stages of a startup, founders must act as the ultimate salespeople, growing the company by broadcasting their vision, products, and services to the world. The absolute conviction that “no one understands or cares about my company and product more than I do” is precisely the fuel that allows a startup to survive.
However, once a company hits a certain trajectory, secures large-scale funding, and inevitably steers toward an IPO, the playbook changes entirely. From this inflection point onward, embedding internal communication experts or bringing in specialized strategic consulting transitions from a choice to a matter of sheer survival.
1. The Era of Stakeholder Capitalism: The Art of Coordination
We no longer live in an era where maximizing shareholder value is the sole metric of success. We are firmly in the age of stakeholder capitalism, where a business must answer to customers, employees, investors, local communities, and governments. A founder’s singular, sharp perspective cannot possibly capture all these multifaceted interests. This is exactly why a strategic communication control tower is indispensable—to understand diverse viewpoints, mitigate potential risks, and orchestrate intelligent dialogue.
2. A Founder’s ‘Human Limitations’ in a Crisis and Media Risks
As a business grows, crises are inevitable. Mishandling them can obliterate a hard-earned reputation overnight, dealing a fatal blow to future fundraising and overall business operations.
Even the most rational and level-headed founders can easily react emotionally when faced with a sudden crisis. Without proper media training, a natural urge to clear their name often leads them to say too much. In doing so, they inadvertently leak unnecessary details, escalating the crisis or causing the company to lose its moral high ground—a vicious cycle.
Furthermore, while collaboration with the media is absolute for corporate growth, failing to understand how the media ecosystem functions can turn a company into a prime target for scrutiny. This lack of understanding is precisely why founders inadvertently spark turf wars by casually mentioning competitors during interviews or trigger major liabilities by leaking confidential information.
3. Why You Need a ‘Seasoned Senior Counsel’ Over a ‘Junior Executer’
A common mistake startups make is delegating communication execution to junior-level staff to cut costs or handle basic tasks. However, when a junior is placed as the direct counterpart to a founder, it is realistically impossible for them to accurately read a founder’s intent from the perspective of diverse stakeholders, let alone manage unpredictable messaging.
Founders inherently push back when they feel someone is trying to artificially ‘control’ their words and management philosophy. This is why startups need a deeply experienced, highly respected Senior Counsel—not a mere task handler pushing guidelines, but a strategic partner who fully respects the founder’s vision while possessing the gravitas to hold a firm, balanced line against market realities.
4. Non-Financial Assets: The Maker or Breaker of IR and IPO Success
In the past, healthy financial statements were often enough to clear the path to a listing. Today, non-financial elements and intangible assets—such as social value, reputation, and brand heritage—serve as core indicators that dictate a company’s valuation. A compelling narrative detailing how a company positively impacts society or how transparently it manages risk cannot be manufactured overnight. It is an asset built exclusively through a systematically structured communication strategy long before the IPO.
5. A ‘Centralized Channel’ and ‘Refined Key Messages’ on the Media Evaluation Stage
The moment a company captures market attention, it faces rigorous media scrutiny. At this stage, relying on a founder’s improvisation or fragmented answers can be poisonous. In high-stakes situations, a centralized communication channel that speaks with a unified voice and thoroughly calculated, refined key messages are non-negotiable. Achieving this is impossible without professional training and structured systems.
The more a startup grows, the more it needs an ‘Experienced Driver’ at the wheel.
No matter how high-performing a vehicle is, an inexperienced driver will eventually crash it. Drive too fast, and you collide; drive too slow, and you block the entire flow of traffic. The same applies to startups. Even with an outstanding product, breakthrough technology, and a stellar team, a lack of communication maturity will trigger accidents during the scale-up process.
Crucially, most of these accidents are not technical failures; they are failures of interpretation. While an entrepreneur speaks of product innovation, the market and investors look for sustainability and trust.
In the beginning, a founder can explain everything. But during a scale-up, the game changes. What you need now is a skilled communication partner who understands the founder’s vision but can translate it into the language of the market. Whether that partner is an internal senior leader or an external strategic agency does not matter. Only one thing matters: shifting the view of communication from a cost center to a strategic asset that generates corporate value.
True scaling up begins the exact moment you expand the architecture of your reputation, not just your product.
HyperM is a Seoul-based strategic marketing and communications agency with 24 years of experience helping global companies build corporate reputation, strengthen stakeholder trust, and prepare for critical business milestones such as IPOs. From strategic messaging and media relations to executive communications and investor-facing narratives, we help organizations communicate with confidence when it matters most. Contact: Enquiry@hyperm.co.kr