The Startup Guide
Nine out of ten startups fail. One cause of failure is bad communication – both externally and internally. Yet there is little systematic advice on how startups and scale-ups can overcome this challenge and inspire all stakeholders around the company’s vision, values, and offering.
This book closes this gap – with seventy experts sharing their learnings and experiences. It is a guide for all curious to learn more about how to win customers, investors and new talent through a convincing narrative, covering external, internal, social media and leadership communication.
71
experts
354
pages with interviews
10
topics
The Experts

Maria Andersen
Internal Communications Manager | ex-Sennder
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Oliver Aust
CEO and Founder of Eo Ipso Communications
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Katia Ballano Göring
PR and Communication Manager at ID Finance
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Chiara Baroni
PR and Communications Manager DACH at Revolut
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Julia Barthel
Director at Brunswick Group
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Hemmo Bosscher
Head of Communications at Adyen
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Dr. Lucas Brost
Media lawyer at Brost Claßen
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Robert Bueninck
CEO at Unzer
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Callum Burroughs
Senior Tech Reporter at Insider
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Marina Burtyleva
Internal Communications and Employer Branding Lead at Vivid Money | ex-N26
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Dr. Katharina Buttenberg
Senior Vice President Global Brand at HelloFresh
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Maïwenn Charpentier
Internal Communications Manager at Omio
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Jessie Claar
Global Internal Communications Manager
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Henning Dorstewitz
Director PR & Communications at Unstoppable Finance
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Sigrid Dubois
Global PR and Communications Director at Ankorstore
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Bianca Dumschat
B2B Social Media Manager at Doctolib
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Lavinia Eastwood
Global Event Manager at Mollie
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Christoph Egels
Public Affairs Lead at Flink
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Sam Evans
Partner at Eos Venture Partners
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Emma-Victoria Farr
European M&A Correspondent at Reuters
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Bettina Fries
Senior Communications Advisor, Founder of Fries Consulting
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Itziar García
Communications Director Spain and Portugal at BlaBlaCar
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Youssef Gasmi
Communications Manager at Voodoo
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Jessica Hashemi
Social Media Manager at Checkout.com
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Bettina Hausmann
Founder and Director of bhconsult
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Malena Heed
Global Communications Director at Einride
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Dr. Clara Herdeanu
Head of Communications at Xayn
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Christian Hillemeyer
Director of Communications at Babbel
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Svenja Hoya
Marketing Communications Lead at Trade Republic
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Kristen Jäggi
event planner
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Mats Joosten
PR at Back Market
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Simon Kenyon
Head of Internal Communications at PayU
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Dr. Juliane Kiesenbauer
Director Marketing & Communications DACH at Staffbase
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Ben Kilbey
Chief Communications Officer at Britishvolt
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Jovana Krcevinac
Global Internal Communications Project Manager at Glovo
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Valentina Kristensen
Director Growth and Communications at OakNorth
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Anna-Lena Kümpel
freelance moderator and coach
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Andrew Kyle
Senior Talent Brand Manager at Gorillas
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Greg Latham
Freelance Filmmaker and Videographer
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Tom Levine
Director at Brunswick Group
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Mikko Mäntylä
President at Slush
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Elisheva Marcus
VP Communications at Earlybird Venture Capital
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Sarah Matzmoor, geb. Maulhardt
Lead Internal Communications at GetYourGuide | ex-Zalando
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Sara Morić
Global Comms Lead at LimeWire | ex-Bitpanda
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Heather Moses
Senior Vice President of Marketing at Nexthink
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Max Mundhenke
Associate Digital Strategy at Brunswick Group
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Arsenia Nikolaeva
Head of PR & Communications at SumUp
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Meike Ostermeier
Associate Director at FGS Global
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Martin Perlin
Director of Marketing Communications at DriveNets
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Florestan Peters
Field Marketing Manager at SoSafe
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Boris Radke
Vice President Corporate Affairs and Workplace XP at Omio
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
André Retterath
Principal at Earlybird Venture Capital
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Giulia Ricci
Global Consumer PR Lead at N26
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Luke Richardson
Senior Director of Brand and Communications at Pleo
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Benjamin Romberg
Head of Communications at Spendesk
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Daniel Rottinger
startup communicator with a background in journalism
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Swaran Sandhu
Professor for Corporate Communication and Public Relations at the Stuttgart Media University
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Paul Sawers
Senior Writer at TechCrunch | ex-VentureBeat
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Joanna Schild
Global Internal Communications at Delivery Hero
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Niels Schlesier
Managing Director at FGS Global
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Norval Scott
Head of PR and Communications at CloudNC / ex-Tractable
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
John Shewell
Director of Global Communications at wefox
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Caspar Spinnen
Spokesperson and Pressoffice Lead of Fraktion Bündnis90/Die Grünen | ex-Voi
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Anniina Sulku
Communications Lead at Aiven
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Dan Taylor
Writer, Photographer and Broadcaster
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
John Thornhill
Innovation editor at Financial Times, Founder of Sifted
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Catherine Treyz
Head of Communications and Platform at Cherry Ventures
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Alejandro Viquez
Communications Manager at Kahoot!
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Chris Wehbe
Chief Executive Officer at Lendable
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
Hana Wilson
PR and Communications Manager at Tibber
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?
David Zahn
Head of Communications at Gigs
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?The Editor
When I started as a press officer at a startup in January 2019, it was a leap in the dark.The expectations for external communications were high, and at the same time, there was nothing for me to build on. It was more like a field than a green field. I felt unprepared and ignorant.
It quickly became apparent that my prior experience in corporate groups, at medium-sized companies, as a freelancer, and as a lecturer was of little value to me. Startups tick differently; they are fast, expectations are high, and budgets and employees are scarce.
I started asking other colleagues from startups for advice. The response was overwhelming. This book is an attempt to pool the knowledge of much more experienced colleagues from the startup world to help all those jumping in at the deep end like me almost four years ago. Nonetheless, this book has much more meaning to me because it is a collaborative effort that I could never have produced alone. This is to say thank you – to all the co-authors who are now filling this book with content, and to my family for supporting me and always having my back. I love you.

Dr. Lydia Prexl
Director of Global Communications at Unzer
Wie kommunizieren Start-ups?