The Right Journalists.
The Right Angle.
The Perfect Pitch.
Get a custom list of journalists with in-depth author profiles, outreach recommendations, and pitch angles tailored to your business — built by experienced PR pros.
"Lead with the AI energy cost problem — his April piece ends with exactly the question your platform answers."
"Send by Thursday PT for Funding Friday. Use short format: round size, investors, one-sentence product, use of funds."
"UTC+7 timezone — critical for embargo. Pitch him like a press release: 150 words max and deal-focused."
outlets in our database
contacts
to inbox
researched
The problem
You tried to pitch, but nothing worked?
Most founders find random journalist contacts online — or worse, let AI pull contacts and write outreach emails — or they bombard tier-1 journalists with press releases about minor product updates. Does it work? Sometimes, but almost never. Most of the time, you get zero response, or your email/account gets flagged as spam. The problem often isn't your story — it's that you haven't done the deep research on who to pitch, how to pitch them, and which angle will resonate with that specific author.
Journalists are people, with professional interests, passions, opinions, aims, and goals. To pitch well, you need to build relationships and communicate clearly. To do that, you need to know a lot about them.
of journalists say the #1 reason they reject a pitch is that it's irrelevant to their beat or audience.
Cision State of the Media Report, 2026Why other options fall short
You've probably tried one of these already
PR databases
- Tens of thousands of contacts, zero curation — the research is entirely on you
- Annual plans start at $5,000+, locked into contracts, require a sales call to see pricing
- Built for PR agencies running dozens of clients, not a one-time pitch
- Full of outdated information
PR agencies
- Retainers typically start at $5,000/month
- Weeks of onboarding before anything goes out
- Results aren't guaranteed
- The media relationships stay with the agency — when the retainer ends, you walk away with nothing
AI tools
- Outdated data — journalists move, beats change, scraping of recent articles is not accurate
- Hallucinated profiles and fake publication histories
- Journalists are sick of AI-generated pitches
- Getting a pitch to land requires awareness and analysis of journalist professional and personal issues — AI simply doesn't know where exactly to look
What actually works
A tailor-made media list, built for your startup from scratch
You get a full profile on every journalist in the list, an overview of their recent articles, and insights for your future pitch. It's not just a name and email — it's a clear, detailed guide on how to pitch this author and how to warm up their interest before you reach out.
Every journalist is hand-picked for your specific story: your domain, your stage and your news angle.
Every report is written by a human media analyst and reviewed by a human publicist. Each report includes a note from a real publicist with your overall strategy: how to approach the contacts on your list, what the sequence should be, and what to use, do, and say.
Journalists from these outlets have appeared in lists we've built for clients
Why founder-direct pitching works
Journalists want to hear from founders
Journalists who cover startups want to hear directly from founders and keep them on quick dial as a source.
“Journalists generally prefer to engage directly with the source for a story. It is far easier to ignore an email from a PR person or firm that has emailed you a dozen times that week, than it is to ignore a direct email from founders. Presenting yourself as an individual, rather than a client on a long list of clients, makes you more memorable.”
Bekah Grant — VentureBeat
“Over the course of building a business, you should identify and cultivate a short list of writers who will regularly cover your startup that you, as CEO, have a direct and personal relationship with. Like any new relationship, time may be measured in years and not hours in order to build.”
Danny Crichton — former TechCrunch
“Pitching your startup to the press requires strategic thinking and persistence. By understanding your target media, crafting compelling stories, building relationships, and being well-prepared, you can increase your chances of securing press coverage that boosts your startup's visibility and success.”
Katherine Davis — Axios
Built by PR professionals
Real MEDIA EXPERTISE.
Startup-friendly price.
Startup Media List is built by Montana PR & Media Agency, a team of experienced PR pros and media researchers. For more than 10 years we have helped dozens of startups and enterprises in B2B SaaS, fintech, and healthtech to build their media presence.
We believe strong research and analytics are key to successful communication. We also believe that at certain startup stages hiring a PR agency can be unnecessary — or even ineffective. But what's never useless is the relationships early founders build — and we're here to help you build them. That's why Startup Media List was born.
What founders get from Startup Media List isn't just a contact list — it's a consulting product: journalist profiles created by a professional media analyst, with publicist-style advice on how to pitch this specific author. That way, you walk into each conversation knowing exactly what to say to get published — and to build strong relationships with key voices in your industry.
Rosaly Kanevskaya
Founder, Montana PR & Media Agency
What you get
Get everything for the perfect pitch
Journalist profiles
Name, outlet, beat, audience reach, and a short editorial profile: what kinds of stories they say yes to and how they like to be approached.
Preferred contact details
Email, LinkedIn, X, Bluesky. Whichever channel they actually respond to, with a note on why. If they've published a 'how to pitch me' note anywhere, we include that too. We also flag the timezone when it matters for embargo coordination.
Story angles
For each journalist: a publicist's read on how to frame your news for this specific person. What to lead with, what to reference from their recent work, and what to avoid. Written after reading their last 3 to 5 pieces.
Recent articles with pitching notes
3 to 5 recent pieces chosen for relevance, with a note on each one explaining why it matters for your pitch. So you can reference their work specifically.
Where to follow
Newsletter, personal site, Substack, LinkedIn, X, Bluesky. Links to wherever they post, so you can stay current before and after you pitch.
Media strategy note
A sequenced outreach plan from our Communications Strategist: who to pitch first, in what order, how to time an embargo across multiple outlets, and how to build relationships beyond the first pitch.
Every plan includes a Pitching Guide, a thorough guide on how to pitch to the media as a founder.
Growth & Full Pack also include
How to use LinkedIn to get on journalists' radar, a PDF guide on how to follow and engage with journalists on LinkedIn in a way that builds visibility before you pitch. So that when your email arrives, they already know your name.
.md files (Full Pack only), Markdown files you can load into a Claude project (or whatever AI you use) to set up an AI-assisted pitch drafting workflow tailored to the journalists in your list.
The process
From brief to strategy in 3 business days
Fill out the brief and pick a plan
Tell us about your startup, the news angle you have in mind, your target audience, and what a successful media hit would look like for you. It only takes 15 minutes to complete.
We research
The Media Analyst finds journalists who cover your beat right now, reviews what they've been writing about lately, and identifies the angle that connects your story to their editorial interests. A Communications Strategist then reviews the full report and adds tailored recommendations: how to approach each journalist with your specific startup and news angle, and how to build a pitching sequence across all the contacts on your list.
You're ready to dive into pitching
We'll send you the report with complete journalist profiles and our media strategy recommendations as a PDF, plus a link to an Airtable base — so you can copy it and use it as a mini-CRM for future media work. Every plan includes a pitching guide with general rules on how to pitch and how to use the list wisely. We recommend using the insights ASAP — the world changes fast, and the earlier you start building relationships with the media, the sooner you'll see results.
Who it's for
Made for founders who pitch their own stories
The right fit
- →You're pre-Seed, Seed, or Series A and want to build strong media connections for the future
- →You're not yet ready for a monthly PR retainer
- →You want to reach journalists yourself, in your own voice
- →You've tried sending cold pitches and heard nothing back
- →You want a handful of quality contacts, not a 10,000-row database
Probably not for you
- ×You don't want to invest time in building relationships with the media
- ×You need someone else to write and send pitches on your behalf
- ×You want ongoing media relations and reputation management done for you
- ×You're expecting guaranteed coverage
Choose your plan
One-time. No retainer.
Starter
Best for: Pre-launch, first press hit, testing the waters
Get Starter- —3 to 5 journalists, hand-picked for your story
- —Complete journalist profiles
- —Story angles for each contact
- —PDF-report
- —Airtable database
- —Pitching guide
- —Delivered within 3 business days
Growth
Best for: Funding announcements, product launches, Series A
Get Growth- —6 to 10 journalists, hand-picked for your story
- —Complete journalist profiles
- —Story angles for each contact
- —PDF-report
- —Airtable database
- —Pitching guide
- —Priority delivery within 2 business days
- —LinkedIn journalist-following guide
Full Pack
Best for: Major launches, funding rounds, high-stakes announcements
Get Full Pack- —11 to 15 journalists, hand-picked for your story
- —Complete journalist profiles
- —Story angles for each contact
- —PDF-report
- —Airtable database
- —Pitching guide
- —Priority delivery within 2 business days
- —LinkedIn journalist-following guide
- —Markdown (.md) files for AI-assisted pitch drafting
Not sure which plan? Start with Starter — you can always order again for the next announcement. Returning clients get 10% off.
FAQ