Crisis PR for Startups

Types of Startup Crises

• Product failures/outages — Service goes down, data loss
• Data breaches/security issues — Customer data exposed
• Employee misconduct — Harassment, fraud, bad behavior
• Founder controversies — Past actions, statements, conflicts
• Customer complaints gone viral — Social media pile-ons
• Legal/regulatory issues — Lawsuits, compliance problems
• Financial troubles — Layoffs, runway issues

Crisis Prevention

The best crisis is one that never happens.

• Internal communication: Catch problems early
• Social media monitoring: Know when you're being discussed
• Customer feedback loops: Address complaints before they escalate
• Security practices: Prevent breaches
• Legal review: Catch compliance issues early

Building a Crisis Plan

Crisis Team Roles

• Decision maker: Usually CEO. Final call on all responses.
• Communications lead: Drafts and reviews all external messaging.
• Technical lead: For product/security issues.
• Legal counsel: Reviews for liability.

What to Prepare in Advance

• Contact list for crisis team (personal phones)
• Template holding statements
• Key stakeholder communication lists
• Social media access credentials
• Designated spokesperson training

The First Hour

How you respond in the first hour often determines the outcome.

Assessment Protocol

1. What exactly happened?
2. Who is affected?
3. Is it still happening?
4. Who knows about it?
5. What's the worst-case escalation?

Internal Notification

• Alert crisis team immediately
• Brief key stakeholders (board, investors if needed)
• Align on initial messaging

What NOT to Do

• Don't go silent (silence looks like guilt)
• Don't lie or minimize
• Don't blame others
• Don't speculate about what happened
• Don't let junior employees respond publicly

Crafting Crisis Responses

Response Framework

1. Acknowledge the issue exists
2. Take responsibility (when appropriate)
3. Explain what happened (when you know)
4. Detail corrective actions
5. Show empathy for those affected

We are aware of [issue] and are actively investigating. Our team is working to [resolve/understand] the situation.

We will provide updates as we learn more. [If applicable: Affected users can contact support@company.com.]

We take this seriously and apologize for any inconvenience.
          

Earlier today, [what happened]. This affected [who/what].

Here's what we know: [Facts only, no speculation]

We have taken the following actions:
- [Action 1]
- [Action 2]
- [Action 3]

We take full responsibility for [specific issue]. We are [ongoing actions] to ensure this doesn't happen again.

To affected [customers/users]: [What you're doing for them]

We will continue to provide updates [where/when].

[Name]
[Title]
          

Scenario Playbooks

Service Outage

• Post to status page immediately
• Tweet acknowledgment within 15 minutes
• Email affected users when resolved
• Post-mortem within 48 hours

Data Breach

• Engage legal counsel immediately
• Understand notification requirements
• Prepare customer communication
• Offer concrete remediation (credit monitoring, etc.)

Negative Viral Content

• Don't engage with trolls
• Respond once, factually, then stop
• Take legitimate complaints to DM/email
• Let it pass if minor; most storms blow over

Recovery and Rebuilding

Post-Crisis Analysis

• What went wrong?
• How did we respond?
• What would we do differently?
• What systems need improvement?

Rebuilding Trust

• Transparency updates on changes made
• Consistent, reliable service delivery
• Proactive communication
• Time (trust takes time to rebuild)