Episode #46: Pitch a TechCrunch Writer with Amanda Silberling
“Other people at TechCrunch might take a different approach [...] For me, I care more about ‘is this a story that I’m interested in?’ rather than ‘how much money did they raise?’”
-Amanda Silberling, on covering a tech startup
We analyze a pitch for a social app that received a humble amount of funding, but captivated our guest to cover the story for TechCrunch. From it, you’ll learn about how authenticity can shine through in your brand. Amanda offers her unique perspective as a full time contractor for TechCrunch with experience as a freelance journalist. You’ll receive tips on pitch etiquette, emails, and a reminder that who you reach out to is just as important as what you’re pitching. We also have a special bonus resource of Amanda’s Google Doc, so check it out here: What I Cover & How to Pitch Me - Amanda Silberling.
In this episode you’ll learn…
How to catch a journalist’s attention in your pitch!
How to decide which writer you should pitch at a publication such as TechCrunch
Why it’s not worth it to overthink your emails!
Our guest is:
Amanda Silberling is a writer, artist, community organizer, and multimedia journalist. Currently, she writes about how technology impacts people at TechCrunch, including coverage about social media, labor, public policy, and the creator economy. Her work has been published in Business Insider, Input, The AV Club, Polygon, NPR, and other places. She hosts the internet culture podcast Wow If True and lives in Philadelphia, where she hopes to one day meet Gritty.
Stories we talked about:
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Show Notes:
0:00 — Britt introduces our guest.
3:01 — Britt asks Amanda for an overview of the article we’ll discuss in the episode.
7:52 — Britt asks Amanda her thoughts on the subject line of the pitch.
9:47 — Britt calls attention to Amanda’s effort to be an “Inbox (0) person.”
13:24 — Britt asks Amanda why she pursued journalism instead of PR.
14:46 — Amanda discusses unique aspects of working as a freelance journalist and gives an email tip.
17:48 — Jackie asks Amanda her thoughts on pitch etiquette at a publication such as TechCrunch.
25:00 — Britt asks Amanda about the images included in the article.
28:22 — Amanda explains what she found captivating about the founder's story.
34:40 — Britt, Jackie, and Amanda discuss Amanda’s Google Doc outlining how to pitch her.
41:19 — Jackie asks if Amanda has ever found a story through the general tips email at TechCrunch.
47:30 — Shoutouts! Amanda gives a general shoutout to music and entertainment publicists. Particularly, Jamie Coletta of No Earbuds!
The Pitch We Analyzed:
Special thanks to Ariella Steinhorn!
From: Ariella Steinhorn <ariella@lioness.co>
Date: Mon, Oct 18, 2021 at 5:20 PM
Subject: Flox raises $1.2M to build group social networkingHi Amanda, I saw you wrote about Cobalt, so thought this might be of interest!
Jamie Lee, the founder of Flox, dropped out of Columbia University her senior year to build Flox, a social app that is gaining grassroots traction among college students in New York. Despite being told to "be more like Zuck" during fundraising, she was eventually able to raise funds from a few funds like Honeycomb Asset Management, BBG Ventures, and Banana Capital).
She has a lot of ideas as to how social media can be safer for Gen Z, especially following her own sexual assault after a Bumble date. Let me know if you'd like to cover.
Social discovery app Flox raises $1.2M to bring friend groups together
New York, NY: Flox, a social media app that connects friend groups via collective profiles, has raised $1.2 million in funding. The investment was led by Honeycomb Asset Management, with BBG Ventures and Banana Capital participating.
Flox aims to restore authentic connection to social media with its group profile model, which eliminates the pressures and expectations associated with dating apps. Leveraging the group model, two or more friends can create a collective profile together and discover, match, and meet up with other groups.
Flox’s founder, 22-year-old Jamie Lee, identified a gap in the social discovery landscape after her junior year of college -- during the height of pandemic isolation -- observing that traditional modes of social media and dating apps solely focus on individuals, which can often lead to anxiety and inauthenticity online. As a college student in New York, Jamie experienced firsthand how difficult it can be to connect with people in day-to-day life when she and her peers were immersed in the performative culture espoused by traditional social media platforms. Flox taps into the fact that people are generally most authentic and comfortable around their friends, to foster more meaningful interactions between groups.
Currently, 82% of the U.S. population has an active social media profile and Gen Z is the most digital generation yet. Given recent revelations about social media’s deliberate role in exacerbating political polarization, fostering poor self esteem among young girls, and spreading misinformation, Flox aims to challenge the interfaces that made these phenomena possible and create a more positive social experience overall. Moreover, in-person meetings are rendered much safer in group settings, giving Flox the opportunity to mitigate the pervasive issue of sexual assault connected to dating apps.
The app is in private beta mode currently, with a waitlist of 25,000 users, many of whom are New York-based college students.
“Today, social media platforms are an inevitable part of how we both make and sustain our relationships, especially for Gen Z,” said Flox’s founder Jamie Lee. “But there are flaws to existing social media paradigms and friendships. In today’s digital world, you meet someone offline and then follow them voyeuristically via Instagram without actually getting to know them. I created Flox because I believe we haven’t met all the people we’re supposed to in this lifetime. Our goal is to connect different social circles that don’t currently have a way to collide…moving people from online to offline friendships in a way that broadens networks in a safe, pressure-free group-based environment.”
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