Exclusive intel from Alex Konrad
Yes, we’re talking about Alex Konrad again! We’ve already shared a bit of intel on his new media organization Upstarts, but we finally had the opportunity to sit down with Alex to understand the nitty gritty of how to work with him, how to land interest, and everything else truly actionable. Subscribe to his newsletter here before reading any further, because you shouldn’t pitch it if you haven’t read it!
First things first. Alex produces just 8 articles per month total — one funding story, and one new fund story.
This means his bar is incredibly high, but the good news is, he’s a generalist – he’s covered AI, ad tech, cloud computing, crypto, etc. Don’t hesitate to pitch clients from emerging or niche sectors, provided you can demonstrate relevance to the startup ecosystem. And he’s not trying to replace TechCrunch. Rather, he’s building Upstarts as a high-signal, trusted outlet for the startup ecosystem where founders can bring their stories. His focus is quality over quantity.
His newsletter is published twice a week:
The free Tuesday edition:
Aimed at the widest audience
Alex can compete with peer publications for why you should bring him the news
Oriented toward early-stage startups and competitive news
Launch stories and exclusive funding news typically appear here
Service-oriented reporting (compensation data, hiring trends)
The paid Thursday edition:
Alex can write about the startup or founder CEO who wouldn't want to talk press, or wouldn't be getting hounded for an interview, otherwise -- off cycle, or ahead of the curve
More for pitching trends/analysis that isn’t a competitive launch or exclusive
Focused on growth-stage and unicorn startups
Venture capital-specific coverage
Breaking news and scoops
But Upstarts isn't just a publication; it's a media ecosystem that also includes:
Upstarts Live: Catch monthly live exec interviews on video, typically on the first Wednesday of the month. The series kicked off in April with Runway's CEO. Ideal guests are established unicorn or up-and-coming startup CEOs, VCs, or other ecosystem leaders. These interviews air in the Substack app and are reshared in newsletters.
Upstarts Podcast: Coming soon! Alex plans a weekly interview podcast centered on key topics, aiming for a "commute-length catch-up." This is slated to begin taping and shipping later in 2025.
Upstarts Events: Alex is already active in the event space, hosting high-touch, invite-only events. He is looking for partners for smaller meetups like breakfasts or happy hours. If your client is looking to curate a custom event, it could be worth reaching out.
Want to pitch Alex? Here’s what he’s looking for.
Alex is intentionally breaking away from traditional validation signals like valuations and funding rounds - instead he’s looking for:
Network validation: Are respected founders, investors, or industry figures using and talking about the product? (Include this in your pitch - is there a tweet you can link to?)
User excitement: Is there genuine buzz from early adopters? Alex mentioned
noticing Granola because "I saw a lot of people who I respect talking about enjoying the product on social media."
Cool, Demo-able Technology: Can Alex get his hands on the product and see the innovation firsthand? Mention that in your pitch.
It’s going to be a very high bar for him to cover a raise. So include other validation signals. Highlight unique product features, strong user adoption, or endorsements from credible third parties like academics or experts. Can you provide customer testimonials or data that goes beyond funding totals?
Quick pitch tips
Timing matters: Plan 2-3 weeks ahead, as Alex aims to have content mapped out in advance
Pitch funding early and know Tuesday is for early-stage startup news and Thursday is for growth-stage or unicorn startups. Be mindful that slots are limited, so exclusivity or significant milestones can help your pitch stand out
Provide alternative validation: When pitching, include social proof like tweets from respected figures who are excited about the product, or other non-financial validation signals.
Off-cycle opportunities: Do you have a growth-stage founder or unicorn who isn't in a heavy news cycle? Alex is interested in "off-cycle interviews" and trend stories for his premium Thursday edition. This is a great opportunity for deeper dives
Be exclusive: Alex values bringing new information to his audience. While exclusivity isn't mandatory, sharing something his readers haven't heard before significantly increases your chances.
Demonstrate real traction: For his recent profile of DOS, Alex pushed for customer numbers, revenue figures, and customer interviews-all three made him confident in covering the story.
Intel
WSJ’s Ann-Marie Alcántara is updating her source list - sign up here to get emails from her on her story needs.
New BI newsletter from Alistair Barr coming soon called Tech Memo: "fresh intel from inside Big Tech, career insights for navigating your role, and smart takes on money, work, and life in Silicon Valley (and beyond). Whether you're deep in the ranks at Meta, eyeing your next move out of Google, or trying to understand these giants, this is the newsletter for you. We'll also feature BI's best on VCs, pitch decks, founders — and of course, AI"
TechCrunch reporter Dominic Midori Davis is now accepting tips for her Substack, The Black Cat. The Black Cat links to stories about successful black executives in the news, so it’s a good way to sustain momentum if your client has been profiled recently - pitch her here.
Healthcare Brew started a new series where reporter Maia Anderson is interviewing C-suite and VP-level execs in healthcare to hear about their career journeys and the work they're doing with their current organizations.
The Information's AI Agenda now has a 'People on the Move' section in the newsletter.
Awards 🏆
City + State is seeking nominations for Who's Who in Insurance. Exec must be NY-based - nominate by May 27, 2025
MediaPost's OMMA Awards: Honors excellence in online media, marketing, and advertising. This award is divided into two sections: Excellence in Online Advertising and Excellence in Media & Marketing, each featuring 58 categories. These categories span from AI, hardware, or web services to financial services. Eligible entries include ads, promotions, campaigns, or websites and should be supported by anecdotes, data, and results that demonstrate the achievement of specific goals. The early bird entry fee is $295 per ad/execution category and $395 per campaign or website category entry and is due 6/12.
Fast Company Next Big Things in Tech: This award highlights products, services, features, research, and other technological efforts that will have a positive impact for consumers, businesses, or society at large in the next five years. Applications will be judged on relevancy, ingenuity, and current and potential cultural and business impact - this means you need a good story, customer names, and metrics! The early bird rate varies on company size (under 500 employees, $595, over 500 employees, $895) and ends on 5/30 - final date to submit is 6/20.
Events
Autonomous Innovation Summit (Virtual, Fall 2025 dates TBD): 30K+ AI experts and enterprise leaders come together twice a year for a virtual conference exploring what it takes to build an AI-native business. The fall program themes include Becoming AI Native, From Pilot to Scale, Multi-Agent Systems in the Enterprise, Connecting AI to Core Business Metrics, Making AI Work, and more. January 2025 speakers included the CEOs of Fireworks and Stackblitz, the Head of GenAI/ML GTM for AWS, & the Head of AI/ML product at Google.
Oxford GenAI Summit 2025 (10/16-10/17, Oxford): Oxford's intimate, annual academic conference digs into real genAI use cases and its social impacts. This year's conference aims to answer two core questions: 1) How can leaders unlock value from genAI and agentic AI responsibly, effectively, and at scale? and 2) How is genAI impacting core aspects of our society, and how should leaders prepare for a future significantly shaped by AI? Past speakers include the CEO of Graphcore, the managing director of Scale AI, KPMG's Global Head of AI and editors from The Economist and Fortune. Applications to speak are open now.
Media Moves 🕺🏻
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