How to scale a startup PR program
By Joel Andren · Published by PressFriendly, a PR agency · Reviewed October 13, 2026 · Editorial standards · 4 of 4 in this section
Add PR capacity when you can identify useful work the current team cannot sustain. First check whether the constraint is people, a missing skill, slow decisions, or a lack of credible stories. More agency hours will not solve every one of those problems.
Find the work that is being left undone
Look at recent opportunities and commitments. Are good stories waiting because nobody has time to develop them? Does coordination consume too much of the founder's week? Has a new market or a more sensitive issue created a skill gap?
Ask the current team what additional capacity would change. A useful recommendation names the work, the person or skill needed, and the expected benefit.
If work is waiting on customer permission or executive availability, solve that dependency before expanding the agency's scope.
Add the capability that fits the need
| Need | Option to consider |
|---|---|
| More day-to-day decisions and internal coordination | An in-house or fractional communications lead |
| More execution on a clear plan | Additional agency capacity or a freelancer |
| A new country, technical subject, or sensitive issue | A relevant specialist or local partner |
| One temporary launch or event | A defined project |
| Better understanding of the audience or results | Focused research or measurement help |
A hybrid team can work well. For a fictional growing startup, an internal lead might coordinate executives and priorities while an agency handles media relations. The benefit depends on a clear split and enough useful work for both.
The operating-model comparison explains the tradeoffs.
Include the coordination cost
Another provider creates another working relationship. Decide who sets priorities, shares company information, and prevents duplicate outreach.
Ask what the added work needs from your own experts and spokespeople. If those people are already the bottleneck, a bigger external team may create more requests without improving results.
Keep a shared plan and one clear company contact. More complex or higher-risk work may need additional specialist involvement.
Review whether the addition helped
Agree what improvement you expect and when you will discuss it. That might be fewer missed opportunities, stronger work in a new market, faster useful responses, or better evidence about the audience.
For a temporary need, use a bounded project when appropriate. An internal hire or long-term market expansion may need a longer horizon to assess.
Judge the benefit against the added cost and company time. More materials or pitches alone do not establish progress toward the business goal.
Remove work that no longer earns its place
Scaling can mean narrowing the program or combining overlapping providers. If a launch ends or a priority changes, reduce work that no longer serves a useful purpose.
Update the scope and working arrangement as the company changes. PressFriendly sells agency services; apply the same test before expanding its scope as you would with any other provider.