Cutting Through The Noise: How Startups Can Communicate Better To Drive Growth

Every day, investors worldwide receive thousands of pitch decks—data from the UK-headquartered Fuel Ventures suggests that, on average, it works out to about one every 88 minutes. This isn’t just a reminder of how crowded the landscape has become—it shows that founders aren’t competing for capital alone, they’re competing for attention. But the goal of being heard isn’t as simple as it sounds, because the problem is layered.

The first layer is an outdated paradigm that has dominated startup culture for years: passion has been treated as proof of potential. Founders were told they must radiate energy and conviction at all times. That logic helped fuel the “fake it till you make it” approach—often taken literally as a license to exaggerate. If you believe strongly enough, then overstating your progress isn’t lying; it’s strategy. The risk is obvious: trust erodes the moment people realize enthusiasm has been used to justify distortion.

The second layer comes from the past decade’s “automate everything” mentality. Startups were told that more was better: more outreach, more posts, more pitches, more noise. It was quantity over quality, repeated endlessly. But the reality is that people respond to relevance, not repetition. A tailored, thoughtful approach, where the message adapts to the audience and context, cuts through far more effectively than endless cold pitching.

To see the problem, imagine a strange eating habit: apples, every day, without exception. No matter how good the apples are, sooner or later, fatigue sets in. And if you’re the one selling apples, simply offering more of the same won’t work. You’d have to rethink your approach—not just to sell apples, but to sustain demand in a market that has grown tired of them.

This is exactly where startup communication finds itself today. The old models of passion performance and sheer volume are losing their impact. What works now is a different strategy: one that favors precision, credibility, and above all, trust.

From Noise To Strategy 

It might sound obvious, but any strategic communication should start with the question: “What is my business objective here?”

That objective will be different depending on the context—fundraising, client relations, partnerships, or hiring. The core message about your company may stay the same, but the way you highlight it has to shift.

Take fundraising as an example. It’s no secret that an investor’s goal is to make money. So, if you’re raising capital, your communication goal isn’t to show how passionate you are—it’s to show how an investor can make returns with you. And that requires thinking less like a seller, and more like a strategist.

For instance, if you’re still at an early stage and don’t have traction yet, the priority is to show that you know how the business will eventually become profitable. Your “reasons to believe” might be a founding team with proven expertise, early letters of intent from partners, pilot projects that show demand, or even solid research and intellectual property that can back future growth.

But if you already have traction, don’t fall into the trap of overselling. Numbers speak, but they don’t need to be shouted. Instead, frame them in a way that makes investors curious about your growth logic: what’s behind these results, and how sustainable are they?

The same logic applies outside of fundraising. With potential clients, the emphasis is on how your solution removes their pain points. With partners, it’s about the value of collaboration. With regulators, it’s about compliance and long-term stability.

The point is: communication isn’t about repeating the same pitch everywhere. It’s about aligning your message with your objective—and doing it in a way that builds trust instead of exhausting attention.

Everything Communicates

Another thing founders often overlook is that everything can be a communication channel—and it must be treated accordingly.

It’s not just about what you say in a pitch deck or on stage. The way your website is written, the tone of your emails, how your team talks at industry events, even the consistency of your LinkedIn updates—all of these are part of your communication system. Each one either builds or erodes trust.

People don’t form an opinion based on just one thing— investors, clients, and partners look at the bigger picture. They look at signals. If your pitch deck claims that your team has all the potential to succeed, but at the same time, one of your C-level executives is being careless with their posts on X, it sends the wrong message. Not only does it highlight communication risks, it also suggests that you don’t fully understand what can put the company at risk—and that’s even more damaging.

This doesn’t mean over-engineering every word. It means being intentional. Treating each channel as a chance to reinforce the same underlying message, while adapting its form to the audience and context.

What does this look like in practice? A pitch deck should demonstrate vision and scale. A client proposal should focus on solving a specific pain point. A media interview should highlight relevance to the market. Even a casual conversation at the networking event is a channel—and you can make it valuable.

Final Note

Too often, communication is reduced to “just public relations”—a press release here, a LinkedIn post there, a pitch deck when fundraising. But, in reality, communication is a complex business process. When aligned with product, sales, fundraising, and partnerships, it doesn’t just support a company’s growth—it multiplies it.

When thinking about communication, here’s a quick checklist that can come in handy for founders:

Objective What business goal am I serving here—i.e. fundraising, client, partner, regulator, etc.?

Message Is the story the same at its core, but highlighted differently for this audience?

Consistency Does this align with how we present ourselves across other channels?

Proof Am I showing credibility with what I’m saying?

Noise Test Am I adding to the overload, or saying something people will actually want to hear?

If you can answer these questions clearly, your communication will be a business tool that creates trust and can drive smart growth.

About The Author

Ksenia Zaykova is the founder of NODE Communications, an international communication agency for tech, B2B, and venturebacked companies. She is also the Chief Communications Officer at AngelsDeck Global Ventures, an angel investor network. With more than a decade of experience, she builds strategic communications as a business process, bridging market insight with investor perspective, and helping entrepreneurs overcome communication barriers.

This article first appeared in a special edition of Inc. Arabia created for Money20/20 Middle East in September 2025. To read the full issue online, click here.