41: Pitch a Startup Founder with Natasha Masarenhas

We Earn Media

In this episode, we chat with TechCrunch reporter, Natasha Mascarenha, about a pitch that led to a phone call, which inspired a 4-part series on a well-known edtech company, Duolingo! What stood out about the founder that led to such an in-depth look at the company? We’ll dive into how this series developed, leaving you with tips on how to pitch your founder and best prepare them for interviews. Despite the reality of most startups not holding household names like Duolingo, our guest will guide you through making your client stand out by communicating with transparency and authenticity.

In this episode you’ll learn…

• How to prepare startup founders for media interviews
• Why authenticity matters in storytelling and media interviews
• What a TechCrunch reporter looks for in a subject line and email body

Our guest is...

Natasha Mascarenhas is a senior reporter at TechCrunch by way of Crunchbase News, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe and BostInno. She primarily reports on early-stage startups in edtech and future of work, through the lens of how culture and strong opinions can shape a company's trajectory. Beyond journalism, Mascarenhas spends her time cooking Indian American fusion recipes, dancing and writing on her personal blog.

Stories we talked about:

How a bot-fighting test turned into edtech’s most iconic brand, Duolingo
Built by a refugee, Enlight’s edtech tool bets it can help students hope harder
Medium sees more employee exits after CEO publishes ‘culture memo’