Challenge
Merge, an emerging software as a service startup providing unified API software integrations, was ready to launch out of stealth and announce its seed funding led by respected venture capital firm NEA. The company had been formed quietly in the early months of the pandemic and wanted to hit the ground running.
Approach
Spark’s recommendation centered around the importance of having one quality story about Merge and its launch, with the goal being to attract top talent as well as their first big wave of customers.
Merge had a compelling backstory – founders Gil Feig and Shensi Ding had studied computer science together at Columbia University. After graduation they went their separate ways but kept in touch. They soon realized they were both seeing the same software integration challenges at their respective companies – and the idea for Merge was born.
The Spark team worked closely with Merge to craft their story, the press release and Q&A, etc. We also prepared Gil and Shensi for their first ever interview with the press.
Evaluating target audiences (recruits and customers), we landed on TechCrunch as our first choice for the exclusive.
Results
TechCrunch writer Frederic Lardinois accepted the exclusive and wrote a compelling story about Merge’s exit from stealth (UVM: 14.8M).
Building on the announcement, Spark shared Merge’s news with additional press. In the days following, coverage appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Axios, Fortune, Pitchbook, and StrictlyVC, among others (UVM: well over 100M total).
As a result of the widespread launch coverage, Merge received more than 50 quality inbound leads from prospective customers ranging from startups to midsize to Fortune 500 companies.
Spark has continued working with Merge and also helped them announce their Series A and Series B with additional TechCrunch exclusives.
Co-founders Shensi Ding and Gil Feig were also named to the 2023 Forbes 30 under 30 list.
