Confessions from the City: The tech PR

As I’m sure even casual observers have noticed, the area between Clerkenwell and Shoreditch is crawling with hoodie-wearing, bearded twentysomething white males calling themselves tech entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately, the view from inside the tech bubble is so distorted that their behaviour and business aims bare no relation to the reality of the UK’s economy.

For the most part, Silicon Roundabout is a wholesale import from California. But with grimy kebab shops and less sunshine.

This would be of little consequence if it didn’t lead to wasted opportunities and make the rest of us feel alienated.

I’ve worked for scores of different tech companies. Unfortunately, some founders are little more than paper-Zuckerbergs. They treat The Social Network as an MBA course.

Often, the product they are attempting to make a success — usually an app there’s no reason anyone would use — is of peripheral value. But the founder treats their baby with a dangerous lack of perspective and hubris.

Terms such as “innovative”, “game-changing”, “pioneering”, “bleeding-edge” and “disruptive” are bandied about willy-nilly.

If the world outside the tech community does not share their view, the founder often reacts with incredulity.

“The public just don’t get my idea,” they say, stamping their feet. It’s not just because it’s crap then?

Handling their press relations can be a nightmare. The more outlandish types demand that they approve articles before they’re published or that their two-bit logo must be used in a national newspaper.

Worse, some have even tried to get us to start smear campaigns to undermine competitors.

One wanted us to “create a trail of breadcrumbs” that a journalist could follow to uncover what he believed were unfounded claims about what its rivals’ product could do.

Most of the time, it’s more comical than sinister — some twisted view that anyone would actually care about these storms in a teacup.

Entrepreneurs assume every journalist wants to receive a scintillating briefing on their new app at tech conferences.

I’ve worked for a completely green entrepreneur with an unlaunched product who demanded meetings with the Financial Times, BBC and Guardian at the Dublin Web Summit as a minimum.

“Hmm, highly unlikely,” I said, and was met with incredulity.

Such is the pushy nature of digital star wannabes that many journalists hide their credentials at tech events so they don’t get harassed — it’s similar to walking down a Bangkok street at night… apparently.