Startups, Stop Hiding: Why Reputation Comes First

Startups live fast, in this economy especially. You are trying to grow, pitch, hire, and survive all at once. But if your reputation doesn’t keep up, the whole thing can fall apart. One bad review, one messy search result, one forgotten blog post from months ago can turn investors cold and customers suspicious. 

So before you chase scale, fix your signal with strategic online reputation management (ORM), modern public relations (PR), and effective search engine optimization (SEO). Here is how startups should think about reputation from day one. 

Why Reputation Is A Core Metric 

You might think product or funding should be top priority. But reputation hits everything else first. 

According to a 2025 LinkedIn survey, 92% of investors said a founder’s online presence influences whether they take a pitch seriously. Over 70% of consumers say they won’t try a new business with a bad online footprint. 

You could be a genius with a world-changing product. But if people Google your brand and see confusing, outdated, or negative info, you are in trouble. 

Reputation builds trust, and trust unlocks everything else. 

Google Is The First Impression 

Let’s be honest. Nobody starts with your website. They start with Google. 

Try it now. Type in your name. Your company. Your product. 

What shows up? Is it clear? Is it accurate? Is it flattering? 

If not, that is a problem. 

Startups are judged fast. You don’t get the benefit of the doubt. You need your top search results to reflect who you are and what you do today—not what you did three jobs ago or that Reddit thread from your soft launch. 

If there is something bad or misleading in those results, you may need help to remove Google search results that don’t reflect your current reality. It is not just about looking good. It is about being seen correctly. 

Founders Are The Face 

In the early stages, the founder is the brand. Your online trail matters more than you think. 

I once met a founder who couldn’t get his seed round closed. Not because his idea was weak, but because the top search result under his name was a 10-year-old article about a failed side project. He didn’t even know it was still online. 

He eventually got it removed and replaced it with new press. Three weeks later, funding closed. 

Lesson: Google yourself. Regularly. Then do the same for your co-founders. If something needs fixing, fix it fast. 

Reviews Aren’t Just For Products 

B2B, SaaS, local services—whatever your startup offers, reviews matter. 

Google, Trustpilot, G2, Reddit, Glassdoor. People are talking. If you're not paying attention, someone else is controlling your story. 

Negative reviews often aren’t about the product. They are about the experience. A late reply. A confusing policy. A rude email. Fixing your operations is important, but so is managing perception. 

Reply to reviews. Report false ones. Ask loyal customers for positive feedback. It is not vanity. It is survival. 

Don’t Ignore Small Platforms 

Startups often chase the big stuff—TechCrunch mentions, Forbes articles, big-name partnerships. That is great, but don’t ignore the small platforms. 

Old blog posts. Outdated bios. Facebook pages you forgot about. All of these can show up in search and confuse your message. 

Clean house. Archive what no longer fits. Update what still matters. The fewer loose threads, the better. 

Privacy Settings And Smart Posting 

If you are building a brand, be intentional with your personal accounts. 

That tweet you thought was funny in 2024? That vacation pic from college? People will find it. Maybe a VC. Maybe a journalist. Maybe your next customer. 

Set your profiles to private or clean them up. Use your public-facing platforms to post content that builds your credibility. 

Think in terms of: Does this post make people more likely to trust me? 

If not, skip it. 

Get Ahead Of The Curve 

Reputation management is often reactive. Something bad happens, then people scramble. 

That’s a mistake. Be proactive. 

Set up Google Alerts for your company and your name. Use brand monitoring tools like Brand24 or Mention to track what’s being said. This isn’t ego—it’s awareness. 

You want to catch issues before they spread. You want to know what people are saying even if they don’t tag you. 

And you want to respond quickly, calmly, and clearly. 

Outsource When It Makes Sense 

You can’t do everything yourself. Especially not while building a company. 

If managing your online footprint feels overwhelming, get help. A good reputation firm will monitor search results, help remove outdated or harmful content, and even help you build stronger, more accurate content to replace it. 

The best ones work quietly in the background, keeping your name clean while you focus on your actual business. 

Reputation Affects Recruitment 

Early hires shape your culture. But smart candidates Google you just like investors do. 

A Glassdoor rating that is too low. A weird Reddit post. An old lawsuit that wasn’t even related to your current team. All of these can scare off talent. 

You don’t need a perfect image. Just a clear, accurate one. 

Make sure your job listings, team bios, and employee content all align. Keep your brand story consistent across every touchpoint. 

Real Stories Make A Real Difference 

People don’t just want to buy from you. They want to believe in you. 

That means telling your story the right way. Press mentions help. So do podcasts, blog interviews, founder videos, and case studies. 

The more content you control, the less control you give to Google’s auto-suggestions or third-party posts. 

A startup founder once told me, “People kept asking about some old forum thread where I had posted a prototype. Once I published a full story on our journey, that stopped being the focus.” 

Don’t let the internet tell your story for you. Own the narrative. 

Final Thought 

Startups move fast. But reputation moves faster. You can’t scale what people don’t trust. You can’t close deals with doubt hanging over your name. 

“You don’t win by being loud. You win by showing up, doing the work, and backing people when it counts,” says Aaron Keay. “Reputation isn’t something you build once. You earn it every time you make a call, show up prepared, or help someone when there’s nothing in it for you.” 

So start early. Clean up search. Watch your reviews. Tell your story. And if needed, remove Google search results that don’t reflect who you are today. 

Your reputation is your first product. Make it a good one.

5 Reasons To Outsource Your HR For Small Businesses

When you are a small business owner, you will need the support you can to ensure that your staff are taken care of and that you are complying with local business laws, as well as not incurring any fines. For larger businesses, overseeing these areas typically falls to the human resources department, commonly referred to as HR. 

For smaller companies, hiring an entire team to ensure the smooth operation of a company with fewer than one hundred people is not only expensive but also makes minimal sense. 

Ergo, it is commonplace to outsource this role to HR teams, which often operate remotely but are dedicated to helping small businesses stay on the right side of legal jargon, and keep their staff happy and protected. 

So, if you are a small business owner looking to hire an HR team, here are five of the best reasons to outsource rather than hire in-house. 

Saves Money 

As mentioned in the intro, whether you are looking to hire HR Swindon, or you want to hire a HR team in San Francisco, it can be expensive. Wages, computers, and office space can rack up the cost to your small business, as well as having to go through the often-long- winded hiring process. 

Rather than opting for this, by choosing an outsourced HR team, you can access their knowledge as and when you need it, without having to pay for full-time or part-time wages. Many HR teams that are outsourced can offer businesses a range of different services or set duties that they will perform for a set fee per month, so you will know exactly what you are paying for. 

Instant Access To Expertise 

What is the rate of sick pay in your state? How much time does a staff member have to give before taking bereavement leave? 

Most business owners have no idea so, hiring an outsourced HR team can help you to make sense of the world of technicalities and legal responsibilities behind running a business. What is not to like about that? 

Legal Protection 

The world of business can be a tricky place. Moreso, if you run into legal issues that you had no idea about! 

One of the core reasons why many small business owners outsource their HR is to provide legal protection to their businesses and themselves. By outsourcing to an HR department, you can rest assured that your business is adhering to labor laws, such as wages, paid time off, and sick leave, as well as meeting all relevant local and national policies applicable to your area of business. 

You also reduce the risk of issues occurring with the hiring and termination process. An outsourced HR team can oversee clear job descriptions, ensure a structured interview process, and even draft clear contracts between you and your staff, all with the correct legal terminology, should a legal issue arise in the future. It seems nitpicky but, should anything go wrong, these are the areas that employment lawyers will focus on. 

Saves Time 

For those who may be a bit more ambitious, it can seem more cost-effective to try and run the HR department by themselves. 

Obviously, this is not only exhausting but takes additional HR training, which is not cheap and can eat into the time needed to run their business. So, rather than wasting a lot of money and time learning everything an HR manager needs to know, alongside running your own business and looking after staff, outsourcing the HR department will save you a significant amount of time. Freeing up internal resources will allow you to concentrate your efforts where they are needed, helping your business to expand and succeed. 

Scalable At Minimal Costs 

When your business starts to grow, other areas have to grow with it, and, you guessed it, HR is one of them. 

If you aim to hire an on-site HR team, scaling can be costly, with the average salary of a general HR staff member setting your company back nearly $60,000 a year in wages. Yikes! 

Outsourcing to a dedicated HR team means that as your business grows, you have access to their services too, but not at such a high cost to your company. Many outsourced HR teams offer set packages for businesses, allowing you to assess what level of support you need as your company grows. 

Remember, when looking for a company to outsource your HR to, be sure to check reviews of current clients and conduct interviews with each team to assess their professionalism and suitability.