At Vulcan Post, our writers receive hundreds of emails daily… each. These come from PR companies, businesses, and individuals, asking about event invitations, media pitches, and more.
People also reach out to us on social media to ask for coverage, and our own writers will find their own topics in the wild to pitch at our editorial meetings.
All this to say—there are a lot of topics we need to go through, so how can you ensure that your brand appears in our meetings?
It starts with standing out from the crowd and pitching to us in a way that really captures our attention and interest. But turns out, not many people are confident in doing so.
That’s why we hosted The MVP Room, Vulcan Post’s recent event that’s all about best practices when it comes to pitching your story and acing an interview with the media.
And no, MVP doesn’t mean minimum viable product or most valuable player. Rather, it’s referring to the Most Valuable Pitch.
Held at Colony’s KL Eco City coworking space, the event was specifically curated to address points like:
- Major “icks” when you pitch your business story to the media
- Do’s and don’ts in your storytelling/interviews
- How to be “quote-worthy” and media-friendly interviewee
Meet the Most Valuable Partners who made this possible
We’ve been thinking about hosting a small, exclusive event like The MVP Room for a while now. But in actuality, we only really started working on this event about two weeks ago.
While our team deserves major props for preparing this event in such a short time, all this was also only possible thanks to our partners who graciously worked with us despite the short notice.
First of all, Colony generously gave us their beautiful space in Eco City, transforming the event hall on their upper level into our MVP Room for the afternoon.
For those who aren’t familiar with Malaysia’s coworking space ecosystem, Colony is one of the notable and premier coworking brands locally.
Established in 2017 and led by CEO Timothy Tiah, Colony is all about offering lux spaces with a focus on hospitality. They also have locations in Mont Kiara and KLCC.
Dateen Catering also pulled through with some yummy teatime snacks, including raisin buns, sandwiches, mini tarts and cakes, and a peach gum in longan and white fungus dessert.
The business’ director, Betty, is also the founder of Dateen Catering’s sister brand Kejap Food, a local fast food chain that serves Malaysian dishes.
Dateen Catering itself was established in 2007, specialising in quality catering services for corporate events, gatherings, and personalised bento box meals.
And of course, to keep us energised, we had to have a fresh supply of delicious coffee. Alex, the founder of Metta Coffee, was there to brew cuppa after cuppa throughout the duration of the event.
Taking to the stage during the event’s opening, Alex shared that he’s a risk manager and insurance specialist by profession, but became a barista and entrepreneur during the pandemic.
Collecting coffee machines from cafes that closed down during the pandemic, he started a side hustle as a freelance barista as well as renting out his machines.
For those hosting their own events, be sure to reach out to these local businesses!
Sharing our hottest tips on pitching and interviewing
Presented by Vulcan Post’s managing editor, Sade Dayangku, the first presentation’s title pretty much sums its purpose: “You’re worth knowing, here’s how to get your story told.”
A big part of how to do that is by hooking the media with a narrative that stands out. One of the ways we shared was to tell your “why” in a way that actually matters to others.
You might think that the whole “know your why” or “start your why” advice is overrated, but you really need to focus on identifying and articulating a “why” that isn’t just self-serving, but matters to a wider audience.
So, now you’ve got your foot in the door. The second segment was all about following through with a good interview.
One of our tips was to anticipate, not avoid. What does that mean?
Well, interviewers sometimes will ask hard questions. Perhaps we might ask about your financial situation, or about your competitors. Some businesses’ instinct is to just avoid these questions, or the entire interview altogether.
But the truth is, we’re asking those questions not as a way to be cruel or insensitive. We’re asking to give you a platform to share your honest truth with readers. Because if we’re wondering something, chances are, the readers are wondering the same thing.
So, try not to avoid those questions and instead anticipate what skeptical readers might feel when they read your insights. Lead with candidness and honesty.
Here’s to telling better stories
The event summarises the Vulcan Post editorial team’s years of experience working with local startups, SMEs, and corporations to tell their stories in an effort to inspire entrepreneurs and inform consumers.
We hope our sincere sharing resonated with those who gave us their time and attention at The MVP Room.
Having imparted our insights, we hope that the businesses and professionals who attended feel more equipped than ever to pitch their business to the media, and score that interview with their most valuable pitches.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
