How to Adapt From Dow Jones to a Start-up Environment
Paula Keve has spent 15 years in various marketing and communications roles across multiple sectors, including large organisations like the BBC, Bloomberg, BNP Paribas, Dow Jones, and The Wall Street Journal, where she was Chief Communications Officer. After years in large corporations and a break to have her third child, Paula transitioned to start-ups, joining Student.com and now serving as Head of Communications at Catapult Sports, an Australian-based sports tech start-up. Catapult supports over 1,500 elite teams worldwide with performance-enhancing technology. VMA GROUP’s Melissa Pierson explores how Paula has adapted her communications expertise from Dow Jones to a start-up environment.
Current Role at Catapult Sports
Paula Keve runs the communications function at Catapult Sports, overseeing media, social, and content for the entire product suite. She is particularly involved in marketing and communications efforts to launch a consumer product, a significant focus and opportunity for the company. Catapult has grown from 125 to 300 employees in the last year, making the growth and pace fast.
Transitioning from Large Organisations to Start-ups
Scope of Previous Roles vs. Start-ups
At Dow Jones, Paula managed media relations, CSR, and internal communications, with complex issues management work that was both challenging and rewarding. The scale of internal communications initiatives was gratifying. In contrast, she enjoys experimenting with digital and social communications in a start-up, where working harder and smarter is essential to be heard, and the absence of legacy systems is liberating.
Adapting to a Start-up Environment
Maintaining structure and being methodical is crucial in a start-up, with many possible avenues and competing priorities. Paula emphasizes focusing on impactful actions and executing them effectively. In larger organisations, structure and discipline were more inherent.
Best Tactics for Start-ups Increasing PR/Communications Activity
- Develop your social strategy early by identifying channels and audiences.
- Consistently plan content to feed those channels.
- Build a robust social framework (organic and paid) to quickly raise awareness and drive traffic.
- Collaborate closely with SEO, as traditional media relations can support organic growth early in a company’s lifecycle.
Managing Limited Resources
In large organisations, multiple people handle project elements, but in a start-up, it’s often just one person. Hard work is essential, and while shortcuts are rare, Paula is open to discovering them.
Skills Gained from Start-up Experience
Paula has learned to think digitally from the ground up and values continuous learning.
Special thanks to Paula Keve, Head of Communications at Catapult Sports, for participating in VMA GROUP’s Q&A blog series, providing valuable insights into the communications profession from experts themselves. For more information on this blog series or general careers advice, please contact Lucy Cairncross.
