Understanding and shaping perception is the first step to building a successful reputation and you must do everything in your power to build, control, and stimulate it. The need for positive perception is very pronounced for a technology startup. You want to be perceived as being successful before you actually are successful. Success can be communicated through three forms: inferred, referred, and proven.
The first step to building a perception of success is to strengthen your startup’s inferred reputation for success. Inferred methods involve affiliation, association, and attraction. The affiliation alone says everything. For example, the fact that a star engineer was recruited to your startup says it all. Or, top tier investors backed you with enthusiasm. Who did you attract to your Board of Directors? You have an all-star advisory board? Your focus here is to promote the very act that led to the affiliation. You’re marketing the founders, management talent, engineering wizards, financial backers, relationships with industry partners, and so on.