Founder Q&A: How Courtlyn Jones got featured in CanvasRebel Magazine

Hey, founder fam!

This has been a strange week…

As I’m sure you heard, wildfire smoke from Canada has descended upon the northeast so you know what that means—our entire TikTok feeds are just video after video of people talking about the smoky NYC skies.

The air quality got bad fast. I was constantly checking the AQI on my phone and at one point it reached over 300 on Wednesday. When I looked out the window at the office, it was just orange-brown outside. Everywhere. It looked even worse when I took the elevator up to the 53rd floor of our building.

iPhone photos just couldn’t accurately capture the haze from indoors, but I did get a pic of the NYC skyline from the Jersey side after I got home from work on Wednesday when conditions were just a bit better.

I think that’s more than enough excitement for 2023…

In other news, for today’s edition of the newsletter, I have an ~enlightening~ conversation to share with you from a founder who’s had a slew of media opportunities for her startup.

Her name is Courtlyn Jones and she’s the Founder of The Design Database. I actually interviewed Courtlyn on my podcast last year where we talked about how she launched TDD, bootstrapping her startup, and raising a round of investment funding.

In today’s interview, though, you’ll learn about how Courtlyn has been landing some of her recent press opportunities. Read on for our Q&A.

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Founder Q&A: How Courtlyn Jones got featured in CanvasRebel Magazine

Q: Give us a rundown of your business

A: The Design Database is an online community and job platform for female and non-binary Creatives who need more connections and visibility so they can attract higher-quality clients. I actually pivoted and relaunched my entire company recently. The platform was originally more like “Fiverr meets Etsy,” but now it’s “Indeed meets Instagram” because it’s a job board for companies to find top-vetted female talent, and a place for Creatives to make friends and get the support they need in order to be successful.

Q: Where were you recently featured?

A: CanvasRebel Magazine. I’m currently participating in a 6-month leadership program for startup founders and one of the members in my cohort was published in CanvasRebel a few months prior. Everyone who is featured has a chance to refer another founder. She nominated me to get featured next, and I nominated my other founder friends as well. It was approximately a 30-minute interview that I did…maybe back in January, and it was recently published this past April.

Q: What's the name of the startup program, if you don't mind sharing?

A: Startup Leadership Program (SLP)

Q: Have you had other features? How have you landed them?

A: So, I’ve been finding opportunities through a lot of online female-focused founder groups. I’m a member of about 12 different communities now and other entrepreneurs who I’ve met and befriended from these groups often post, send links, or nominate me for these PR opportunities. It’s really about who’s in your circle to help you get press. The Entreprenista League has been posting great opportunities for PR. I’ve been a guest on about 15 podcasts, featured in about 6 entrepreneurial magazines (including Brainz Magazine, Shoutout Series, Voyage’s Bold Journey) or blogs, and was even booked as a speaker on my first panel at the Mind Your HeART event in Williamsburg during Mental Health Awareness Month this year.

Q: What’s something this process taught you that you didn’t previously know?

A: I would say…it taught me how to explain my company better. I’ve already learned how to improve my pitch for investors, although that’s still a work in progress, but now I’m learning how to pitch to customers. Doing more press and interviews has helped me to understand my company and vision clearly and pitch to my customers in a more succinct way. I know my story is relatable and that’s why I want to include it in my pitch, but it’s important to capture the audience’s attention quickly and make the customers know exactly what I’m doing within the first two minutes of reading my interview. This way, they know who I’m trying to attract immediately.

It’s also nice to uncover my founder story for myself because I didn’t realize that there are so many things that happened in my life that were actually a catalyst to me becoming an entrepreneur and doing all of this. It’s important to remember your WHY always.

Q: What advice do you have for other founders when it comes to dealing with media, PR, and journalists?

A: Opportunities are everywhere, but founder groups can really help. I found so many opportunities and I always tell a friend when there are openings for another feature because I want to help others in the way that I’ve received help. We all need to help each other now more than ever.

When you are having your interview, it's important to be as honest as possible. Sharing the highs and lows, but mostly the lows, is crucial and very powerful. I’m transparent about sharing my lows because it inspires others and shows how far I’ve come. It’s not easy and it's not always fun, but in the end, it’s worth it.

Special thanks to Courtlyn for chatting with me and offering her insights! Read her feature here.

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That’s all for right now. If you’re loving this newsletter, don’t forget to forward it to a friend who can also use some of these tips.

Catch you in the next one!

—Jasmin, Founder & EIC of Capital J