During my recent interactions with a number of founders at Founders Forum Asia 2025, I noticed that there’s this massive blind spot that’s driving me nuts. Everyone’s obsessing over the next unicorn, the latest funding round, or which AI tool will revolutionise their workflow, and rightly so. But something that’s taken a backseat that could actually make or break them: strategic communications.

You might say that’s probably because I work in the industry. But this isn’t some shameless plug; this is about safeguarding the license to operate in a market.

The “we’ll figure it out later” problem

The reality is that brilliant founders with game-changing ideas treat communications like that friend you only call when you need something. They’re out here raising millions, building incredible products, and then… radio silence. Or worse, they say something that goes completely obtuse.

Take that whole Chocolate Finance mess. The way they handled the suspension of its instant withdrawal was like watching a masterclass in how NOT to communicate. Zero transparency, confused messaging, mismatch in audience platforms, and suddenly everyone’s questioning whether they ever knew what they were doing in the first place.

That’s what happens when you treat comms as an afterthought. It doesn’t matter how brilliant your product is if people think you’re sketchy.

Stage one: Don’t be a hot mess from day one

In those early days, pre-seed through “holy crap, people actually want this thing”, your story is YOU. There’s no fancy office or impressive team headcount to hide behind. It’s just you, your pitch deck, and your ability to convince people you’re not completely insane.

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Singapore’s business community is tight-knit. Word travels fast, and reputations stick. Mess up your narrative early, and you’ll be explaining that fumble for years. Meetings can get tanked even before they even started because their LinkedIn was a disaster or they couldn’t explain their vision without using seventeen buzzwords that meant nothing.

Here’s the thing: credibility isn’t just about what you say, it’s about saying it consistently, authentically, and in a way that doesn’t make investors want to run for the hills.

Stage two: Growing pains are real (and public)

Once you’re scaling, things get messy fast. More employees, more customers, more opinions, and more ways to screw up publicly. Southeast Asia’s media landscape is like a game of telephone played across six countries with different languages and cultural contexts. One poorly worded statement can go viral in ways you never imagined.

Look at what happened with eFishery in Indonesia, the regional agritech darling until internal drama exploded online. Suddenly, everyone’s talking about poor governance and fraud instead of their innovation. That’s millions in reputation value down the drain because they didn’t have proper internal and external communications strategies.

When you’re growing fast, communications becomes less about telling your story and more about making sure your story doesn’t spiral out of control.

Stage three: The big leagues have big consequences

By the time you’re eyeing IPOs, acquisitions, or major market expansions, every word matters. Regulators are watching, investors are scrutinising, and the media’s ready to pounce on any inconsistency. This is where founders discover that their casual approach to communications isn’t going to cut it anymore.

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At this level, you need someone who understands that communications isn’t just about managing media, it’s about protecting and building the asset that is your reputation. Because let’s be honest: you can fix a product bug overnight, but rebuilding trust? That takes years.

The bottom line (from someone who actually does this for a living)

I’m not saying every startup needs a full communications team from day one. But treating communications as “something we’ll deal with when we have money” is like saying you’ll worry about brakes after you learn to drive. It’s backwards, and it’s dangerous.

The best leaders I’ve worked with understand that communications isn’t about spin, it’s about building authentic relationships with everyone who matters to your business. Customers, investors, employees, partners, even competitors. In a place like Singapore, where reputation and relationships drive everything, this isn’t optional.

So here’s my challenge to Singapore’s startup community: Stop treating communications like it’s beneath you or “just marketing.” Start seeing it as what it really is — your competitive advantage. Because in a world where trust can be lost in a tweet and built over years, the companies that master authentic communication are the ones that’ll still be standing when the dust settles.

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