SBS Comms’ mission to redefine tech communications was on full display in 2023 when, in January, it launched OnBoard. The firm, which works with such clients as Flexport and GitHub, created this accelerator to support early-stage founders and teams that don’t yet need a full-service PR firm but that would nonetheless benefit from greater awareness to attract customers, talent, and fundraising. OnBoard features two support tiers. The OnBoard Foundation runs $5,000 per month and provides press messaging, media training, and introductory pitching. The OnBoard Accelerated Support tier runs $10,000 per month and is built for teams that are further along in their PR and funding journey. SBS has streamlined communications with these earlier-stage companies, eschewing email and meetings for Slack. The messaging platform allows SBS team members to discuss strategy with participants privately alongside general channels hosting more universal guidance and team building.
One early OnBoard breakthrough success has been Prophecy, a low-code data engineering platform. SBS helped it differentiate itself in the crowded sector (focusing on how it allows companies to prepare data for analysis) and demystify its product (explaining how Prophecy makes this easier via generative AI). Prophecy’s revenue grew by 400% in 2023, and the company attracted strategic investors including J.P. Morgan and the venture arm of Databricks. As for SBS itself, revenue grew 27% year-over-year amid tech’s year of belt tightening to more than $9 million, fueled by its success in winning 30 new clients.
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