About the company
VSC is a boutique consulting firm that customizes a mix of public relations, content marketing, and multimedia to accelerate startups into vertical market leaders. Check out my writing and wins linked below.
GOAL: CHANGE PUBLIC PERCEPTION
In the aftermath of Theranos, we wanted to build Sight's credibility in the scientific community by announcing the FDA approval of its fingerprint blood test device (that actually works).
ROLE I PLAYED
I helped Sight's CTO learn how to speak to the press. I also crafted the pitch and the press release and conducted broad outreach to reporters 3 weeks before the embargo date.
SAMPLE PITCH
CASE STUDY 1
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SUBJECT LINE: Alex, No More “Bad Blood” - FDA Clears Fingerprick Blood Testing Startup
Hi Alex,
Based on your coverage, I thought you should hear about how this startup is doing what Theranos never could: delivering accurate blood test results with a fingerprick sample in minutes.
They’ve delivered on their mission by refusing to take shortcuts, testing and refining their technology for nearly a decade before sharing it with the world.
The company first deployed its technology to detect malaria and has since delivered nearly one million tests in 24 countries. Then it applied the same clinically-tested technology to build an analyzer that can perform a Complete Blood Count (CBC)—the most commonly ordered blood test—in minutes with just two drops of blood.
The analyzer has already been approved for commercial sale in the EU, but now the company is about to announce that its analyzer has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA.
FDA clearance will bring fast and accessible diagnostics to the US in an effort to improve the 3.3 trillion dollar healthcare industry. Can I share more details under embargo for Wednesday, 12/4 and connect you with a company exec?
Gabriela
RESULTS
4 Media trainings
11 Briefings
31 articles
READ COVERAGE BELOW
GOAL: INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Take Fastly through an IPO and manage communications with reporters under strict legal guidelines from the S1 through trading day.
ROLE I PLAYED
I prepped CEO Artur Bergman with 13 briefing documents over the course of 12 hours so he knew what questions to expect and what key messages to convey during each interview. I also tracked and reported all the coverage we secured.
CASE STUDY 2
SEE COVERAGE BELOW
RESULTS
13 Briefings
28 Articles
17 broadcast
Segments
CASE STUDY 3
GOAL: BUILD A THOUGHT LEADER
We launched Mammoth Biosciences out of stealth and into an entirely new industry vertical - CRISPR diagnostics - which we invented. We aimed to make Mammoth's then 29-year-old CEO, Trevor Martin, the face of the industry.
ROLE I PLAYED
I researched top awards and conferences that would increase visibility and prestige and drafted a total of 16 award submissions and 15 speaker proposals for Trevor.
SAMPLE AWARD COPY
Why is this project worthy of an award? (421/500)
Describe the product or service and explain why it deserves the World Changing Idea Award.
Since the invention of the CRISPR system in 2012, researchers have hoped CRISPR could cure thousands of genetic diseases. Last year, the first version of CRISPR, the Cas9 enzyme, entered its initial clinical trials at UPenn to study its ability to genetically modify patients’ own T cells in hopes that those cells will better combat cancer. While Cas9 holds massive potential, there are serious limitations in its ability to tackle all diseases. Due to its large size, Cas9 cannot precisely edit certain genes and has trouble delivering proteins to the site where it binds and cuts the DNA. In order to leverage CRISPR for therapeutics broadly, researchers need to find and utilize smaller, more precise Cas enzymes that can do more than simply cut out the nucleotides.
Enter Cas14, the smallest CRISPR enzyme to date and a breakthrough in CRISPR technology. The new, high fidelity enzyme was discovered by CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna and Chief Discovery Officer at Mammoth Biosciences Lucas Harrington at the end of last year, with the findings published in the renowned scientific publication, Science. In 2019, Mammoth secured the exclusive license to Cas14 from UC Berkeley and has been developing it as the next-generation CRISPR tool that could one day replace first-generation CRISPR proteins like Cas9. Now, Mammoth is utilizing Cas14 as a tool that has applications in both gene editing and diagnostics.
RESULTS
SPEAKING SPOTS SECURED
RESULTS
AWARDS won
