Elon’s Twitter Gambit
Takeaways on how Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter impacts startups in the government space.
The acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk continues to fuel a media and political frenzy. Despite the chaos of this situation, Musk has been successful, at least initially. For businesses or anyone interested in current events, there are practical lessons for your organization on how to strategically navigate the government from when you’re getting started to achieving long term success.
#1: Disruptors shall inherit the earth
Entrenched interests will always adapt and evolve, but in part, it is the entrepreneurial ecosystem that drives that evolution. The same goes with government policies. Disruptors shake the status quo. To bring about a policy change, you must bring a compelling and convincing policy argument that fits into an existing structure and hitting a homerun on your first swing is highly unlikely. Keep that in mind as you’re building your strategy.
Today, you’re the disruptor, and if you’re successful, tomorrow you're the incumbent. This will not happen overnight. It takes time, patience, and properly setting expectations. Like companies that change policy, Musk disrupted social media by taking the contrarian position that social media shouldn’t be controlled by just the loudest voices. For a number of reasons, a crowding out of a majority of people, who often have reasonable positions, doesn’t lead to better discourse or government policies for that matter. By disrupting what had become the mainstay of social media, i.e., cancel anyone who doesn’t agree with a certain position, the hope is that we’re now offered a return to legitimate policy debates. Time will certainly tell and Twitter’s success in the future depends on it.
#2: A strategy well executed gives you the best opportunity for your voice to be heard
What GR professionals advising startups (or incumbents) must accept, is whether real or not, there is a fear of being “canceled” and many companies have altered their PR/government relations strategies. There is some sense to this. We’re provided daily updates that CEO’s are required to take hard positions on political issues or consumers will look elsewhere. This may well be true. Does it lead to success within the government?
While concerns of being removed from the public discourse certainly doesn’t apply to everyone, many companies fear of not being “woke” enough and shifted priorities in political giving or relationship development accordingly. If the polls are correct, in January, many PACS and association managers are going to find themselves scrambling to reset in the 118th Congress and in State Houses across the nation. There is a simple alternative to this. For those of you who have been around a while, you may notice a recurring theme here, which is to avoid becoming overly or even overtly political. Political control changes, and therefore your personal politics shouldn’t be your company’s priority. This is especially true if your goals require long term political stability for your organization.
#3: Changes in government priorities are coming
With the potential media/advertising/political realignment coming, startups could see reductions in government spending as a risk to their business. Beyond that, will conservative legislatures favor human-based manufacturing over scalable tech? Will fears about AI, ML, Web 3, Crypto risk fundraising or environmental investments made possible in the Inflation Reduction Act? Republicans in Congress can easily undo what was done by Democrats. Startups that need funding from government must bring a compelling message to protect the investments made.
Any business that is looking to engage needs to assess the government space and look for ways to mitigate risk, but above all search for how they can realize unseen possibilities. Musk’s successful bid for Twitter truly changes our entire political dynamic. The best organizations will learn from him, and use lessons learned, and leverage government in positive way in order to build a better future.
Sound like you? If your startup is interested in learning more about how government funding works or how to get your startup funded at the state and federal level, you should reach out. We’d love to hear about your vision and help you make it a reality.