Client Testimonial: Santa Barbara Venture Partners on the Value of Senior-Led PR
In venture capital, visibility often makes the difference between losing out on a great deal, or getting in on a runner that breaks through to a global stage. For Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP), raising its visibility by securing coverage in the country’s premier financial newspaper was no small feat.
Dan Engel, Managing Partner at SBVP, recently shared his experience working with Escalate PR and why partnering with a senior-led team has made a lasting impact on both his firm and their portfolio companies.
About Santa Barbara Venture Partners
Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) is a California-based venture capital firm investing in later-stage software companies. Their portfolio spans innovative businesses in enterprise SaaS, cloud infrastructure, and data-driven platforms, supporting founders who are scaling proven technologies to their next phase of growth.
Who is Dan Engel?
Dan Engel is the Managing Partner of SBVP. A seasoned entrepreneur and investor, Dan has led and advised multiple high-growth technology companies throughout his career. With a background in both operating and investing roles, he brings a hands-on perspective to guiding portfolio companies, drawing on decades of experience in scaling businesses, building teams, and driving market visibility.
Below is his unedited testimonial, followed by a breakdown of what makes this collaboration unique.
What SBVP Says
Dan Engel Testimonial Transcript
“To have a small unknown fund like we do, get a major piece in The Wall Street Journal, it’s really quite something. I’m Dan Engel, I’m Managing Partner from Santa Barbara Venture Partners, and we are a California-based venture capital firm that invests in later stage software companies.
For us as a venture capital firm, we really didn’t have much internal capability for our 11 portfolio companies. Some of them had some internal resources that helped with PR and some of them did not. So it’s really a mix. I’m just a big believer in having people who were pure experts in a particular area focus on that area of the business.
And so when it comes to PR, you really need people that are persistent and creative and really go the extra mile to get the coverage. To get a major piece in the The Wall Street Journal, right under the latest CPI headlines, is really quite something.
And certainly nothing we could have accomplished ourselves. And I don’t think a lot of PR firms would’ve pulled that off because our expectations were that we might get some industry-specific coverage, but instead we got international coverage.
I think one of the real problems with PR firms, and I’ve hired many of them over the years, is you get brought in through a senior person on the selling side, but then you get handed off to a pretty junior team. And so with you guys, you actually always end up sticking along the path of working together over the years with senior level people only. And so you get those decades of experience and the depth of the relationships with the media.
I send everybody to Escalate – everybody that I run into who’s looking for more media coverage. And I think the reason why is because I don’t know how things could be done much better than the experience I’ve had working with you guys.
When it comes to the follow-up required to get media coverage to actually happen in such a noisy world of PR – especially these days – I think it’s unique to the firm here that we get such a degree of focus and relentlessness with pursuing the overall goal of trying to get those stories placed. And we’ve seen the success and outcome of that.”
Why This Testimonial Matters
Dan’s perspective underscores three key challenges that venture firms and their portfolio companies face when it comes to PR – and how a senior-only model helps address them.
1. Breaking Through the Noise
Startups and funds alike often expect “industry trade coverage” at best. But as Dan described, SBVP was able to secure The Wall Street Journal placement that reached international audiences. That leap from niche to global is where seasoned PR strategy proves invaluable.
2. Experience That Stays at the Table
One of the most common frustrations with traditional PR firms is the “bait and switch”: senior leaders sell the program, but day-to-day work is handed off to junior staff. Escalate’s senior-only model ensures that every client, from kickoff through execution, works with professionals who each have 15+ years of experience. For SBVP, this meant strategies were crafted and executed by people who had already built strong relationships with top-tier journalists.
3. Persistence and Follow-Through
As Dan emphasized, securing coverage today is not about a single email pitch. It’s about persistence, creativity, and consistent follow-up. In a crowded media environment, Escalate’s “relentlessness” in securing coverage was the differentiator.
About Escalate PR
Escalate PR is a senior-only, B2B technology-focused public relations agency. With decades of experience across AI, cybersecurity, drones, HR tech, SaaS, and more, we help brands break through industry noise, secure top-tier coverage, and amplify visibility in both traditional and AI-driven search environments. Learn more at escalatepr.com.
Takeaway
For venture firms, portfolio companies, and B2B tech brands, Dan’s story offers a crucial reminder: PR isn’t just about visibility; it’s about trust. It’s about putting your story in the right hands and ensuring that the team guiding your program has the experience, relationships, and tenacity to deliver.
At Escalate PR, we take pride in being the kind of partner Dan describes: senior-led, relentless, and focused on outcomes that matter.