TL;DR: In our experience, if analysts don’t understand your start-up, the problem is probably not the product. It is more likely a category, positioning or execution problem. Your market may be too early, your story may not match buyer demand, your subscription may be treated like a shortcut to influence, your analyst strategy may be too Gartner-centric or AR may be buried too far down the CEO’s priority list. The fix is a dedicated analyst relations programme that turns analyst confusion into useful diagnosis, sharper positioning, better market visibility and stronger influence with the people shaping your buyers’ decisions.
Why industry analysts don’t understand your start-up.
Have you tried analyst relations, but still feel like analysts just don’t get you? You briefed an analyst for 45 minutes, then they asked whether you compete with a vendor in a completely different category. You hosted a 1:many briefing, and only 2 analysts showed up. You sponsored the analyst firm event, but your company was invisible from the stage. You bought the research subscription, booked a few inquiries and still cannot point to any meaningful ROI.
That is when founder frustration can turn personal. Your team did the work, the product is real and customers are already using it. Yet the analyst reaction feels flat, polite or strangely misaligned. They ask basic category questions. They challenge your market assumptions. They seem more interested in your competitors than your roadmap. You start wondering whether the analysts are missing the point, or whether you are.
Unfortunately, you can have a strong product and still not wow industry analysts. That is the AR lesson many start-ups learn too late. Because clever technology on its own is not enough to get analysts recommending you in sales deals.
So, if you find analysts don’t understand your start-up, pause before blaming the analyst. It’s time to have an honest assessment about whether one of these 5 common AR problems applies to your business.
Problem #5: You’re selling in a category analysts don’t recognise. Yet.
Some start-ups are early enough to be right before the market even knows it. That is exciting and… inconvenient. Analysts work with market patterns, buyer demand, vendor evidence and repeatable use cases. If your worldview does not match their current taxonomy, you may meet resistance. This is even more important for start-ups that are relatively unknown in the market.
You can sometimes move that resistance with a sharp point of view. A strong analyst briefing and a focused analyst relations plan can show why an emerging problem needs a new category. But conviction alone will not do the work. Analysts need traction, customer proof, budget movement and repeatable buyer language. Until the market starts behaving your way, your category argument remains a hypothesis. Luckily, analysts themselves can help you craft a unique market POV and propel it into market reality, which we have seen evolve into a very successful tactic for some of our clients.
Problem #4: You’re on route to FUBAR.
Founders can be too close to the product and too excited about its potential to see the real business problem. They know the features work. They know the engineering team is strong. They know key customers have said positive things. But analysts are testing a different question: does this company fit where the market is actually going? And if they don’t see that, they might not tell you outright. Ignore that signal at your own risk.
A good AR pro helps you detect what the analyst isn’t saying and why –then helps you address it. Analysts have a unique market vantage point, and if they aren’t advocates for your product then there’s likely good reason. They see the weak signals in the market and it’s up to your AR team to translate those into business recommendations. Because if this is what’s happening, your options are to say the analysts don’t get you, close your eyes and brace for a total lack of impact. Or you can actually do something about it and pivot your business in the right direction backed by analyst insights.
Problem #3: Pay-to-play thinking broke trust from analysts.
Analyst relations is not pay-to-play, and treating it that way makes you look naive. Buying an analyst firm research subscription does not buy inclusion in a Gartner Magic Quadrant. Sponsoring an event does not buy analyst support. Paying for reprints does not change the research report framing. Analysts protect their independence because that provides the credibility for their product.
Of course, the right commercial relationship can still be useful. Subscriptions give you access to analyst inquiries, research and structured analyst feedback. Advisory sessions and SAS days can pressure-test strategy, positioning and roadmap choices. But those tools only help when you use them for insight, not as tickets to influence. Start-ups get better AR outcomes when they respect the boundary between access and opinion.
Problem #2: Thinking Gartner is the only analyst firm worth your time.
Too many start-ups treat Gartner as the whole analyst universe. Gartner matters, especially in enterprise software categories. But the other two FIG (Forrester and IDC) or Omdia, ISG, Everest and the long analyst list of specialist firms, regional firms and independent analysts can be more relevant depending on your buyer, geography and market maturity.
A narrow FIG-only strategy can slow you down. You may miss analysts who are closer to your emerging category, more active with your target buyers or more open to new market definitions. Good AR starts by asking who shapes the conversation you need to join, and the answer is rarely one firm. Typically, you need a tiering strategy that’s free from prejudice.
Problem #1: AR is the 12th line in the CEO’s job spec.
In many start-ups, AR is left for when the CEO has a bit of spare time. That works for one briefing, but it does not work for influence. Analysts need cadence, consistency and a narrative that improves over time. Founders have fundraising, hiring, customers, product decisions and board pressure competing for attention.
The result is usually stop-start analyst engagement. You brief once, disappear for six months, then reappear when a report is already underway. By then, analysts have formed their view of the market without you. Briefings are free, but wasted briefings are expensive. Start-ups need a rhythm that keeps analysts updated before they need something from them. And your PR agency likely won’t deliver this either as analysts are an entirely different audience from press.
Fix the problem with a dedicated AR strategy.
Once you know why analysts are not understanding you, the fix becomes practical. You can kick-start an analyst relations programme that actually delivers the 4 business impacts of AR. One that improves awareness because analysts know where to place you; supports sales because buyers hear a clearer third-party view; strengthens go-to-market because your positioning reflects market reality; and sharpens insight because analysts tell you where your argument is weak before the market does.
Start-ups that take AR seriously earlier build market understanding faster. They learn which category they are really in, which claims survive scrutiny and which proof points buyers will trust. They stop treating analyst engagement as a report-chasing exercise. They use it to shape the business.
Most start-ups we work with know something is wrong. Few can name which of the 5 problems it is. That diagnostic is exactly where we start. We work with start-up founders and their teams to identify the gap, fix the positioning and build an AR programme that actually influences the people who influence your buyers. Ready to start? Get in touch.
Read the latest Starsight Transmissions.
- 5 Problems start-ups face when they start briefing industry analysts.
- Why the Gartner Hype Cycle Matters for start-up CEOs.
- The 7 channels of open source analyst influence.
