Public Affairs: How Smaller Organizations Can Shape Policy Conversations 

by Elie Jacobs:

Conventional wisdom – for whatever it is currently worth – suggests that startups and scaleups should focus on funding and product development first and worry about policy and regulation later. In today’s political environment, following the conventional wisdom is a sure way to stunt your growth. 

The traditional barriers to policy influence were already eroding, the last decade or so has seen them deteriorate nearly to non-existence. When Impossible Foods was still an early-stage startup, it successfully influenced USDA labeling guidelines for plant-based meat alternatives through targeted communications that emphasized consumer clarity rather than industry protectionism. Smart communications can now compete with big budgets.

The ability to frame policy narratives around public interest rather than corporate interests has democratized who gets a seat at the regulatory table. Companies that understand this dynamic can punch well above their weight class in policy conversations.

While large organizations often deploy broad-spectrum lobbying efforts, smaller players succeed through precision. Once Upon a Farm, a small organic baby food company, target specific FDA officials to update outdated regulations on high-pressure processing. By identifying the exact decision-makers with authority over this narrow regulatory issue, they achieved targeted policy change with minimal resources. 

Smaller organizations should map their policy ecosystem with surgical precision, identifying:

• Primary decision-makers with direct authority
• Secondary influencers who shape those decisions
• Critical stakeholders whose support lends credibility
• Potential coalition partners with aligned interests

Credibility in policy conversations isn’t necessarily tied to organizational size. Nuro, an autonomous vehicle delivery startup, established itself as a leading voice in AV regulation by developing deep expertise in a narrow policy domain and sharing that knowledge generously with regulators. The unspoken secret in policy circles is that regulators are rarely the most educated on the subject they regulate.

This approach works internationally as well. UK-based Transferwise (now Wise) influenced cross-border payment regulations by positioning its executives as financial inclusion experts rather than self-interested corporate advocates. 

While often challenging to build and control, strategic alliances dramatically amplify policy communications impact. The Good Food Institute demonstrated this principle by coordinating smaller plant-based food companies to collectively influence USDA and FDA regulatory frameworks with a unified voice. To utilize an effective coalition, you need clarity on the shared objectives that benefit all participants, defined roles maximizing each member’s strengths, coordinated messaging that allows enough “wiggle room” to ensure authenticity across groups, and most importantly: resource sharing.

Former Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb led the movement to stop the Keystone pipeline, not by bringing together groups that agreed on everything, but by building a cross-party, cross-demographic, inclusive movement of people who agreed about one thing: stopping Keystone. Whatever their motivation or personal politics, they agreed on that and that kept people who likely would ordinarily never speak to one another, united.

Technical policy arguments alone rarely drive change. Successful policy communications translate complex issues into compelling narratives. 

Narratives involve people. Their hopes, dreams, and fears. It’s classic storytelling that wins campaigns, not white papers. If you’re battling to defend clear air regulations, is the more impactful story about the benefit to the environment or the benefit to children with asthma? Is a better ally Sierra Club or the American Lung Association? 

Policy influence is often about timing. Telehealth provider Ro demonstrated this principle by rapidly developing communications that supported temporary pandemic regulatory changes, then pivoting to advocate for making those changes permanent – capitalizing on a unique policy window that might otherwise have closed.

Successful policy communications require understanding the regulatory timeline and identifying high-leverage intervention points where limited resources will have maximum impact.

Developing an effective policy communications strategy begins with honest assessment of resources and priorities. A graduated approach allows for impact at each stage without overextending limited resources.

• Startup Phase: Focus exclusively on regulatory clarity 
• Growth Phase: Expand to broader policy education
• Maturity Phase: Build comprehensive policy engagement across multiple jurisdictions

Policy communications should be viewed as a strategic imperative, not a luxury reserved for larger organizations. Airbnb’s early policy communications failures resulted in preventable regulatory obstacles that significantly impacted business growth. And we’ll just ignore TikTok for now. Conversely, companies that proactively engage in policy conversations often secure competitive advantages that accelerate their development.

For smaller organizations, the communications function can be transformed from a purely promotional role into a strategic asset that shapes the regulatory environment. By leveraging precision, authenticity, and strategic partnerships, even resource-constrained companies can effectively influence the policies that impact their future.

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Elie Jacobs is a strategic communications and public affairs advisor with more than two decades of experience helping organizations build credibility, navigate risk, prepare and respond to crises and communicate with clarity.

Written by: Editor