Press release template for startups (with an example)
Updated 20 October 2026
A press release that gets published reads like a short news story, not an advert. Use this structure, fill it with facts you can back up, and keep it to 300 to 500 words.
01
What is the structure?
- Headline: what happened, with your company name. "Acme raises ₹5 crore to bring UPI credit to small shops", not "Acme is revolutionising fintech".
- Dateline: city and date, e.g. "Hyderabad, 20 October 2026".
- First paragraph: who, what, when, where and why it matters, in two or three sentences. Editors often cut from the bottom.
- Second paragraph: the details: numbers, customers, how it works.
- Quote: one from a named person with a real title, saying something more than "we're excited".
- Supporting paragraph: background, a second quote from a customer or partner, or what happens next.
- About the company: three or four sentences of facts, with your website.
- Media contact: a name, email and phone number a journalist can actually reach.
02
What does a filled-in example look like?
Headline: Acme launches UPI credit line for small shops in Telangana
Hyderabad, 20 October 2026 — Acme today launched a UPI-linked credit line that lets kirana stores in Telangana buy stock now and pay within 30 days, with approval in under 10 minutes. The product is live in Hyderabad and Warangal, with 1,200 stores signed up during a three-month pilot.
"Shop owners told us the hardest week of the month is when stock runs out before payments come in," said Priya Rao, co-founder and CEO of Acme. "This gives them 30 days without paperwork."
About Acme: Acme is a Hyderabad-based fintech founded in 2024 that builds credit tools for small retailers. acme.example
(Acme and every figure here are made up, to show the shape.)
03
What makes editors reject a release?
- No news: a feature list or "we're growing fast" isn't a story.
- Superlatives without proof: "India's first", "revolutionary", "best-in-class".
- Numbers you can't back up.
- Walls of text, attachments only, or a missing contact.
04
How should you send it?
Paste the release into the email body as well as attaching it, with the headline as the subject. Send it to a short list of editors who cover your area, or place it on specific publications your customers read. Check each publication's turnaround so it goes live when you want, and collect the live links afterwards.