Durham startup CellBreaker makes national news – How’d they do it?

Earlier this month, local startup CellBreaker received a significant boost in traffic after a segment on the company aired on ABC World News.

The interest in the young startup company came from ABC World News as their producers were investigating how consumers might save on their cell phone contracts, said CellBreaker founder Jon Colgan.

Producers were looking for a story to air with their “Real Money” series, said Colgan.

“They realized that tips on how to save money would be useless,” said Colgan, “if they didn’t include info on how to get out of cell phone contracts.”

CellBreaker “created the contract-breaking category,” said Colgan, “we’re the experts, something we prove daily with each new customer gained and each contract unlocked.”

In other words, Colgan was the perfect fit for the producers, due to his deep knowledge of the industry. In the segment, Colgan is presented as an expert in the industry, and speaks about multiple options that consumers have in negotiating with cell phone service providers.

The media coverage is certainly a breakthrough for the company, said Colgan, which still operates out of Groundwork Labs in the American Underground at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham. The effect of receiving national media coverage comes in a few ways, said Colgan.

First, the company experienced high traffic volume in the 24 hours after the segment aired, with more than 13,000 unique visits and more than 1,000 converted customers. As a result, said Colgan, more of his time has moved into customer service, which is a benefit for the company and its customers.

Second, the news became more news. Colgan was interviewed in multiple other publications – including, obviously, WRAL Tech Wire.

Colgan is more concerned with customer service than with press hits, knowing that without providing exceptional results, the company can’t grow. “CellBreaker is one of those concepts that gets stronger as more people adopt it,” said Colgan, thus an intense focus on customer service throughout their company is vital to its long-term success.

Colgan’s advice to entrepreneurs in the Triangle on attracting media coverage?

Read classic literature. Seriously.

“A startup is a story,” said Colgan, “it has a preface, a plot, a conflict, and the main characters.”

Observe themes in classic literature, and appreciate the elements of crafting a compelling story. “When you tell your story,” said Colgan, “readers and reporters alike will pine your next piece.”

“People crave resolution,” said Colgan, and part of the experience of a startup is unresolved conflict. This is particularly true within national media outlets, said Colgan.

“National news outlets are less interested in the minutiae of business metrics than they are in stories,” said Colgan, “and the people writing and living them.”

The company is in the final round of applications to 500 Startups, and is currently raising $500,000 in seed funding.