The Crisis Comms Playbook for Startups

Speed vs. Accuracy

The Golden Hour: You have 60 minutes to control the narrative. If you stay silent, Twitter will invent the story for you.

### Phase 1: Acknowledge (T+15m)

'We are aware of the issue and investigating.' That's it. Don't promise a fix time yet. Just acknowledge.

### Phase 2: Explain (T+60m)

'Here is what happened. Here is what we are doing. Here is when we will update you next.' Radical transparency wins trust.

### Phase 3: The Post-Mortem (T+24h)

After the dust settles, publish a detailed RCA (Root Cause Analysis). Show that you learned from the mistake. 'We fixed the bug' is meaningless. 'We implemented a circuit breaker to prevent this recurrence' is powerful.

Common Mistakes

* **Blaming Interns:** Always take responsibility at the executive level. * **Going Dark:** Silence breeds conspiracy theories. * **Being Defensive:** Don't argue with angry users. Empathize.

Conclusion

A crisis is an opportunity to show character. Many brands emerge stronger after a well-handled disaster.