Public relations veterans Michelle Masek and Nadia Jamshidi launched Honeyjar to fix broken communication workflows across tech companies and corporate brands. Competing as part of the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200, the startup builds artificial intelligence software designed to scale high-level media strategy, story targeting, and press outreach. Masek, a former senior vice president at Ev Williams’ venture firm Obvious Ventures, teamed up with Jamshidi to translate decades of senior agency and in-house communications experience into automated digital tools.
Founders, internal communications managers, and agency teams often struggle to identify the right journalists, draft targeted press releases, and coordinate timely speaking opportunities. Honeyjar tackles these daily bottlenecks by automating core public relations tasks. The software scans current news feeds, tracks media coverage, builds customized reporter lists, drafts pitch emails, and surfaces relevant speaking engagements. Rather than offering isolated writing features, Honeyjar integrates context, timing, strategy, and messaging execution into a single platform.
The platform serves traditional PR managers alongside millions of accidental communicators who handle messaging without formal agency titles. Marketing directors, startup founders, authors, community organizers, and executive leaders all need strategic messaging to build public credibility. By organizing public relations workflows, Honeyjar allows in-house teams to execute proactive press campaigns without spending tens of thousands of dollars monthly on external PR agencies.
Honeyjar operates as a strategic assistant rather than a fully automated replacement for human judgment. The platform features built-in guardrails requiring human review before any email pitch or press release goes out. Masek emphasized that keeping human managers in the loop prevents spamming journalists with generic automated emails. Through an internal initiative named Comms Lab, the team trains its underlying software models on expert judgment provided by veteran PR executives, helping the system learn when to pitch stories and when a founder should wait for better timing.
Market demand for accessible public relations software showed early momentum when Honeyjar opened its waitlist, gathering over 10,000 signups within 24 hours. Early beta testers include local community platform Nextdoor, robotics company Coco Robotics, venture firm Bloomberg Beta, and established communications agencies Mission North and Full Picture. Agency partners use the software to speed up research tasks, allowing individual public relations specialists to manage client campaigns far more efficiently.
Automating media research and pitch drafting addresses longstanding inefficiencies across modern public relations. Journalists frequently receive hundreds of irrelevant pitch emails daily, while small companies fail to land media coverage simply because they lack agency connections. Combining smart media monitoring with human editorial control helps founders connect directly with relevant reporters, building transparent media relationships based on timely news value.