Meet the PR SheDevil of Silicon Valley

“In a word, WOW. She turns things inside out and gives you a new perspective which sets you apart quickly.” –BV Jagadeesh, Serial Entrepreneur

Risk, Challenge, Reward

The year 2002 was when everything changed for Donna Loughlin “Powers.” Or rather, the year Donna decided that everything would change. There were a lot of big PR agencies in the SF bay area that celebrated the .com boom but the market quickly changed.  She’d been working as a senior director in the then-suffering Silicon Valley, and six weeks after being lured from one struggling tech company to another, the business she was working for lost its funding. “After receiving a severance check I realized I couldn’t rely on anything but myself and drove to the business license office the same day,” she said.

She made three phone calls on her way home: one to a venture capitalist, one to a market analyst, and one to a news reporter. Within 24 hours, three new projects had been birthed. And LMGPR was born.  Six months later, this fearless leader had launched 12 new companies, making larger profits than she ever had in her corporate positions.  “I had two successful IPOs during that period but many of my friends went from paper millionaires to unemployed and some homeless,” she recalls.  “Risk, challenge and reward became my mantra. I never looked back.”

In 2008, Donna’s PR team launched a consumer tech practice incorporating social gaming, consumer gadgets, mobile apps, internet services and e-commerce. Most recently, the LMGPR added NeonScoop, an agency which services music, entertainment, and celebrity PR; this includes social gaming, book authors, musicians, and digital apps. Today, the company has offices in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, servicing clients all over the world. And they couldn’t be happier.

“Donna is a results-oriented PR professional in a crowded market place where it’s hard to get noticed.  She knows how to tell a compelling story and makes headlines quickly.” –Randy Brasche, Global Marketing Strategist

Aside from a little gusto and a lot of hard work, Donna’s family life is a key ingredient her success. Her two adopted children from Russia, now 12 and 13, have grown with the company and help keep things balanced in Donna’s household. And they bring their own talents to the table too, contributing to the agency blog and keeping an eye out for cool consumer gadgets (and potential clients.)

We interviewed this powerhouse to get a closer, more personal look at what makes Donna Loughlin Powers tick.

What makes you different as a publicist?

I think my approach is to be completely fearless and look at a company and its services or products inside and out. I call this Pulse, which is my method of looking at all assets and deciding what helps make a story most relevant. The Right Story + The Right Audience = Real Business Results.  It doesn’t make a difference if you are a celebrity, product or service – if you are not relevant, no one cares.  My passion is to keep you relevant.  Also, I have traveled extensively so I don’t look at anything on the surface. I have a lot of experience and resources to pull from and this allows me to build very personal relationships with my clients.  Creativity, tenacity and experience are the three ingredients I attribute my success to. I’ve launched hundreds of companies, led multiple IPOs acquisitions and still get excited about telling yet another story.

What does your average day look like?