The startup funding world of 2025 doesn’t look much like the one founders knew even a few years ago.
Venture capital, long the default growth engine for young companies, has slowed dramatically. According to
KPMG, Q2 2025 saw VC deal volume hit its lowest level in more than a decade, with deals dropping from 9,314 in Q1 to just 7,356 in Q2.
In the U.S., deal count and capital invested fell 45.2% and 65.0% quarter-over-quarter, respectively, according to
Stout. As tariffs on global trade add to the uncertainty, early-stage founders face one of the most challenging growth environments in recent memory. Raising money is harder; growth is slower.
But instead of stalling out, some founders are taking a different route. They’re trading equity—not for cash, but for airtime.
The Rise of Media-for-Equity
At its core, media-for-equity is an investment
model where media companies provide advertising space or airtime to startups in exchange for equity rather than cash. Crucially, this approach enables startups to supercharge brand awareness, credibility, and customer acquisition at an early stage, without diluting funds or burning through limited marketing budgets.
This is especially useful when brands need to reach a “critical mass” of visibility to scale and achieve their strategic market share. For many companies, especially those in consumer or consumer-facing tech, the largest burn after a raise is marketing. Early-stage VC-backed startups spend up to
30%–50% of the raised capital on marketing and growth operations: that means one-third to half of every dollar that a founder raises is immediately reinvested into reach. Media-for-equity offsets that by injecting visibility: you preserve cash, extend runway, and still unlock scale. It’s a way to rethink how startups grow in a world where brand attention is the new currency.
Globally, the media-for-equity model has long been popular. It has already played a role in
the expansion of Uber, Airbnb, and mapping technology provider, what3words, into new regions. But in the U.S., the charge is being led by
Mercurius Media Capital (MMC), which launched in December 2023 as the first U.S.-based media-for-equity venture fund. It now partners with leading platforms, including
Sinclair Broadcast Group,
TelevisaUnivision, and
Atmosphere TV, to leverage high-impact media inventory.
Why Accelerating Visibility is Crucial
Last year, MMC struck a $1.5 million media-for-equity agreement with
Captain Experiences, a growing outdoor sports marketplace that connects people with guides, outfitters, and charters. The partnership will bolster Captain Experiences’ brand visibility and expand its reach in key U.S. markets at a crucial moment of opportunity, as the outdoor recreation market hits
a record high of 181.1 million participants.
As with most growth strategies, timing is absolutely key to success. Waiting six or twelve months until financing is available for additional media and marketing is no longer a feasible strategy. The window of opportunity soon passes if it isn’t seized. This is especially true in today’s startup space, where new offerings must achieve traction and establish their brand status permanently before the market’s attention shifts to new trends and technologies. That’s where the media becomes catalytic. In a crowded space, scaling awareness quickly could mean the difference between being just another niche platform and becoming the category leader.
Making media-for-equity
work requires an active partner who recognizes the potential of your startup and sees how greater visibility could be transformative. In the case of Captain Experiences, Piyush Puri, founding partner of MMC, explained how he saw its potential: “Outdoor sports are one of the last untapped frontiers for marketplaces, and Captain Experiences is proving there’s significant potential for business innovation in this sector.”
Why Founders Should Care
For young founders, media-for-equity can provide strategic firepower. Here’s why it might be the smartest move for founders today:
1. Boost visibility
A strategic media presence shapes a compelling narrative, increasing investor trust and creating social proof. Even if you’re selling to businesses, brand matters. Awareness creates inbound and opens doors to partners, distributors, and even talent.
2. Build credibility
The credibility lift of being on a mainstream platform, especially for an emerging brand, often has the same signaling power as a marquee VC on your cap table. The payoff of prime-time airtime isn’t just exposure, it’s trust and legitimacy in the public eye.
3. Attract alternative funding sources
Media-driven attention can lead to inbound interest from angel investors, crowdfunding platforms, and non-traditional backers. Media, when used strategically, is not just marketing; it’s multiplicative capital.
4. Validate market demand
Content engagement and audience growth serve as real-time signals of traction, valuable early proof of product-market fit.
With
venture capital contracting and macroeconomic pressures mounting, founders can’t afford to rely solely on old routes to growth. Media-for-equity offers both a cash-saving alternative and the opportunity to scale faster than traditional venture capital often allows.
For young startups ready to share their story with the world or enter a new market, the most effective growth partner might be a media company.
