Brand
Tier-1 Press (TC / Forbes / WSJ)
on Press
The play
Major outlet coverage. Hard to land — usually requires funding event, hire, or genuinely novel product angle.
3apps use this channel
Used by
Case studies
Apps that grew on Tier-1 Press (TC / Forbes / WSJ).
GitHub
Software development platform
$500M
Tom Preston-Werner
Octocat brand + open-source community-first marketing. GitHub Universe + the Arctic Code Vault stunt as brand moments.
Linear
Software project tracking for high-velocity teams
$5.0M
Karri Saarinen
Invite-only beta + a Linear Method essay series + design-first product POV. Currency was design taste; distribution was social proof from tier-1 startup teams.
HEY
Email reimagined by 37signals
$30K
David Heinemeier Hansson
$30 launch-day promo on X via DHH's audience drove 100K+ accounts in week 1. Apple App Store policy fight kept HEY in tech press for 6+ months.