Various & Co

What Various & Co does

Various & Co is a New York-based creative communications consultancy founded in June 2019 by Kara Silverman. The firm provides media relations, strategic storytelling, and narrative-building services for startups and B2B technology companies, working with clients such as Universe, Adelaide, FreeWill, XO, ASML, Acast, and individual founders including Matt Wallaert.

The business operates on a retainer-based professional services model, executing PR campaigns, podcast production, and content partnerships on behalf of clients. Go-to-market combines direct sales-led partnerships with founder-led community engagement, including a podcast, book club, and appearances at industry events such as Podcast Movement. The firm was bootstrapped at founding with a 3-person team; in September 2020 the team and founder joined Clarity PR, with Silverman assuming the Managing Director NY role at the larger agency, while the Various & Co brand continues to operate.

More recently, the firm has expanded its product surface beyond traditional retainers. It launched the AI Communications Toolkit — a structured set of custom brand prompts, content workflows, and a brand governance playbook — and introduced PR MBA for Founders, an educational program with a waitlist-based funnel, introductory workshops, and a 12-week intensive aimed at founders and first-time marketing leaders. These moves mark a deliberate shift from pure services delivery toward a hybrid services-and-education model, with AI tooling embedded in both client deliverables and the educational offering.

Name

Various & Co

Legal name

Various & Co

Website

https://variousand.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Various & Co is a New York-based creative communications consultancy founded in 2019 by Kara Silverman, offering media relations, strategic storytelling, and narrative building. It serves startups and B2B technology companies and is developing the PR MBA for Founders program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Relations Services

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820), Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

Keywords

• Public relations services
• Communications consultancy
• Media relations
• Brand storytelling
• Earned media strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. PR/Communications Consulting Services: Professional services retainer model for PR and communications work. Services include creative storytelling, narrative building, media relations, strategy, and proactive ideation. The company works as an extension of client teams with ongoing collaboration and feedback loops.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Various & Co is a creative communications consultancy that delivers PR and strategic communications services, including media relations, storytelling, narrative building, and proactive pitch ideation, on a retainer basis as an embedded extension of client teams. The firm is also extending its offering into education through the PR MBA for Founders program, providing workshops, media training, and an AI Communications Toolkit to founders and first-time marketing leaders who want to DIY their PR.

Product overview

Various & Co is a creative communications consultancy that offers a single unified service portfolio centered on PR and strategic communications. The core offering is consulting services including media placement, creative storytelling, and partnership-based client engagement. The company also operates an upcoming educational program called the PR MBA for Founders, which provides workshops, training, and an AI Communications Toolkit for founders who want to learn PR skills in-house.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Creative Communications Consultancy Services Full-service PR and communications consultancy delivering media relations, strategic storytelling, narrative building, proactive pitch ideation, and ROI-driven communications on a retainer basis. Engagements are structured as a partnership with embedded access through shared Slack channels, WhatsApp groups, and direct access to client data and sales teams.
• PR MBA for Founders Educational program for founders, first-time Heads of Marketing, and small business owners who want to DIY their own PR, including personal guidance with a curated list of journalists to pitch, weekly hands-on workshops covering media training and press release writing in the AI era, done-with-you media materials (pitch concepts, editorial calendars), and the AI Communications Toolkit.

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Clarity PRcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2020Various & Co team joined Clarity PR in September 2020. Kara Silverman became Managing Director in NY leading the East Coast team. Emily McDonough joined as VP in New York office, and Adria Smith as Senior Account Executive. The partnership combined Various & Co's creative approach with Clarity PR's established operations.
• Lemontree FoodsminorOthersKara Silverman serves as an advisor to Lemontree Foods, a food industry company.
• Major League HackingminorOthersKara Silverman serves as an advisor to Major League Hacking (MLH), the hacker community organization.
• Kavod v'NichumminorOthersKara Silverman is a member of the Board of Directors for Kavod v'Nichum, an organization working to make Jewish death rituals more accessible inside and outside the Jewish Community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Walker Sands: B2B marketing and PR agency with strong focus on technology, SaaS, and emerging-company clients. Comparable in serving startups through enterprise tech clients with PR and integrated communications.
• Inkhouse: Integrated communications agency serving technology, healthcare, and business services clients. Directly comparable as a mid-tier creative PR firm focused on tech-forward storytelling.
• Small Girls PR: Boutique creative PR agency where Kara Silverman was employee #2. Closely comparable in founding story, creative-led approach, and tech-startup client focus; effectively a sibling firm in spirit and methodology.
• 5W Public Relations: Mid-sized full-service PR agency offering media relations, communications strategy, and digital services to consumer and B2B tech clients. Comparable in service mix and growth-stage client base.
• RH Strategic: Boutique PR and public affairs firm focused on technology, healthcare, and education clients. Comparable in size, specialization, and tech-sector storytelling focus.
• Zen Media: B2B PR and thought leadership agency working with tech and emerging companies. Comparable in targeting startups through mid-market tech firms with founder/CEO narrative work.
• Antenna Group: Integrated PR and marketing firm with strong technology, consumer, and healthcare practices. Comparable as a mid-tier creative PR firm with startup-to-enterprise client mix.

Broad incumbents

• Clarity PR: Global PR firm that acquired Various & Co in September 2020. Operates as the parent entity with full-service communications capabilities across geographies; directly comparable as the platform Various & Co now operates within.
• BerlinRosen: Larger communications and PR firm with strong tech, consumer, and public affairs practices. Comparable service portfolio with broader scale; competes for similar enterprise and high-growth clients.
• M Booth: Larger creative PR agency known for brand storytelling and integrated communications. Comparable in creative-led PR positioning and ability to serve consumer and tech clients with narrative-driven work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/various-and-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Various & Co