NarraTricks — a Fractional CCO & Brand Journalism Boutique for Science Startups
NarraTricks is a Germany-based brand journalism and startup communications boutique, providingfractional Chief Communications Officer (CCO)services to science-driven startups worldwide.
We help science-driven founders become visible, credible, fundable, and coverable in their own voice, before someone else defines it.We work with startups of any stage and size. Our mission focus is founders who are BIPOC, queer, and with visible or invisible disabilities. We engineer visibility for underrepresented founders the system keeps misreading, without alienating anyone else.Most founders treat visibility as a marketing job, or a press release once there's news, so it waits until after the round. That wait costs 18 to 24 months of compounding ground: by the time you look for coverage, journalists write whatever frame is convenient and your voice gets hijacked.
Comms, PR, & marketing are three different jobs. We work upstream, where reputation forms.
Visibility and reputation sit upstream of sales and marketing. They're the ground those two grow from, and that's our work.As your fractional Chief Communications Officer, we shape your voice and narrative into thought leadership, founder branding, and earned media that reach investors, customers, Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), regulators, and the press.We consult on strategy, messaging, and the content that gets you found (top of the funnel) and trusted (middle of the funnel), reaching investors, customers, KOLs, regulators, and media.We build it across every channel you own and earn: owned (website, blog, newsletter), social (LinkedIn), and earned (B2B media relations).We elevate your credibility and influence.We prepare you and your team for the spotlight with media training and storytelling frameworks that turn your expertise into a presence people can't miss.We know what it feels like when your story is misunderstood or told by someone else carrying a conscious or unconscious bias.
That's why we care about:YOUR VOICE. YOUR NARRATIVE.So you stay:UNMISTAKABLY YOU…and build a reputation that makes you:UNMISSABLY YOU.
Trusted By...
About Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan, fractional CCO for science founders
I'm Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan (call me Vijay), a science journalist turned fractional Chief Communications Officer, and the founder of NarraTricks, the brand journalism boutique for science-driven startups. A fractional CCO is senior communications leadership you bring in part-time, upstream of marketing and PR, to build the visibility and credibility a founder needs before either can work.
I've spent 13 years building credibility across the science ecosystem. I've written for Nature Biotechnology, The Lancet group, New Scientist, South China Morning Post and Deutsche Welle, worked with the World Health Organization, and run corporate communications inside Boehringer Ingelheim. I've trained hundreds of researchers at institutions including the Technical University of Dresden and the Max Planck Society, turning their knowledge and their backstories into narratives people act on.
My path here wasn't linear. I spent five years in research, including a PhD in interdisciplinary nanoscience, and while writing my thesis I rediscovered what I was actually good at: translating complex ideas into stories people connect with. I bridged the two rather than leave science behind.
I founded NarraTricks because I was tired of watching science founders from underrepresented backgrounds have their stories told by people who don't understand where they come from, or the work of building credibility when the system wasn't built to value them. Most communications help tries to teach diverse founders to tell better stories, when the real gap is how those founders get read in the first place, and how credibility gets built in ecosystems that run on assumptions about who belongs.
As someone who's neurodivergent, queer, and a person of colour, I know what that costs. I've sat in the rooms where people read your background before you speak, and your expertise gets questioned for it. That judgment is what I bring to the work, and it's why I built the frameworks I use with founders like me.
Through my newsletter, Narratives Uncensored, I call out what others won't. I put forward solutions from my own experience and research. No diversity porn or no resilience theatre. That's why NarraTricks is for the Zebras among the Unicorns, and why it's a for-profit with a cause. We give you what's tested, so you build visibility and credibility on your own terms, without performing for gatekeepers or trading substance for access. I want to help you own your story before someone else defines it.
Services and Offers
************************************
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Understanding what this is
What is a fractional Chief Communications Officer (CCO), and what does NarraTricks do?
A fractional CCO is a senior communications leader who works with you part-time, owning your visibility and reputation strategy without the cost of a full-time hire. NarraTricks is the brand journalism boutique built around that role: we turn your voice and narrative into thought leadership, founder branding, and earned media that reaches the people who decide your future, investors, customers, KOLs, regulators, and the press. We make you visible, credible, fundable, and coverable in your own voice.
What does "upstream of sales and marketing" mean?
It means we work on the ground your sales and marketing grow from, before either can perform. Visibility and reputation aren't a campaign you switch on for a launch; they're the credibility a stranger checks before they take your call. Treated as an afterthought, they cost you months of compounding ground you can't win back. We build that layer early, so everything downstream has something to stand on.
Is this PR? How is brand journalism different from a press release?
Partly, and at a certain point. Brand journalism finds the true, specific story underneath your work and tells it the way a good reporter would, with evidence and a human at the centre. Early on we build the lower-tier earned media that creates real third-party trust: niche podcasts, niche Substacks, investor relations, and comms to your other stakeholders. That early trust is what makes a big-splash placement in the legacy press worth its while when it comes. We don't do government relations, public affairs, or lobbying; those belong to specialists.
Can you feature me on your podcast or newsletter?
Yes, and it costs you nothing. Narratives Uncensored, our podcast and newsletter, is earned media for the founders and experts who appear on it, not an ad slot. It's a real conversation about your work, so it works when there's something genuine to talk about, and it builds early public credibility ahead of the bigger press.
Seeing if it's for you
Who do you work with?
We work with science-driven founders and leaders in biotech, medtech, health tech, and climate tech, from startups through SMEs and Mittelstand companies. What they share isn't a stage or a size; it's a real breakthrough and a story that isn't reaching the people who need to believe it.
Who are underrepresented founders, and do you exclude everyone else?
Underrepresented founders are the ones the system tends to misread: BIPOC, queer, neurodivergent, and founders with visible and invisible disabilities. They're our mission focus, not our only clients. We work with founders of every background, but we specialise in founders whose stories get told for them, flattened, or filtered through someone else's bias, because I've lived that and built the tools I once needed. Choosing us doesn't require you to belong to any of these groups. It requires you to care about telling your story honestly.
Do you work with founders outside Germany?
Yes. We're based in Germany and work with science-driven founders worldwide. Most of the work is remote, over calls and shared documents, so where you're based rarely matters. What matters is that your story needs to reach people who don't yet know it. I write in English, work across time zones, and have reported and trained on four continents.
What if we're too early (pre-seed, pre-product, or pre-revenue)?
Early is usually the right time to start, and rarely too soon. Build reputation before the raise and you walk into rooms already known, instead of scrambling for coverage after it. If you have a real story and the will to tell it, you're ready, and we scale the support to where you are.
My science is complex and regulated. Can someone outside my field tell our story without getting it wrong?
Yes, and getting the science right is the whole point. My background is a PhD in interdisciplinary nanoscience and thirteen years writing for outlets like Nature Biotechnology and The Lancet group, so complex, regulated work is home ground. We translate without distorting. You stay the expert; we make the people who matter understand why that expertise matters.
How working together works
How is a fractional CCO different from a PR agency, a freelancer, or a full-time hire?
A full-time CCO costs a senior salary you may not yet need, so the sharper question is how the work is shaped. Most agencies and specialist freelancers cover one channel, but staying visible and credible needs several. Going to several specialists means several strategies that rarely agree. A boutique fractional CCO brings one strategy that runs across every channel your reputation lives on: owned, social, earned, and syndicated. You get strategy and execution for all four from one senior partner, not a brief handed to a junior team. The work doesn't stop at a strategy deck: I set the direction and do the hands-on work to carry it out, through to the media outreach.
Can you work with our existing marketing team or agency?
Yes, and often that works best. A fractional CCO sits above execution, setting the narrative and strategy your in-house marketer or PR agency then runs with. I brief them, give them a story spine, and keep everyone pointed the same way, so your agency stops guessing and your team stops second-guessing. If you have no one in place yet, I cover the ground myself until you do.
What do engagements look like, and how long do they run?
Most work is sprint-based: short, self-contained pushes around a moment such as a raise, a launch, a crisis, or a repositioning, with no long lock-in, so you can pause and come back later. The paid entry point is an audit and workshop; from there, the ladder above sets out the sprints, the longer engagements that run up to 24 months, and a bounded advisory retainer for judgement on call. At the fractional level the remit can widen beyond content: I advise on how to resource the work, including how to place or move the right people so the execution actually happens.
How involved do I need to be?
As involved as it takes to keep the story yours, and no more. We exist to take the communications weight off your plate. What you hand over comes to me, and I keep your narrative in your own voice, exactly as you intended, while building your reputation towards revenue. You show up for the early sessions and share openly; after that the time you spend drops sharply, because the core narrative is built and the work runs on it.
Who owns the work, and how do you handle confidentiality?
You own the deliverables and the data they came from, in full, yours to use however you need. What stays ours is the strategy and operational know-how behind the execution, plus the proprietary frameworks and material we share inside meetings and workshops. Confidentiality runs both ways under NDA. Any case study, testimonial, or reference call is a standard engagement-letter term, used only with your approval of the wording.
How do you measure results?
We agree a few outcome signals before we start, and baseline where you stand today. Because the work sits upstream, the early signals are leading ones: earned coverage, share of voice, inbound quality, and a narrative that holds together across channels. They come before the lagging results like pipeline and raises. We measure the credibility that makes the revenue possible, not vanity metrics.
What it costs
What does it cost, and can I start small and scale as funding comes in?
The ladder above shows where each step sits and what it costs, so you see the shape before we talk. We price the work, not a rate card, because a short sprint and a longer engagement are different commitments. And yes, many founders start small and add depth as funding arrives; the ladder is built to be climbed a rung at a time.
Getting started
How do we begin?
Two free doors in. Score yourself on the diagnostic to see where your visibility and reputation stand, or book a 30-minute consult and I talk it through with you. If there's a fit, the ladder above shows the first paid step. If not, you still leave knowing where you stand.
Why NarraTricks, and not someone else?
Because the approach is built differently. Most comms help treats a founder and their product as one thing to sell. We treat the leader and the product as two, and position the leader first to find open water in a crowded field, so the person carries the story while the product earns its own proof. The engagement is done with you and measured against outcomes you agree at the start. It has held up in practice: our first client, a US biotech, built its public comms with us from the ground up and came back for more. You get one senior partner who reads the science and works the media to keep you visible, credible, fundable, and coverable.
{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ {"@type":"Question","name":"What is a fractional Chief Communications Officer (CCO), and what does NarraTricks do?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A fractional CCO is a senior communications leader who works with you part-time, owning your visibility and reputation strategy without the cost of a full-time hire. NarraTricks is the brand journalism boutique built around that role: we turn your voice and narrative into thought leadership, founder branding, and earned media that reaches the people who decide your future, investors, customers, KOLs, regulators, and the press. We make you visible, credible, fundable, and coverable in your own voice."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"What does 'upstream of sales and marketing' mean?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It means we work on the ground your sales and marketing grow from, before either can perform. Visibility and reputation aren't a campaign you switch on for a launch; they're the credibility a stranger checks before they take your call. Treated as an afterthought, they cost you months of compounding ground you can't win back. We build that layer early, so everything downstream has something to stand on."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Is this PR? How is brand journalism different from a press release?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Partly, and at a certain point. Brand journalism finds the true, specific story underneath your work and tells it the way a good reporter would, with evidence and a human at the centre. Early on we build the lower-tier earned media that creates real third-party trust: niche podcasts, niche Substacks, investor relations, and comms to your other stakeholders. That early trust is what makes a big-splash placement in the legacy press worth its while when it comes. We don't do government relations, public affairs, or lobbying; those belong to specialists."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Can you feature me on your podcast or newsletter?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, and it costs you nothing. Narratives Uncensored, our podcast and newsletter, is earned media for the founders and experts who appear on it, not an ad slot. It's a real conversation about your work, so it works when there's something genuine to talk about, and it builds early public credibility ahead of the bigger press."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Who do you work with?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"We work with science-driven founders and leaders in biotech, medtech, health tech, and climate tech, from startups through SMEs and Mittelstand companies. What they share isn't a stage or a size; it's a real breakthrough and a story that isn't reaching the people who need to believe it."}}, {"@type":"Question","name":"Who are underrepresented founders, and do you exclude everyone
Here you'll find my Substack - Narratives Uncensored - which is soon also a podcast!
What is Narratives Uncensored? by Narratives Uncensored
In short, it's the newsletter (soon, also podcast) from NarraTricks, the storytelling boutique for diverse science founders. But why the title and the logo you see? Dive in to know...
NarraTricks runs community evenings in Germany for diaspora and underrepresented students and professionals who are upskilling toward one of two routes: becoming employable in the German market, or building something of their own.Each evening puts the audience in a room with operators and experts who actually do the work in question, either on the hiring side or on the building side, for three hours of working conversation.
Past Events
Episode 2
> Episode 1 took place on 18 May 2026 at CIC Berlin titled "AI on Both Sides of the Hiring Table". > Within 1 week of announcing the event, we received 119 registrations and achieved 50% attendance. > The event wouldn't have been possible without the active on-the-ground prep and running work of Bennett Biji, sponsorship from Settleezy & UniRents, space at CIC Berlin thanks to our major sponsor Pinch, the active volunteers, and the insight-hungry participants. > Our special thanks to our photo expert, Marc Meinke.
Why NarraTricks Runs Community EventsThe day-to-day work is with startup founders and leaders, especially those from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, including people of colour, queer professionals, and people with visible and invisible disabilities.The community evenings carry the same mission upstream, to students and talents who haven't yet reached their employable or founder stage.The community itself lives onPinchas an interactive platform that runs between events, and registration for each evening goes through the same place.
My Workshops for the Startup Ecosystem
For hubs, university technology transfer offices, accelerators. Narrative: visibility & reputation building are upstream of sales, marketing, & PR.
Early-stage programmes are good at the operational things.Usually these are the product, the raise, protecting the intellectual property, the first customers, the first hire.
Visibility and reputation usually get pushed to "later." Once there's news, once there's a logo to show off, or nce someone else holds the budget for it.
And that "later" is the whole problem.
By the time a founder goes looking for visibility & reputation, someone has usually already written their story for them. An investor who heard a version from a competitor. A journalist who searched and found nothing coherent. An AI tool summarising the company from whatever scraps it could scrape.
None of them get it right, because the founder never gave them the material to.That's what my workshop is for."Building Reputation & Visibility for Startups" treats visibility and reputation as what communications actually produces... the ground that sales, marketing, and PR grow out of later, not the other way round. It's hands-on.
Founders leave with their own narrative in their own voice, an honest reflection of where they're invisible (to people, and now to machines), and a plan they can act on without waiting for permission or a big press budget.
I've run it with founders at Venture Café Berlin, with Digital Boost in the UK, and most recently at Campus Founders in Heilbronn.
The frameworks behind my facilitation come out of years of training researchers, too, hundreds of them, at the Technical University of Dresden and the Max Planck Society, turning dense work into something people outside the lab can actually follow.
These sessions tend to spill past their slot. People stay back to talk. Some ask how to keep the work going once I've left.A newer room: Investors explaining the science to each other
I keep running into a problem on the investor side, and one I know intimately as a science journalist.A general partner reads the science, meets the founders, and comes away convinced the thing works. Then they have to carry that conviction to their limited partners, the people who actually commit the capital, and who usually can't judge the science for themselves. So the general partner becomes the translator.Most were never trained to be one. The science gets thinned into a tidy pitch, or buried under jargon nobody in the room wants to admit they didn't follow.Either way, the money moves on a subpar reading of the work.It runs the other way, too. A limited partner doing their diligence has to get close enough to the science to back it honestly... or to pass on it honestly.Making a technical claim legible to someone outside the field, without inflating it and without hollowing it out, is the entire craft of science journalism. It's what I did before this. It's what I bring here.So I'm building a workshop for that room. How investors talk science to each other, general partner to limited partner and back, without losing the truth of the work in the handoff.If you run a hub, a technology transfer office, an accelerator, or a fund, and belong in this new room, let's talk.
Diagnose the health of your founder- & company narrative here!
You know what your company is. The question is whether anyone else does... Score yourself for FREE across seventeen markers of visibility and credibility... And see where your story stops reaching people...
Want to work with me?
Schedule a free 30-minute free consult via my Google Calendar (below)! Let's get started!
I felt genuinely seen in the way I work.Chiara Paola Ratti · Founder, Lichens Project
"I had the opportunity to work with Vijay during a very intense and time-sensitive phase of my work, and I experienced something quite rare: I felt genuinely seen in the way I work. I tend to move quickly, in deep focus and with a strong internal drive, especially when I am developing complex ideas and applications. During this moment, Vijay was able to meet that pace with clarity and presence. He supported me in a way that allowed me to make a significant leap in a very short time, helping me finalise an important application for European funding under tight deadlines. What stayed with me most is that he did not try to slow me down or reshape my process. Instead, he held the structure around me so I could bring forward my own voice, more fully and more clearly. This kind of support is rare. It is not only about competence, but about attunement, trust, and the ability to hold complexity without reducing it. I am very grateful for his presence in that moment, and for the way he helped me access a stronger version of my work under pressure."
A sharp eye for strengthening founder narratives.Vignesh Selvaraj · Founder, Perfient
"I met Vijay at AsiaBerlin Summit 2025, and within hours he offered to review my pitch deck, completely pro bono. He genuinely invested time going through my rehearsal pitch, noting down specific improvements. I was surprised and pleased to receive his follow-up message late that evening, checking if I'd made the changes we discussed. His interest in Perfient's work felt authentic. Vijay has a sharp eye for strengthening founder narratives and clearly cares about supporting founders from underrepresented backgrounds. It was great meeting him and I wish to work with him in the next possible chance."
Vijay excels at receiving feedback and implementing changes seamlessly.Michela Pencz · Brand and PR marketer
"Vijay is an exceptional individual - highly helpful and responsive. We collaborated on a project where he showcased a wide range of skills, from scriptwriting to leveraging his deep knowledge of AI in the PR industry. The task involved recording himself to share valuable advice with others. Vijay excels at receiving feedback and implementing changes seamlessly. It was a pleasure working with Vijay, and I thoroughly enjoyed our collaboration on this project."
On editorial judgment and writing
A good eye for what makes a fascinating story.Kristie Nybo, PhD · Senior Content Director
"Vijay is a talented writer and podcast producer with a good eye for what makes a fascinating story. During his science journalism internship, his pitches uniquely highlighted studies and topics that showed a keen understanding of our audience - a group of life science researchers. He also produced the first intern-driven podcast for the group, where he identified a story that fit well with an audio presentation and then pieced together an immaculately-produced podcast that was a perfect fit for our food science theme week. I enjoyed working with Vijay as he is engaged, passionate, and congenial - a great colleague all around. I especially appreciated his interest in exploring new ideas, new topics, and new media to stretch the scope of his role. I would not hesitate to work with him again in the future."
Engaged, confident and able to work independently using critical thinking skills.Anita Makri · Independent writer, editor and producer
"I worked with Vijay briefly when he assisted on a SciDev.Net editorial project. He was extremely engaged, confident and able to work independently using critical thinking skills - assets that will serve any role well."
From the training room
An open-minded and dedicated instructor who is happy to go the extra mile.Dr Kristian Roncero · Postdoctoral Researcher
"I have attended a couple of courses taught by Dr. Balakrishnan on Science Journalism and Creating Podcasts for scientists. He is an open-minded and dedicated instructor who is happy to go the extra mile. I particularly enjoyed the hands-on approach of the podcast workshop. Would recommend inviting him again for a follow up workshop."
An experienced and passionate science journalist who walked us through the concept of storytelling.Elena Brivio · MSCA Postdoc
"I recently attended the workshop "Communicating Science to Non-Scientists and Media Training for Researchers" through the Max Planck Academy. Vijay is an experienced and passionate science journalist who walked us through the concept of storytelling and its potentiality in science communication. I recommend this course to however wants to get serious with communicating their science to the public."
Vijay did an excellent job of putting us outside our comfort zone.Vivek Hari Sridhar · Assistant Professor, University of Washington
"I was on a recent Science Communication course with Vijay. The course was well designed, and well rounded to expose the participants to various aspects of communication and journalism. Vijay did an excellent job of putting us outside our comfort zone, and explore the ways of story-telling that aren't usually taught to researchers. I now see the various techniques he taught us across a wide variety of popular science articles I read. I would recommend his course to anyone interested in talking about science to an audience broader than the field itself."
The sessions were highly interactive and entertaining.Mohamad Musbah Almedawar, PhD · Data Steward and Grants Coordinator
"Vijay trained a group of scientists including myself in science communication and use of social media for academic purposes. throughout a 4 day workshop on zoom, he offered a lot of tips, resources, and feedback on our performance in group and individual activities. The sessions were highly interactive and entertaining. I would definitely recommend attending this workshop if you are considering sharpening your skills to communicate to the wider audience."
Each participant was challenged and pushed out of their comfort zone.Rasmus Bjørn · PhD Student, Max Planck Society
"On the challenging medium Zoom, Vijay managed to engage and elicit participation from 12 strangers. Over the course of the four sessions and in a friendly atmosphere, each participant was challenged and pushed out of their comfort zone, with the clear intent to embolden and familiarise the participants with the reality and tone of science communication in its many forms. The course was well-structured and is highly recommendable to anyone in science/academia looking to do public outreach."
Definitely not a "sit back and listen" kind of course.Juliane van Scherpenberg · Postdoctoral Researcher, high-energy astrophysics
"I attended Vijay's workshop "Communicating Science to Non-Scientists and Media Training for Researchers" in Januaray 2021. I really liked Vijay's teaching methods. It was very demanding, definitely not a "sit back and listen" kind of course, but that made me participate actively and continuously pay attention. I learned a lot from this workshop. The content stuck with me and I will definitely rely on what I've learned in the future."
A great learning experience, very interactive and full of tips.Oleg Sitsel · Assistant Professor, OIST
"I took Vijay's December 2020 course in science communication. It was a great learning experience, very interactive and full of tips to help scientists get their point across to a broader audience. Thanks, Vijay!"
I learned quite a few new things, and the workshop was overall very interesting.Maxime Borry · Bioinformatician, life data scientist
"I attended the workshop of Vijay about science communication and media training for scientists. I learned quite a few new things, and the workshop was overall very interesting. I would recommend anyone interested in media training for scientists to attend one of Vijay's workshop."
Great proficiency, calmness and lucid, vivid interactive sessions.Taraprasad Bhowmick · Scientist, working to achieve climate neutrality
"I attended Vijay's course "Communicating Science to Non-Scientists and Media Training for Researchers" in Dec., 2020. This course was a good introduction for me to know about the importance and the depth of Science communication, and to realize the moral obligation we researchers have towards the taxpayers who fund us. Vijay introduced us to it with great proficiency, calmness and with lucid and vivid interactive sessions. I liked and recommend this course."
As an absolute beginner I learned a lot.Christine Kleiter · Art Historian
"I really enjoyed Vijay's online workshop on the fundamentals of podcasting and as an absolute beginner I learned a lot. After his workshop I am motivated to try out podcasting and improve my skills! The input was challenging, the pace was high, but he managed it to keep the participants motivated pointing out that we all have a goal - podcasting! Thank you, Vijay, for all the insights!"
I have never been taught about a topic in such a dynamic and interactive way.Alexandra Wielandt (née Woods) · PhD student, Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory
"I have never been taught about a topic in such a dynamic and interactive way (which meant the information actually stuck). I attended Vijay's online course on podcasting fundamentals and he took us all from complete novices to creating our first podcast, balancing the theory with diverse practical exercises. His approach is professional, democratic and comes with a strong sensitivity, catering and responding to individual needs equally, and he is very generous with his time. Thank you, Vijay, I left the course genuinely inspired."
Proof of Judgment & Outcomes
Track record
Editorial judgment in a room full of national delegates.The WHO Bulletin
WhoThe WHO Bulletin, a global health journal.
ProblemA multilateral meeting on pandemic preparedness threw off far more than any issue could carry, and the journal had to judge what mattered, and to whom.
SolutionI worked at the Bulletin editor's side through the meeting, held the room alongside her, and helped shape what the journal took from it into print. High-stakes rooms reward the person who can read them and still make the call.
Commissioning judgment under a hard deadline.The Conversation UK
WhoThe Conversation UK, a newsroom for policy and academic readers.
ProblemA short pre-Christmas window still needed the right health stories found, shaped and live.
SolutionI chose what was worth telling, commissioned it, edited it, and saw two pieces published inside a fortnight while the standing queue kept moving. A content engine is only as good as the judgment picking what runs.
The evidence under an award-winning investigation.The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
WhoThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism, London.
ProblemAn antimicrobial-resistance series needed research that would survive scrutiny.
SolutionI built and interrogated the UK datasets on antimicrobial regulation, sales and use, and reported a sector conference back to the team. That work fed the series that won the 2019 ABSW Steve Connor Award for Investigative Journalism. Credible stories rest on evidence someone dug for.
Stood up a new owned channel for a publisher.BioTechniques
WhoBioTechniques, a life-science publisher in New York.
ProblemThe publisher had science with stories in it that print wasn't reaching, and no audio channel to carry them.
SolutionI built and produced a news-feature podcast that fit their audience and their calendar. Their senior content director, Kristie Nybo, called it "immaculately-produced" and "a perfect fit for our food science theme week." A new channel earns its place when it sounds like it belongs.
Pioneered interactive data storytelling in two newsrooms.New Scientist and SciDev.Net
WhoNew Scientist and SciDev.Net, both in London.
ProblemData-heavy science was reading flat, and both newsrooms wanted a format that pulled readers in.
SolutionI helped New Scientist publish its first data-integrated news story, and reported SciDev.Net's first stories built on interactive data graphics. A format that feels new is how a familiar subject gets a second look.
Built the newsroom function, and the story 6,000 people read in two days.Boehringer Ingelheim
WhoBoehringer Ingelheim, a top-20 global pharma company.
ProblemThe human pharma side had stories worth telling across its regions and its supply chain, and no steady way to surface them to the people inside who needed to see them.
SolutionI built the ways of working between the newsroom and stakeholders across regional sites, and ran an internal workshop to set the next year's approach. I wrote a behind-the-scenes supply-chain story that reached ~6,000 views in two days, and ran the World Health Day and World Cancer Day campaigns. The company's reference records "independent, balanced and correct solutions for complex problems." A function outlives any single story it tells.
Client work
Founder narrative, sharpened under funding pressure.A climate-tech founder
WhoA climate-tech founder.
ProblemShe was finalising a European funding application at speed, and needed her own voice to come through the pressure rather than get flattened by it.
SolutionI held the structure around her, sharpened the narrative and helped her finalise the bid on time. In her words, I helped her "access a stronger version of my work under pressure." The founder's voice is the asset; my job is to protect it.Chiara Paola Ratti, Founder, Lichens Project
Designed the comms curriculum a research society trained its scientists on.Max Planck Society
WhoResearchers across the Max Planck Society in Germany.
ProblemThe society's researchers needed to reach audiences beyond their field, and the skills to do it weren't part of their training.
SolutionI designed the curricula and course content, customised for each cohort, then delivered and evaluated the workshops across Germany, from media training and science communication to podcasting and filmmaking taken end to end. One of them, Rasmus Bjørn of the Max Planck Society, put it plainly: "each participant was challenged and pushed out of their comfort zone." Capability you can hand over outlasts a campaign run for someone.
We hold current engagements off this page until the work concludes. Several are in the pipeline now, and each appears here once it's done.
Impressum
ImpressumAngaben gemäß § 5 TMGNarraTricks UG (haftungsbeschränkt) Karl-Krämer-Straße 8, 67061 Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz, Deutschland.Vertreten durch: Dr. Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan, PhD. (Geschäftsführer)Kontakt: E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.narratricks.com Telefon (Festnetz): +49-(0)621-43647664Handelsregister: Registergericht: Amtsgericht, Ludwigshafen am Rhein. Handelsregisternummer: HRB 69967Umsatzsteuer-ID: Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer gemäß § 27 a Umsatzsteuergesetz: DE452907811 Steuernummer beim Finanzamt Ludwigshafen: 27/675/04655Verantwortlich für den Inhalt nach § 55 Abs. 2 RStV: Dr. Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan, PhD. Karl-Krämer-Straße 8, 67061 Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz, Deutschland.Haftung für Inhalte Als Diensteanbieter sind wir gemäß § 7 Abs.1 TMG für eigene Inhalte auf diesen Seiten nach den allgemeinen Gesetzen verantwortlich. Nach §§ 8 bis 10 TMG sind wir als Diensteanbieter jedoch nicht verpflichtet, übermittelte oder gespeicherte fremde Informationen zu überwachen oder nach Umständen zu forschen, die auf eine rechtswidrige Tätigkeit hinweisen. Verpflichtungen zur Entfernung oder Sperrung der Nutzung von Informationen nach den allgemeinen Gesetzen bleiben hiervon unberührt. Eine diesbezügliche Haftung ist jedoch erst ab dem Zeitpunkt der Kenntnis einer konkreten Rechtsverletzung möglich. Bei Bekanntwerden von entsprechenden Rechtsverletzungen werden wir diese Inhalte umgehend entfernen.Haftung für Links Unser Angebot enthält Links zu externen Webseiten Dritter, auf deren Inhalte wir keinen Einfluss haben. Deshalb können wir für diese fremden Inhalte auch keine Gewähr übernehmen. Für die Inhalte der verlinkten Seiten ist stets der jeweilige Anbieter oder Betreiber der Seiten verantwortlich.Datenschutzerklärung (Privacy Policy)1. Name und Kontaktdaten des Verantwortlichen NarraTricks UG (haftungsbeschränkt) Karl-Krämer-Straße 8, 67061 Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz, Deutschland. E-Mail: [email protected]2. Verarbeitung personenbezogener Daten2.1 Allgemeine Hinweise Ihre Daten werden gemäß der EU-Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO) und des Bundesdatenschutzgesetzes (BDSG) verarbeitet.2.2 Datenerfassung auf unserer Website Cookies: Diese Website verwendet Cookies, um die Benutzerfreundlichkeit zu verbessern. Sie können der Nutzung von Cookies über den Cookie-Banner zustimmen oder diese ablehnen.Server-Logfiles: Beim Besuch unserer Website speichert unser Hosting-Anbieter automatisch Informationen wie: - Browsertyp und Browserversion - Verwendetes Betriebssystem - Referrer URL - Uhrzeit der Serveranfrage Diese Daten sind nicht bestimmten Personen zuordenbar.2.3 Nutzung von Calendly Wir verwenden Calendly, um Terminvereinbarungen zu erleichtern. Die Nutzung von Calendly erfordert die Angabe von personenbezogenen Daten (z. B. Name, E-Mail-Adresse). Diese Daten werden von Calendly verarbeitet.Verantwortlicher Anbieter: Calendly LLC 271 17th St NW, Atlanta, GA 30363, USA Datenschutzinformationen: https://calendly.com/privacyDie Rechtsgrundlage für die Verarbeitung ist Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO (berechtigtes Interesse).2.4 Kontaktformular und E-Mail Wenn Sie uns per Kontaktformular oder E-Mail Anfragen zukommen lassen, speichern wir Ihre Angaben zur Bearbeitung der Anfrage.3. Ihre Rechte als Betroffene(r) Sie haben folgende Rechte: - Recht auf Auskunft (Art. 15 DSGVO) - Recht auf Berichtigung (Art. 16 DSGVO) - Recht auf Löschung (Art. 17 DSGVO) - Recht auf Einschränkung der Verarbeitung (Art. 18 DSGVO) - Recht auf Widerspruch gegen die Verarbeitung (Art. 21 DSGVO) - Recht auf Datenübertragbarkeit (Art. 20 DSGVO)Bitte wenden Sie sich an: [email protected].Externe Links Unsere Website enthält Links zu externen Seiten. Wir übernehmen keine Verantwortung für deren Inhalte oder Datenschutz.5. Änderungen der Datenschutzerklärung Diese Datenschutzerklärung wird bei Bedarf aktualisiert.
{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://www.narratricks.com/#organization", "name": "NarraTricks", "legalName": "NarraTricks UG (haftungsbeschränkt)", "url": "https://www.narratricks.com", "logo": "https://www.narratricks.com/assets/images/image01.jpg", "image": "https://www.narratricks.com/assets/images/share.jpg", "description": "NarraTricks is a Germany-based brand journalism and startup communications boutique, providing fractional Chief Communications Officer (CCO) services to science-driven startups worldwide.", "slogan": "Visible, credible, fundable, and coverable, in your own voice.", "foundingDate": "2025-01", "vatID": "DE452907811", "areaServed": "Worldwide", "knowsAbout": [ "Science communication", "Brand journalism", "Fractional Chief Communications Officer services", "Founder branding", "Thought leadership", "Media relations", "Reputation building", "Startup communications", "Biotech, medtech, health tech and climate tech communications" ], "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "Karl-Krämer-Straße 8", "postalCode": "67061", "addressLocality": "Ludwigshafen am Rhein", "addressRegion": "Rheinland-Pfalz", "addressCountry": "DE" }, "founder": { "@id": "https://www.narratricks.com/#vijay" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/narratricks", "https://narratricks.substack.com" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://www.narratricks.com/#vijay", "name": "Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan", "honorificPrefix": "Dr", "jobTitle": "Founder and Fractional Chief Communications Officer", "description": "Science journalist of 13+ years turned fractional Chief Communications Officer, with a PhD in interdisciplinary nanoscience. Founder of NarraTricks.", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://www.narratricks.com/#organization" }, "knowsAbout": [ "Science journalism", "Science communication", "Brand journalism", "Media relations", "Founder reputation and visibility" ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijaysbj", "https://bsky.app/profile/vijayshankar.bsky.social", "https://x.com/VijaySciWri" ] } ] }
