Meet Mia Alanis | founder of Brainfyre Public Relations

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mia Alanis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mia, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started Brainfyre Public Relations because I wanted to help great businesses and startups get their stories told. Plus, I wanted to work for myself and build something that I could be proud of. After years of working for other PR firms, I wanted to have an active voice in the types of clients and brands I partnered with. I also wanted to be able to help smaller firms and their founders with no previous PR experience.

It’s common (and absolutely normal) in this industry for agencies to chase after the unicorns. The FAANG/MANGO companies. The latest “It” celebrities. The businesses with the big, eye-watering budgets. But what about everyone else? I felt that smaller brands were getting overlooked, especially when just starting out. Managing expectations is something public relations professionals need to be able to do well, and based on some of the complaints I’ve heard, bigger firms are dropping the ball.

Startups and beginner founders need guidance and a solid understanding of what public relations can and cannot do for them, especially when just starting out. That’s why I created a program within my firm specifically aimed at the newer business or smaller brand. It’s called “Project Launch” and it helps founders build credibility and prepare their digital presence before pursuing media attention. It’s necessary because a brand that is not fully ready for its close-up, can undermine the impact of months of PR efforts. And that’s just money down the drain.

I chose to build Brainfyre to be the kind of PR firm I wish more founders had access to. A partner that is straightforward, supportive, and actually helpful. A place where they can learn the process, feel prepared, and not walk into an interview or media opportunity feeling like they’re guessing their way through it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Brainfyre is a public relations firm that specializes in strategic media relations, brand building, and reputation management for small and medium-sized businesses and industry thought leaders.

What sets us apart is how hands-on we are with our clients. We don’t hand just them off to a junior staffer with a plan and disappear until it’s time to bill the client for the next month. A lot of people come to us feeling unsure or even intimidated by PR. For those clients, we walk them through the process, train them for interviews, help shape their messaging, and make sure they feel confident speaking about their business. Watching them shift from confusion and uncertainty into clarity and confidence is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do.

What I’m most proud of is the type of clients we work with. Many of them are doing meaningful work in their communities but have never been given a real shot at visibility. Being able to help them be taken seriously by the media is something I don’t take lightly.

I started Brainfyre on Fiverr while I was earning my masters degree, so my first clients weren’t large firms. They were mom & pop businesses or solopreneurs! Like most businesses, one of the biggest challenges was establishing trust without having a long track record of large clients behind our brand name. I overcame that by focusing on results, being consistent, and making sure every client experience spoke for itself.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that clarity matters. You can have the best idea in the world, but if you can’t explain it in a way people understand, it doesn’t mean much and it won’t get you very far. Relationships matter in this industry, and not just media relationships, but how you show up for your clients and how you communicate with them. Some PR professionals make things more complicated than they need to be. Thankfully, I’ve spent enough time in this industry to understand what actually works and what doesn’t.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a life-long LA girl, there are some spots that I automatically take my friends and family from out of town. Of course, it would depend on the weather, but I’d start out at the beach. Sure it’s technically not in the city of Los Angeles and instead in the County of Los Angeles, but our first stop would definitely be The Santa Monica Pier. It’s the place everyone thinks about, other than the Hollywood sign, when they imagine Los Angeles.

I’d also take them to my old stomping grounds at Universal Studios Hollywood, where I worked while I was going to college, to give them a little bit of that movie making ambiance. Then, on another day, I would take them horseback riding on a tour to the Hollywood Sign.

Since we would eventually need to eat, I’d take them to my favorite restaurants around the city. We’d get Colombian food from La Fonda Antioqueña in East Hollywood, grab some fish tacos from the Mariscos Jalisco truck, some chicken tikka masala from Anarkali Indian Restaurant, and probably some amazing pho from Mama Hong’s Vietnamese Kitchen in Burbank.

I used to take my friends out to some late-night coffee at Insomnia Cafe (the real-life inspiration for the “Friends” coffee shop) on Beverly Blvd in the Fairfax District, but they closed a few years ago. I miss it terribly. It had such an awesome bohemian vibe. I’m still searching for that perfect third-space that feels like home and serves delicious coffee.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are many people along my career journey I need to thank and give a shoutout to, but the person that stands out the most is Lori Baker-Schena. Lori was one of my PR professors in the Journalism department at California State University – Northridge (CSUN). I learned so much from her and she truly embodied what a PR professional should be. She was absolutely fabulous and so encouraging to her students. She’s retired now, but I am thankful and so grateful I was able to experience her brilliance first-hand.

My second shoutout is to a book. Yes. A book. After I graduated from CSUN and a few years into my career, I took an entrepreneurship course at Glendale Community College. The professor in that class had a small paperback as a required textbook. That book “Who Owns the Ice House? Eight Life Lessons From an Unlikely Entrepreneur” (co-authored by Clifton L. Taulbert and Gary G. Schoeniger) shares stories and wisdom that demonstrate what it is to have an entrepreneurial mindset. The book focuses on Taulbert’s “Uncle Cleve,” an entrepreneur who despite facing systemic racism, economic hardships and lacking special privileges or abilities, built a thriving ice business. I still have that book on my shelf and like to re-read it from time to time.

Website: https://www.brainfyre.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainfyrepr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brainfyre

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrainfyrePR