BRG Communications, a healthcare public relations agency based in Virginia, announced on November 5 that it acquired We Are HeadStart, a boutique communications firm working with startups, venture investors and accelerators. The acquired business is being renamed BRG HeadStart and will operate as a division of BRG rather than disappearing into the parent agency.
HeadStart co-founders Michael Stern and Naomi Brodsky will stay on as managing directors, with the existing team continuing to work remotely. Financial terms were not disclosed, according to Capitol Communicator. The practical question is whether BRG can give early-stage healthcare clients more specialist expertise without losing the responsiveness that made the smaller agency attractive.
Key Takeaways
- BRG Communications acquired startup-focused We Are HeadStart and is turning it into a division called BRG HeadStart.
- Co-founders Michael Stern and Naomi Brodsky will remain managing directors, and the acquired team will continue working remotely.
- Healthcare founders should clarify which team owns strategy, approval and media relationships before treating the acquisition as an integrated service.
Table of contents
Jump to each section:
- Why BRG is buying startup expertise
- What the new division adds
- The test for healthcare communications clients
Why BRG is buying startup expertise
BRG was founded by Jane Barwis in 2001 and works across healthcare, wellness, public health and related issues. HeadStart, launched in 2021, built a narrower practice around organizations at an earlier stage of growth. Both work in communications, but their clients can face different buying cycles, expectations and resource constraints.
| Area | BRG Communications | HeadStart before the acquisition |
|---|---|---|
| Primary client setting | Established healthcare organizations, associations and public-health interests | Startups, investors, accelerators and innovation organizations |
| Core communications challenge | Complex health issues, reputation and stakeholder engagement | Establishing credibility during launches, fundraising and growth |
| Position after the deal | Parent agency with sector-specific resources | BRG HeadStart division retaining its startup focus |
The difference matters for clients. A startup introducing a health product often needs to establish its legitimacy before it has a broad market presence. An established health organization may already have recognition but face a more complicated group of audiences, including practitioners, policymakers and professional associations. A shared agency network could help a growing company bridge those needs as its circumstances change.
There are precedents for specialist healthcare communications combinations, although the rationale varies. Real Chemistry’s acquisition of Spurwing, for example, added a Singapore-based advisory operation to a larger healthcare communications group. BRG’s deal is more about access to emerging companies and investor networks than entry into a new geographic market.
What the new division adds
In its November 5 announcement, BRG said the HeadStart team would retain its core clients and continue to work remotely. HeadStart clients are expected to gain access to BRG services in healthcare strategy, research, digital, creative and paid media, while BRG clients could draw on the smaller agency’s experience with fundraising announcements and fast-moving growth businesses.
The logic is credible, but the operating model is not yet clear. The announcement does not say whether shared work will be priced through one contract, how account leaders will collaborate, or what happens when a startup requires unusually intensive communications support on a limited budget.
BRG president and CEO Jane Barwis said, “HeadStart brings an entrepreneurial approach, established relationships, and specialized expertise in the startup and innovation ecosystem.” That is the central asset being purchased: not simply an additional team, but access to organizations and decision makers that a more established healthcare practice may not reach through its existing channels.
Six consecutive years of double-digit revenue growth were reported by BRG Communications in its acquisition announcement, a company-reported track record rather than independently verified financial results.
The growth claim provides context for the decision to acquire. BRG is expanding from its established health-focused base while retaining HeadStart’s co-founders in charge of the specialist division. That may limit disruption to client relationships, although it does not by itself guarantee that systems, account economics and creative decision-making will be integrated.
The test for healthcare communications clients
For a healthcare startup choosing an agency, the first issue is who will actually lead the work. BRG HeadStart retains its founders, but the parties have not explained how senior counsel from the parent agency will be assigned to shared client briefs. A prospective buyer should ask for a named account lead and clarify when sector specialists become involved.
The first test is responsibility. A medtech founder preparing a product launch could require media outreach, clinical-stakeholder judgment and fundraising messaging at the same time. The agency should be able to identify who has final approval over scientific claims and who manages investor-related communications, rather than relying on a general promise of integrated services.
The second test is continuity. The HeadStart team will remain remote, and both businesses say they will retain their core client focus. That protects familiar relationships on paper. Clients should nevertheless ask how staffing changes, escalation decisions and fees will be handled once the new division begins referring work to the broader BRG team.
The third test is evidence. Agency consolidation is useful only when it changes what can be delivered or measured. Clients could ask for examples of how a brief involving health-sector credibility and startup growth support is coordinated across the combined organization. Until those results exist, claims about seamless integration remain prospective.
The acquisition is a focused expansion rather than a market-changing transaction. BRG gains a startup communications practice, and HeadStart gains access to deeper healthcare capabilities. Whether that becomes an advantage for clients will depend less on the new division’s name than on the quality of the work between those two areas of expertise.