A Compelling Founder’s Story is Important to Brand Development
Eight years ago, Microsoft intrigued the business community with its unique storytelling initiative, an effort to promote its company and its product through the art of storytelling. The “Microsoft Story Labs” project took communicating a founder’s story to a new level, offering not only the history of a company and its work but sharing its corporate culture and philosophy both internally and externally.
What is a founder’s story?
A founder’s story is a key aspect of brand development. It’s more than just details of a company’s beginnings — it can and should examine a company’s mission and vision along with the specifics about the development of products and services. And like the people who start a business or company, a founder’s story is personal and unique to each and every business.
Many successful companies today have taken the founder’s story to new levels. For example, Toms Shoes’s founder Blake Mycoskie has shared how his desire to help children in need get new shoes became the primary mission of his company. Toms Shoes has donated more than 50 million pairs of shoes (donating a pair for each pair sold) and even extended their philanthropy to providing safe drinking water and helping restore sight to more than 360,000 people. The Toms Shoes’ mission has become a key marketing tool for the brand.
Some founders have used not only their stories but the stories of their customers to connect and elevate their brand. GoPro identifies its product and brand by helping people “capture and share their lives’ most meaningful experiences” and to share them with fellow GoPro customers. They have taken their founder’s story and created a community where sharing experiences is uniquely identified with the product/brand.
Other stories are rooted in a founder’s specific experience that resulted in the creation of a product or service. For eyewear retailer Warby Parker, it was when one of its founders lost his glasses while on a trip and, as a graduate student, could not afford to replace them. The company also has taken the philanthropic route by donating glasses to people in need through nonprofit groups. Problem solved and helping others is a strong founder’s story to tell.
When it comes to developing your founder’s story, these are excellent models to follow that create memorable and unforgettable stories that resonate with clients and with employees. Here are some important tips for developing your founder’s story and making it work for connecting to your customers and your employees.
Go beyond anecdotes and get personal
A founder’s story is about you, not just about your business. It details the highs and lows, the successes and the struggles, and explains why your company or your brand exists. The personal elements of a founder’s story provide a deeper context to your company’s mission.
Use emotion to connect with your listeners
Listeners may connect to your story and empathize with the founder and the company’s journey. These personal elements may invoke emotions in listeners and make the story memorable. If your story is memorable, your company is as well.
Plan your story with history, research, and details
It’s always good to start at the beginning when crafting your founder’s story. How did your company/business start? What were the problems you encountered? What were your goals and vision? This gives the listener a good frame of reference for how you started.
Identify your audience and your storyteller
Who do you want to hear your story? You should be crafting your story not only for your corporate newsroom and the media but also for your current and future employees, your company’s partners, current and potential investors, and even your competitors. The information in your story may define your reputation in the industry and among your staff. And speaking of staff, everyone on your team should be a part of telling your story. Empowering your employees gives them ownership of your company’s success as a part of its story. However, make sure everyone is speaking in one voice and knows the company’s history and its mission.
Conflict and crisis are authentic
Be sure to identify important milestones along the way, even the ones that created conflict or caused you to doubt your mission and goals. And when identifying a crisis, let the listener know the resolution and how you reached it.
There is always a moral to the story and a happy ending
Letting your listener in on what you learned and how it changed or impacted your business brings your founder’s story full circle. Your story then provides a look at where you are today and how the journey got you and your company to your present-day success. You also can use your founder’s story to reveal future plans and where you go professionally moving forward.
Your founder’s story can be one of the most powerful tools you have to promote your brand and give everyone from your employees to your customers a personal look at you and your company. It will last longer and go farther than most of the other communications you share.
Keep an eye out in the next few weeks for WHO Staffing’s founder story. We’re excited to share more about our company and honored you have become an advocate for our brand!
If Who Staffing can help you in any way with building a process that allows you to win the war on talent, please feel free to reach out to start a conversation or go here for more information about us.
