Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business

Pitfall #3: Thinking You Can’t Tell the Founder Story When You’re
Not the Founder
I understand this chapter is geared toward the founders of companies, the
entrepreneurs, the ones who got the whole thing started. But I would be remiss if
I didn’t acknowledge there’s a good chance you are not a founder. There is a
chance you are a committed member of a team or leader for the cause who,
though you aren’t responsible for founding the company, you’re still connected
to the founder story and understand the importance of telling it.
For you, I have this to say: anyone can tell a founder story. And the hope is
everyone does! Even if you weren’t the one who got the whole thing going, even
if you are employee number 3304, if you know the founder story, you have my
permission (okay, my plea) to tell it. The secret is this: the story stays the same,
only the transition into the story changes a bit.
Instead of saying, “I’ll never forget the day I started this company” (which is
a pretty rough way to start a founder story in the first place, but let’s just go with
it), start your story with, “I remember the day I heard the story of how it all
began here at XYZ.” Then tell a little bit about the circumstances of when you

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heard the story. Was it during your interview? Did you read it online in advance?
Then say, “The story, as I was told, started . . .” And then transition into
telling the founder story as it’s usually told, except instead of telling it in first
person (
I
felt this, 
I
did that), use third person (
he
felt this, 
she
did that).
Finally, once you finish the founder story as it’s typically told, add a line or
two about your experience to wrap it all up. Something like, “When I heard that
story I knew [insert important, relevant insight], and I hope you feel that too.”
Done!
Founder stories need as many voices telling the story as possible. Never let
the fact that you weren’t the one who started it keep you from telling the story of
how it all began.
Pitfall #4: Letting the Reluctant Founder Shut Down the Founder
Story
I received an email from a woman after a conference I spoke at. She worked
in the marketing department of a company with a great founder story, and she
was desperate to tell it.
The problem? The founder refused to let her.
If this sounds familiar to you, let me start by saying, I feel for you.
It can be challenging when you aren’t the founder and you know there is a
great founder story to tell. Yet unlike the previous section, instead of figuring
out how to tell it yourself, you’re struggling to get it told at all.
This is not uncommon. Founders, particularly those from the generations
prior to Generation X, are often hesitant to share their story. The reasons range
from the belief that a company figurehead talking about starting a company
looks dated and self-glorifying (which, yes, if done wrong, a founder story can
look rigid, bloviated, and even cheesy) to insisting that the story isn’t about them
but rather “the people and the company and the customers.”
I physically cringed as I wrote that last sentence.
Anytime a founder gives you one of these as reasons not to share their story,
whatever you do, 
do not
accept them. Because while those sound like perfectly
noble reasons not to tell a founder story, they are irrelevant.
First, if you follow the format outlined in this book, if you include the
essential components (the genuine emotions, the hope and disappointment, and
everything else you’ve learned thus far), the story will not be self-aggrandizing
but endearing. People want to do business with people, and hearing the founder
story reminds them that, yes, behind the website, the marketing, the spot price on

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the stock exchange, there is an actual person who started it all.
It may take some time and some coaxing. It may take several attempts and
significant efforts to move your founder beyond the typical company speak: “We
believe in excellence and integrity . . . blah blah blah.” But I encourage you to
keep working at it. Keep looking for moments that could work as an explosion in
the story. And when you find it, write the story for them. Remember, our stories
don’t sound like stories to us. Our stories just sound like life. Your founder’s
story isn’t going to sound like a story to them; they will only realize there’s
something really beautiful there after you tell the story to them.
And that, I must say, is one of the greatest honors of being a storyteller for
others. That moment when you tell their story back to them and they had no idea
it was even there.
The Founder Story: Breaking Down the Components
Whether you are looking to raise capital, secure more clients and customers, or
recruit your dream team, telling a story is your solution.
And not just any story. A founder story.
Fortunately, when you include the essential storytelling components, this
story basically writes itself. Let’s take a look at how the four components look in
the context of the founder story.