Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs: “I Told A Good Story”

by Scott Edward Walker on May 4th, 2021

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.” -Steve Jobs

Welcome to our series “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.”  Every few weeks, we share a favorite video clip to inspire and motivate founders.  Why?  Because we know how tough it is being a founder (particularly during this pandemic).  Indeed, whether you’re launching your venture, trying to iterate on your business model or raising funds, you need a little juice to help you push the ball forward.  I hope these videos are a little juice. 

Today’s video provides a little motivation from an award-winning filmmaker and storyteller, which every founder must learn to be.  As Elisa Schreiber (the marketing partner at Greylock) wrote a few years back in her article, “How founders can tell a great startup story”:

No matter the sector, I have found that the organizations who effectively tell their stories are the ones who can recruit the top talent, acquire long-term customers, and build brands that endure.

What is your story?

Your story is way more than a chronological history of your company. The biggest mistake most companies make is they start with the love story of the founders. (i.e. “My co-founder and I met when we worked together at Company X. We built these 3 successful products together and had had fun doing it, so we decided to build this new thing because we think there is a market for it.”) This is the absolute wrong foot to start on.

A great story about your company will succintly capture 1.) what you offer, 2.) to whom, and 3.) why you are different. Nailing this will set the path for every other decision you make going forward.

I hope you enjoy the video. Cheers, Scott

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